The Tiki

Here's a little video I made of the creation of the Tiki.

Yellow Bird and Dark and Stormy

The next stop....The Puka Bar in Long Beach, CA.



Just off the 710 freeway on W. Willow Street, The Puka Bar awaits you. Tikis are a plenty and the bar itself is carved by Crazy Al. First drink of the evening.....the Dark and Stormy.



Not the most complex tiki drink in the world...rum, ginger ale and lime juice. Not bad...just sort of pedestrian.



However, the next piece of artistry that I tried was, (I'm told), a Puka Bar original....the Yellow Bird.



This was delicious...a pyrate's chest of liquids, including banana liqueur and Galliano. I've was informed that this was a local favourite...I can see why!

Voodoo Juice

Friday's tiki quest takes us to The Tonga Hut on Victory Blvd. in North Hollywood.



My drink of choice there is the Voodoo Juice. Which is a fiendish concoction of various bits of liquid exotica...(which nicely fills my tiki mug that I can proudly say "lives" at The Tonga Hut). They also have an nice jukebox with quite an eclectic bit of music, which includes Martin Denny, Esquivel, and Herb Alpert. The people there are a nice group, ranging from long (and I mean LONG) time regulars to a newer, tikier group of regulars. Tracy, Trevor and Megan are the bartenders and can mix up a tiki drink chickity-boom!



My second bit of rum paradise with the Mai Tai.



This one I didn't have served in my mug because I wanted to enjoy it's beautiful color.

The Tonga Hut is a very enjoyable, must visit oasis, which, (as Jeremy the owner likes to point out), is the oldest faux-Polynesian bar in Los Angeles...(established a few years earlier than Tiki Ti).

Navy Grog

Yesterday, work began on the tiki that is being carved on top of a dead palm tree in my parent's yard. A local artist, Britany, from the Laguna Art school started her carving from the drawings and miniature sculpture she created.



After observing (and filming) the artist at work for a while, it was time to start making the trip back to Studio City from Laguna Beach...but not without a quick stop in Sunset Beach to visit the beautiful Sam's Seafood. I enjoyed their Navy Grog.

Pele's Punch

After a monthly trip down the Whittier Narrows on a rainy Saturday morning to the legendary Oceanic Arts...and after purchasing a large number of supplies at said legendary Oceanic Arts...it was time for lunch. And where is lunchtime after a visit to Oceanic Arts? Why, Bahooka, of course! The lunchtime beverage of choice this day....Pele's Punch. Delicious, refreshing, and topped with a blue cocktail parasol.

Tiki Ti - The New Blog starts here. (100th Post)

So, it's the New Year and resolutions abound...most as quickly broken as they were hastily thought up. Well, this year I've decided to impose a realistic resolution on myself. One that I will be able to see through to the end. I resolve that I will drink every faux-polynesian drink on the 85 drink menu at Tiki Ti. I will keep you as updated as I can on the blog...names and pix, of course. My drink of choice has always been the Ray's Mistake...(that will occasionally get thrown back into the mix as it is a very special drink). So...here we go...as of last night...



Mike Jr. making my Bayanihan -


Here's the first drink I ever had at Tiki Ti -



And here's the ol' favourite -



As I go through time (and the menu), I will try to give you my impressions of each carefully crafted cocktail...but, for now...3 down...82 to go....

For those of you not yet lucky enough to know what I'm talking about -

TIKI-TI HISTORY

- A short history of the Tiki-Ti by Jeff “Beachbum” Berry

In 1937, Don The Beachcomber's tropical drinks were the toast of the town. And Ray Buhen was mixing them. For the next 24 years, Ray would ply his trade in many of L.A.'s other legendary tiki bars. There was the Seven Seas in Hollywood, which featured the sound of "rain on the roof" courtesy a long-playing sound-effects LP; the Luau in Beverly Hills, where movie Tarzan Johnny Weismuller was known to dive into the waterfall lagoon; and the Palms in Anaheim, which featured a mini-zoo of exotic animals -- inside the dining area.

Customers in all these places couldn't get enough of Ray's mixing skills ... but Ray couldn't get the credit he deserved from his employers. So in 1961, instead of having others exploit his knowledge, Ray decided to exploit it for himself and open a bartending school.

Fortunately for Los Angeles, Ray's father-in-law convinced him to open a bar instead. With the help of his wife Jerri, Ray turned his father-in-law's tiny violin shop into a tropical paradise of tapa cloth, rattan, fishing floats and puffer-fish lamps. And on April 28, 1961, the Tiki-Ti was born. One by one, the famous places Ray worked disappeared over the years; but the Tiki-Ti not only prospered, it grew famous in its own right. Now Ray has passed on, but his son Mike and grandson Mike continue to practice Ray's art, serving his top-secret potions to an ever-increasing customer base ... who come not just to drink great tropical cocktails, but to drink in history itself. And history is everywhere in sight: On the walls and ceiling, which are partially covered with placards signed and dated by long-time regulars; behind the bar, where shelves groan under the weight of tropical souvenirs from around the world, donated by customers over the last four decades; and especially on the menu, which features all the classic tiki drinks, some originated back in the 1930s.

Chief among these drinks is the Zombie, Don The Beachcomber's most famous creation (invented in 1934). Ray's secret recipe is about as close as you'll ever get to tasting the original. Other Beachcomber drinks include the Vicious Virgin, the Missionary's Downfall, the Montego Bay, the Doctor Funk, and the Shark's Tooth. Ray invented drinks too, most famously the Blood And Sand, which he created for Tyrone Power after Power starred in the movie of that name. Mike and Mike have also added their own addictive recipes, raising the drink-menu total to over 80 different choices.

Most of these drinks are rum-based, simply because back when the tropical drink craze started after prohibition, rum was the cheapest liquor available. It also mixed well -- a little lime, a dash of pineapple, and a pinch of sugar, in combination with a few or many more flavorings, and originators like Ray could invent a slew of new potions to rival the old-school cocktail favorites of the 1930s, which were made largely with whiskey and gin.

The Tiki-Ti menu does feature some non-rum classics as well, such as the gin-based Singapore Sling (from the early 1900s), or the vodka-based Chi-Chi (1940s). Other drinks feature not one but several different base liquors, notably the ever-popular Blue Hawaii, and the strongest drink on the menu, the Stealth.

Whatever your preference, the Tiki-Ti is sure to please. So welcome ... and Okole Mahuna!

New Posting!

I don't want to have to give my blog keys to my friend (who is threatening to take them away)...so here's a picture of Romeo for you to enjoy while I think up something interesting to write.