Space Escapades and More, Cheap on Amazon.com

The groovy kats and kittens at Amazon.com were nice enough to send me a little email blast with some swingin’ deals on swingin’ tunes.

Space Escapades, Les Baxter
CD, 24 New from $10.06

Quiet Village, Martin Denny
CD, 21 New from $8.87

Music for a
Bachelor’s Den Vol. 6,
The Best of Arthur Lyman
CD, 7 New from $6.75

Plus 325 results under the search “Exotica” starting at around six clams, including hard to find stuff by The Waitiki 7, and the ever-elusive Exotica album by Bananarama (wait, what? How did that get in here????)

At prices like these you can afford and extra $15 drink at the Mai Kai!

Of course these are CDs. Old-school Tikiphiles will insist on original vinyl, which is a little harder to come by and a little more expensive. Sometimes people tell me they get lucky finding some original 1950’s Denny or Baxter albums at thrift shops for a buck. Damn, hats off to you kids! I gotta say through all my years of searching through piles of moldy, dusty records, I’ve never gotten that lucky finding a great album. However…you can still catch a break on eBay now and then…

-Tiki Chris reporting from the record store down the street from Pirate’s Cove Tiki Bar, Florida

The Hukilau 2011 and Conversations at the Tiki Bar

Stolen Idols at The Hukilau 2010

The Hukilau 2011

Hey swingin’ kats and kittens, just a reminder that The Hukilau 2011…one of the world’s largest, swingingest and longest running Tiki parties…is happening this June 9-12 in sunny Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Tikiphiles, Retro Hipsters, Jazz Cats; whatever your scene, if you dig Tiki or anything Retro, you neeeeed to be there.

Visit The Hulilau 2011 website for the down-low, with lists of very kool entertainment, books signings, art and more.

Also…for all you very hip kids who procure, create, carve, sew, assemble, and sell Tiki/Retro-related goodies, there are still a few prime vendor spots available, so get in gear and email Christi Crowe, Hukilau sponsorship, vending and/or advertising contact at christi@flagmarketing.com.

Conversations at the Tiki Bar

It’s nice to have friends all over the world. Thanks to teh interwebs, of course. I verily enjoy rapping with the swingin’ kats and kitties that dig the same jive I do. It’s fun here, but even easier over at The Retro Tiki Lounge on Facebook. Check it out, dig the photos, watch the videos, and feel free to join the convo. Lots of fun stuff going on over there! Plus admission is free, and the bar is always open.

Murder on Tiki Island

Most of you have already heard that my new novel is in the works…Murder on Tiki Island is right up your alley, believe me. It takes place at a Tiki resort in the Florida Keys in 1956, and is a retro-style pulp noir fiction with a twist of lime. Due out April 30, it will be available in softcover and eBook format on Amazon.com See the official website or join the fan page on Facebook for details.

Later swingers,
Tiki Chris P.

Your Weekend Tiki Cocktail: Walk The Plank

This weekend we’ve got TWO (yes, TWO!) Tiki Bar Cocktails for you!

I recently had a request for something easy, to take the sting off a bad hockey game. Well, this is easy, strong, velvety and is potent enough to take the sting offa anything. So here is a pirate favorite,

Walk The Plank

Pour 1/2 shot each of:

Dark Rum
Spiced Rum
Frangelico
Kahlua

straight from the bottle into a shot glass, and slam it down. Yikes! Or, you can sip it…it’s nice and smooth. A variation is to pour it over the rocks and stir with some half and half…a sort of a souped-up Kahlua and cream. Nice.

The second drink comes from the headlines. Not that I give a damn about what’s going on in Hollywood, but you have to admit this whole Charlie Sheen thing is funny as hell (Have you seen his “cooking show” on Funny or Die?). My first thought was there needs to be a Tiger Blood cocktail. But, unfortunately, a sushi joint in NYC beat me to the punch with their own “Tiger’s Blood” cocktail. Thing is, this saki and wasabi abomination has no place on a Tiki bar. So, I asked the Tikitastic people that hang out at Facebook’s Retro Tiki Lounge to come up with a better recipe. Didn’t get many; Marina the Fire Eating Mermaid suggested that it should contain Indian whiskey, you know, because of Indian Tigers. My lovely wife Colleen suggested citrus vodka, blood orange juice, club soda and lime…a great combination, but hey, she’s my wife, so she couldn’t win the little contest.

