Looking for a Lost Paradise in Three Parts – Part 1 New York’s Lower East Side and East Village Bars by Stephen Curran

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For those of us of a certain age and a penchant for visiting New York, Manhattan’s Lower East Side conjures up a certain dirty, gritty, “real” New York.  This wistful view of the good/bad-old-days is summed up in Anthony Bourdain’s season 12 episode 7 of his show “Parts Unknown” where he looks back on his druggie days in the Lower East Side — a look-back made more poignant because this was Bourdain’s last TV episode, airing after his 2018 suicide.

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Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #129 The Hula Hideaway – Chesterfield MI

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The Hula Hideaway

Get Your Tiki On!

In 2022 Erika decided to start an Instagram page where she would post a new tiki drink every week for a year. Well, that changed Erika’s life! Pretty soon she was posting about everything tiki in her life. Fast forward to now and Erika’s Get Your Tiki On Instagram page has over two thousand followers. She knows a lot of Tikiphiles across the country and they know her!

Erika and Jeff originally decided to call their home tiki bar, Tiki Underground, but that name was taken, so they went with The Hula Hideaway since Erika used to be a dancer. You might have seen Erika’s videos on Instagram of her bar, but seeing The Hula Hideaway in person is truly incredible!

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Tiki Vlogging #1 Tiki Hunting (Cacalito and Monserrat)

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Tiki Hunting

Do you know what’s better than reading about people’s tiki adventures? Watching those adventures on TV! Tiki Hunting is Cacalito and Monserrat’s YouTube show where they travel across the country visiting tiki bars. From their videos, you get an overview of what the bar looks like outside and inside, a wide sampling of the cocktails and a little history of the venue thrown in for good measure! I’m always blown away by the production quality and editing each video has and Cacalito and Monserrat’s chemistry is fun to watch. Keep an eye out for Tik Hunting because they might be coming to your city soon!

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Home Sweet Tiki Home #8 Chiqui-Flamingo Casa – Tucson AZ

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Chiqui-Flamingo Casa

Why did you move to Tucson? 350 days of sunshine!

I’ve known Kym back when she lived in Seattle. This was a couple years ago. And then Kym moved away, she moved to Tucson. I have to be honest, I really didn’t know that much about Tucson. I knew two things, It’s in the desert, and Kon Tiki is there. I finally made a trip down to Tucson and met up with Kym and she showed me her home. It’s perfect combination of Tiki, Atomic Age and Mid-Century Modern!

Kym was correct, there’s over 300 days of sunshine in Tucson and she has a tiki lanai in her back porch to enjoy all that sun, but during the summer, it gets hot, really hot, to the point where you just stay indoors. Kym’s got that covered, she has not one, but two bars in her home. And did I mention that her living room is tiki themed? Kym has a name for her home, it’s called Chiqui-Flamingo Casa and her is her story…

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Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #128 Pakele Lounge – Tucson AZ

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Pakele Lounge

Pakele Lounge means the Escape Lounge…

Tucson is a beautiful city but during the summer months it gets hot, really hot! What most people do is stay indoors to escape the heat. When Paula and Paul Gregg decided to build a tiki bar, they decided to build one inside. They took their fourth bedroom and converted it into the Pakele Lounge. Tiki Bars are all about escapism, sometimes its escaping the heat or life’s stresses but sometimes a home tiki bar is a place to go and relax and have a good time. Here is Paula and Paul’s story…

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Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #127 The Kona Cove – Baltimore MD

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The Kona Cove

Join the Marines and you’ll see the world!

Ryley did just that! He grew up in the Seattle area, joined the Marines and got stationed in San Diego where he met his wife Ellie. While living in San Diego they spent many hours at some great tiki bars like False Idol and Mothership. But when you’re in the military you go where your needed and that meant Ryley and Ellie had to move across the country to Maryland and now call Baltimore home.

There isn’t much of a tiki scene in Baltimore, does Baltimore have a tiki bar? I’m not sure. Actually, there is one, it’s The Kona Cove which is in Ryley and Ellie’s place. The Kona Cove is filled with Witco and it is a bar I’d hope to visit someday. Ryley and Ellie also have a tiki podcast! It’s called The Tiki Talk Show and they are going to have me come on as a guest. Stay tuned and in the meantime, here’s the story of The Kona Cove…

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Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #126 Kahui Cinema – Warren MI

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Kahui Cinema

There’s a lot of different things you can do in a home tiki bar. One of those things is enjoying tropical cocktails or maybe you can relax listening to some Exotica. But in Kahui Cinema, you can watch movies! When Craig Esper decided to transform his basement into a tiki bar, he also turned it into a theater. Craig has a large collection of what he likes to call “odd-ball films” and he has his own personal theater to watch them in.  What a great combination, b-movies and tiki!

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Toratiki – Guest Tiki Bar Review by Tom Hemmen (Victoria BC)

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Toratiki

Toratiki, Victoria BC’s only Tiki bar, makes for a fun outing. A long, skinny bar, it is decorated to the nines and has a super-friendly, helpful staff. When we visited on a Saturday night, it was busy but our small group had no trouble getting promptly seated in a booth right across from the bar.

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Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #125 Shore Leave Tiki Lounge – Bay City MI

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Shore Leave Tiki Lounge

“I’m much more comfortable with a welder versus a router”

Scott Sheehan’s first love is hot rods. He’s been into traditional hot rods since 2004 and building them since 2007 but after visiting Don the Beachcomber he and his wife Chelsea discovered a new love, Tiki Bars! Scott and Chelsea started going to all the tiki events they could and after visiting over 20 tiki bars, they decided to build their own.

The name of Scott’s home tiki bar is Shore Leave Tiki Lounge and he has created the perfect getaway. In the service, a solider gets 24 hours shore leave, Scott and Chelsea gets all the time the wish…

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