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…
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.
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 4th 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…
Hula Hula
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!
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…
Old school, new school. We’ve all heard the terms, haven’t we? Can this pertain to Tiki as well? When I think of a Tiki bar, I think of the normal décor: thatch, bamboo, tiki statues, and a very dark environment which I like to call old school. But can there be a “new school” Tiki bar? These are the things I’m thinking about as I am enjoying my cocktail at Hidden Harbor in Pittsburgh, PA.
Nothing makes my day more than finding out that a new Tiki bar has opened. It’s even better if that Tiki bar is in your own city! Up until a few months ago, Seattle has had only one Tiki bar: Hula Hula. Now it has two. The new Tiki bar is called the No Bones Beach Club.
If you know your US history, you will know that Philadelphia is one of America’s oldest cities. It was built during Colonial times and needless to say cars, busses, and trains didn’t exist when it first started growing. People lived close to where they worked because, well, they had to. They were walking. Philadelphia back in the 1700’s was tight and compact. Most streets were wide enough for a horse and wagon to travel on and row homes lined every street. Actually, that pretty much describes Philadelphia now!
Fishtown is one of Philly’s newest and coolest neighborhoods. A couple years ago, people started moving to Fishtown because rent was cheap. Then cool places to eat and drink started popping up. The Yachtsman was one of those cool places.
The Steelers, the Penguins, the Pirates, Pirmanti’s, and Tiki? That’s right! Pittsburgh is known for its sports teams, food, and its steel industry. But most people wouldn’t know that it has one of the coolest Tiki bars there is.
I live in Seattle now, but I actually lived in Pittsburgh a few years ago. I was only there for a year, but while I was there I discovered the Tiki Lounge!
I live in Seattle. What I love about living in the Pacific Northwest is that two really cool cities are only a couple hours away. One of these is Vancouver, BC and the other is Portland, OR. I had a free weekend, so I went down to Portland to get together with my buddy Rob and hit Hale Pele!
Seattle is a growing city. It’s not just growing, but growing quickly. New buildings are appearing everywhere, from Downtown to West Seattle. I counted thirteen construction cranes in Downtown alone!
I grew up in Pennsylvania’s Coal Region. The coal industry started dying out there even before I was born in early ‘70s. For decades, buildings have been getting shut down, demolished, or boarded up. Most of the little towns around the Coal Region have become ghost towns. It’s a sad reality. I learned early on that you want your city or town to be growing, not dying.
Progress and growth are great things for a city, but as the saying goes, you can’t have an omelet without breaking some eggs. To construct Seattle’s new buildings, the old ones need to be removed. Dozens of really cool restaurants and bars are being shut down and destroyed in the name of progress.
I was down in Portland a few weeks ago. What I noticed and admired about Portland was it still had tons of cool places that have been around forever, some since the ‘50s! You don’t have to travel far before you run into some cool old place with a neon sign flashing above its door. Seattle used to be the same way, but not so much anymore.
Thankfully, there are still some “old school” Seattle bars left. The Lava Lounge in Belltown is one of them…