So, the winner is Robert Millar, who came up with:

The Tiger’s Blood Cocktail

1 shot Benedictine
1 shot Brandy
1 shot Chambord

Sounds good to me! I didn’t have the Benedictine so I couldn’t try it out, but it’s better than a cocktail that includes soy sauce so, Congrats, Robert! You get your Tiger’s Blood Cocktail recipe here on TLT!

-Tiki Chris P. reporting from behind the bar at Pirate’s Cove Tiki Lounge, the Blounge of South Florida.

Just Announced! Hukilau 2011 Tickets On Sale Now!

Hey swingin’ Tikiphiles, here’s a great way to start the New Year…

Mark your calendars for June 9th through 12th for The Hukilau 2011 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

This year marks the 10th Anniversary of The Hukilau and the 55th Anniversary of the Mai Kai, so it will certainly be a swingin’ shindig. But Tickets for the events online here. The Official Hukilau website with all the details will be coming soon.

To book a room in Fort Lauderdale one of the two official hotels:

Bahia Cabana: 954-254-1555
You can book online with the Bahia Mar HERE.

I’ll have more info posted as it becomes available. Mahalos to you all in the New Year, see you in June!

-Tiki Chris

Who Cares About San Francisco’s Tonga Room? I do.

The Tonga Room as it is Today

The historic Tonga Room at the  Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, one of America’s last surviving Tiki Bars from the golden age is slated for demolition to make way for - you guessed it, that dirty word - Condos. The Tiki community and a group of SF preservationists have been trying desperately to keep the owners from closing it down, but the owners (and unfortunately for people like us who would like to preserve the past) have every right to do with they want with the property, and I agree they should have that right. The owners are adamant to remove the Tonga Room from their property in order to build new hotel rooms and condos, but are willing to carefully dismantle the Tonga Room, store the artifacts and help move it to a new location. Personally, although I believe it should be preserved as-is and could be a major profitable attraction, this is probably the best compromise that can be made. It’s just a shame that developers like these owners don’t realize that places like The Tonga Room are what make an area desirable to begin with - and once it’s all gone, who cares about living in their condos?

Last month, the San Francisco Chronicle (online) published an article about the looming demise of the world-famous Tonga Room Tiki restaurant & lounge. The article, written by a staffer whose name I shall not dignify with posting here, caused an uproar of anger among the Tiki-loving community, as well as many San Franers. Why? Well to begin with, the name of the article is

“Tonga Room Execution Stayed. Does Anyone Care?”

The Tonga Room's history goes way back to the pre-war era when it was the SS Tonga

Yes, the SFWeekly Blog staffer (not even sure if he’s on the payroll) who usually writes about sports or community events wrote a number of articles slanted heavily with his opinions about the Tonga Room and its impending doom. His slant was basically that it is nothing but an out-dated dump, a tacky catastrophe that should be plowed under and forgotten as soon as possible. A blemish on the nuevo-hipster world where clubs with numbers for names and cookie-cutter upscale condos rule. A ridiculous piece of grandpa’s past, an overpriced monument to crappy kitsch that interferes with progress.

His last article, the one that asks if anyone cares, is a sarcastic, juvenile attempt to slander not just the Tonga Room but Tiki culture as a whole. Phrases like “historic preservation label slapped on postwar kitsch” and “tiki bars are relics of a bygone era” were cutting enough to enrage an entire population of preservationists and Tikiphiles…enough to foster 111 comments in just a few days, 99% of which were from people opposing his opinions.

Now, let’s take a minute to be fair. The guy has a right to his opinion. The post was on a blog, not the front page of the SF Chronicle. He has the freedom to say what he wants, just like I do here. That said, let’s also be fair by saying that even though the article is published on the SF Chronicle’s blog, it’s STILL the SF Chronicle, a reputable newspaper that is committed to publishing real news along with editorial opinion - but traditionally, those opinions are based on well-researched facts, not the ramblings of some kid who just doesn’t care - or doesn’t get it. And that is the tragedy of this article; the writer doesn’t care because he doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about.

