Tiki Bars Archives - Page 7 of 9

Tiki Bar Review #15 Tiki Ti Los Angeles. CA

Posted by Ray on September 19, 2016 in Tiki Bars 2 Comments

I have a guilty pleasure: Kodachrome pictures!

Time machines haven’t been built yet, so the closest you can get to going back in time is looking at old pictures. Sadly, most pictures were taken in boring black and white back in the ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s. Usually the film was cheap and those pictures have faded away anyway. Kodachrome pictures are different. They look vibrant, colorful, and alive. These pictures really are the closest you can get to seeing what the past was like. Or maybe there is another way to experience the past:

By tasting it!

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Tiki Bar Review #14 Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar Anaheim, CA

Posted by Ray on September 12, 2016 in Tiki Bars 1 Comment

One of my favorite things to ask people is, “What got you into Tiki?” For some people, their first step was going to a Tiki bar for the first time. Another thing people tell me is a trip to Hawaii or someplace tropical got them interested in living the Tiki lifestyle. There is one last reason that is quite common, especially out on the West Coast, and that is Disneyland!

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Tiki Bar Review #13 The Golden Tiki Las Vegas, NV

Posted by Ray on September 5, 2016 in Tiki Bars 2 Comments

It’s all about escapism. It really is.

We all work hard and we all get into our own routines. One day turns into the next and before you know it you’re a decade older. Sometimes being able to escape from your day-to-day life and pretend you’re somewhere else is not only fun, but I think needed! Besides Disney, no place does escapism better than Las Vegas, NV.

Just walk down the Las Vegas Strip and choose your own adventure. Want to stay in a medieval castle? Want to be whisked away to Paris? How about New York City? Or even spend a weekend in a pyramid? You can do all these things and after a couple drinks, you’ll forget that you’re in the middle of the desert!

Yes, the people who design the hotels in Las Vegas have escapism down to a science. If you run a Tiki bar there, you have to up your game! Branden Powers, the owner of the Golden Tiki, rose up to the Las Vegas escapism challenge and came back with a full house! The Golden Tiki is awesome!

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Tiki Bar Review #12 Frankie’s Tiki Room Las Vegas, NV

Posted by Ray on August 29, 2016 in Tiki Bars

The punk rock/Tiki connection is alive and well with Frankie’s Tiki Room in Las Vegas, NV. If you’re a touring punk rock band, you’re well aware of the Double Down Saloon, which is “the” place to play in Vegas. Punk shows at the Double Down are legendary and the man behind such a cool place is P. Moss. P. Moss got together with Chris Andrasfay and bought Frankie’s, an old Vegas bar that only locals knew about, and made it what it is today: an incredible Tiki bar!

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May The Fourth Be Tiki at Rumba Seattle 5/4/16

Posted by Ray on May 16, 2016 in Tiki Bars 2 Comments

If you didn’t already know, the sci-fi fans of the world have proclaimed May 4^th to be May the Fourth Be With You Day, celebrating the coolest movie ever: Star Wars!

I grew up with Star Wars and it is indeed my favorite movie of all time. I still have all my action figures from back when I was a kid! With the release of The Force Awakens, Star Wars might be bigger than ever!

May 4^th landed on a Wednesday this year and every Wednesday is Tiki Night at Rumba. Rumba had a great idea: combine Star Wars and Tiki! A special menu was created that had Star Wars and Tiki themed drinks. Here were some of drinks…

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Tiki Bar Review #11 Hula Hula Seattle WA

Posted by Ray on May 5, 2016 in Tiki Bars 2 Comments

When I was a kid, I used to read and collect comic books. Spider-Man, Superman, Iron Man, Batman: I read them all! What I loved most was reading the origin stories of my favorite superheroes. I found it fascinating to learn how Spider-Man became Spider-Man, where Superman came from, or where Iron Man got his suit of metal.

When I meet a fellow Tikiphile, I always like to ask, “What got you into Tiki?” Every journey starts with one step forward. If you’re into the Tiki lifestyle, that journey had to start somewhere for you. My very first step into embracing Tiki culture was when I first stepped into Hula Hula…

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Happy 55th Anniversary Tiki Ti!

Posted by Ray on April 29, 2016 in Tiki Bars 3 Comments

I’ve been to my fair share of Tiki bars all over the US and Canada and I have to say that hands down, the best Tiki drinks I’ve ever had were at Tiki Ti in Los Angeles, CA!

Tiki Ti will always have a special place in my heart.

This is the Firefly from Tiki Ti…

It’s one of my favorite Tiki drinks ever.

This FIrefly is for you Tiki Ti.

Happy 55th birthday!

VCOS Spring Fling at Hula Hula Seattle, WA 4/23/16

Posted by Ray on April 28, 2016 in Tiki Bars, Tiki Lifestyle

VCOS stands for Vespa Club of Seattle. We’re over 100 members strong! The club is open to all and we like to set up events for our members. Every year, we set up a scooter rally that happens over the 4^th of July weekend called Scooter Insanity. Tons of people come out to ride. Oh yeah, I guess I should mention that I am the vice president of VCOS. My fellow officers and I thought it would be a cool idea to set up a little party for the club. Serve some food, maybe some free drinks, etc. We just need a location for our little shindig…

Kristin (our president) came up with the idea to have our party at Hula Hula. She knew that I’d approve! The other officers were cool with Hula Hula as well. This was going to be a blast!

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Tiki Bar Review #10 Rumba, Seattle, WA

Posted by Ray on April 25, 2016 in Tiki Bars 5 Comments

The other night, I watched a really great documentary about Tiki culture called Plastic Paradise: A Swingin’ Trip Through America’s Polynesian Obsession. It’s a must see for anyone into the Tiki lifestyle. There was one point that they brought up which I thought was fascinating. Don the Beachcomber borrowed many of his cocktail ideas from the Caribbean! When you dig into the roots of Tiki culture as we know it, many of the ideas were actually constructed and imagined. Let’s be honest: do you really think ancient Polynesian societies were sitting around drinking cocktails with umbrellas in them?

I’ve known about Rumba for some time and I’ll be honest, I never really had any interest in checking it out. I knew they serve great drinks, but Rumba isn’t really a Tiki bar…

Well, a couple weeks ago I was going to a concert at the Paramount in Downtown Seattle. Rumba is literally two blocks away from the Paramount. My friends and I had some time to kill before the show started, so I suggested we check out the place…

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Tikifest Tacoma, WA 4/16/16

Posted by Ray on April 21, 2016 in Tiki Bars, Tiki Music 1 Comment

It all started with a Facebook event invite…

When I got the invite for Tikifest, I just had to laugh. I messaged back, “Well, it looks I’m going to Tacoma!” Tikifest was set up by Jeffery from the Ukadelics. The idea was simple: have some Tiki bands play at Bob’s Java Jive and have a prefunk at Tacoma Cabana beforehand. Easy enough.

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