He assumes that because he doesn’t like original Tiki bars, that no one does. He assumes that because (possibly) his circle of influence is content to drink Vodka made in France (France???) and chain-store lattes, eat overpriced food at “trendy” restaurants and brag about it, and go into debt paying for cookie-cutter foreign cars just to show off, that the rest of us do.

Over the years the SS TONGA began taking on more and more Tiki decor

He should have done his homework. He should have done a few minutes of research on the net, and he would have realized that yes, there’s a big revival of Tiki Culture, and it shows no signs of slowing down. A few keyword searches would have shown him The Mai Kai in Fort Lauderdale, still thriving even in this recession, packed to the gills with people who come just for the experience along with people who are avid regulars. He would have found Trader Vic’s and Don the Beachcomber, and their world-wide success. He would have found Otto’s Shrunken Head in Manhattan, or Taboo Cove and Frankie’s Tiki Room in Vegas, newly-constructed Tiki Bars built in the traditional way. (Taboo Cove had a great run at the Venetian. It doesn’t get ‘hipper’ than that).

This individual, like so many people today, is using his platform to push his misinformed opinions and beliefs on the rest of the world. Well, 100+ comments on his blog show that the world is pushing back. If he wanted to make the point that the owners of the Fairmont Hotel are entitled to do with they want with the property, then he could have done so in a much more responsible manner. Instead, he blurted out his opinion as if the entire city of San Fran (and basically the rest of the world) agrees with him. That’s what we professional writers call ‘bad journalism’.

By the 1960s The Tonga Room was transformed into a full-fledge Tiki Bar complete with mid-pool bandstand, hurricane bar and a real tropical storm

Now, some of you may be saying to yourselves, “Hey Tiki Chris, ain’t you just blurtin’ out your opinions here? Ain’t that, like, the same gig?” Well, it’s a little different here, kids. First of all, this is a site for people who love Tiki, not a newspaper’s blog. Second, I’m not saying anything here that’s not based on fact. Millions of people enjoy Tiki bars around the world. Many of them would be sad to see our history pushed away to make room for condos. The owners of the Fairmont do have the right to plow it down, if they want. And the guy who wrote the article doesn’t seem to think anyone in the world likes Tiki Bars anymore, and that they should all be forgotten and turned into TGI Friday’s. Well, ok, I made up the TGI Friday’s, but it gets the point across.

Can the Tonga Room be saved? Of course. Should it? Absolutely. Should the owners of the Fairmont Hotel included the Tonga Room in their renovation plans, and market it as a world-class attraction? Damn straight. But they haven’t, and they won’t. Hopefully the investors who’ve taken an interest in moving the room will be successful. Hopefully this piece of history and architectural wonder will be spared the wrecking ball and preserved for generations to rediscover and enjoy. Perhaps the kid who wrote that goofy article will learn a lesson from the comments.

Comments welcome.

(This article assumes the reader has already read up on the impeding closing of the Tonga Room in San Fransisco. If not, just Google it (Tonga Room news) and you’ll see all there is to know about the topic)

-Tiki Chris P, a little steamed, reporting from the newsroom at Tiki Lounge Talk, the Tiki Blog for people who believe in preserving our past and enjoying it to the fullest.

A Final Note: Last year, the Sheraton corporation decided to renovate one of Fort Lauderdale’s most famous landmarks, The Yankee Clipper Hotel. This seaside hotel, built in the 1950s, looks like a cruise ship moored at the beach. But it’s not only famous for its unique outer look, but for its lobby bar - called The Wreck Bar, this kitschy-fun lounge looks like the inside of a sunken ship. But what makes it truly unique is the portals that look out into the hotel’s pool, where people sitting at the bar can watch swimmers go by. For years this has been the site of the world-famous Mermaid show, where beautiful women with Mermaid tails swim by doing water acrobatics. When the plans to renovate were announced, everyone assumed this mega corporation would remove the Wreck Bar and replace it with a modern, more trendy and dull lobby bar. Well to everyone’s surprise and to the Sheraton’s credit, they restored the bar to its original glory, not changing a thing except the rugs and the upholstery. The Wreck Bar fits into the hotel’s new decor perfectly, and Marina the Fire Eating Mermaid and her pod of beauties swim their show to a packed house every Friday Night, year round. A true success story about blending the old with the new. Maybe the owners of the Fairmont need to take a trip to South Florida, huh?