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New Tiki (formerly - Tiki Lau), Westford, MA (restaurant) |
The Granite Tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 02, 2005
Posts: 785
From: Nashua, NH
|  Posted: 2007-03-26 8:59 pm Permalink
I had a studio session in that area tonight, so I stopped in for a Mai Tai on the way home. Drink was great, and everything looked much cleaner than in the past.
All the Tikis that were there before, seem to still be there, and I believe there were a couple more.
I think things are truly looking up for New Tiki.
Granted, we're still in New England and this is 2007, so things like televisions, Karaoke, and Jimmy Buffet are unavoidable. But I think it's very obvious that the new owner is making a great effort to be as Tiki as possible!
I took some pics.
These hanging wall Tikis may be new to the lounge, or I never noticed them in earlier visits.
I think this Tiki Bar sign is new as well (excuse the strange lighting of the sign, I didn't use a flash so as not to bug the people sitting at the bar)
The stage area is pretty cool, outlined with bamboo and with a large mural or painting on the wall. It also has a couple of palm trees that are somewhat hidden by the speakers.
These are the Tikis that most everyone who has visited has already documented here.
Here's the Lobby.
Nice door frames
Front A Frame Tiki with eyes glowing!
I should mention that I believe the new paint in the lounge is Tiki Central Green! 
[ This Message was edited by: The Granite Tiki 2007-03-26 21:13 ]
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PockyTiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 28, 2006
Posts: 556
From: central MA
| Posted: 2007-03-27 08:40 am Permalink
Oh wow. The inside looks so so SO Much better since the last time I went there to pick up an order of Chinese food. Looks awesome! Can't wait to stop by hopefully soon when i'm back at home.
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Suffering Bastard of Stumptown
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 09, 2005
Posts: 648
From: PDX
| Posted: 2007-03-27 09:13 am Permalink
I must admit that I am a bit concerned that when I went to their myspace page, the music playing was Jimmy Buffett.
But perhaps we can work on that.
..sbim
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johnman
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 18, 2005
Posts: 452
From: RI
| Posted: 2007-03-27 3:47 pm Permalink
Even with the Buffetized MySpace page I think this place has some promise. We'll know for sure on the 14th:)
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Tikisgrl
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 03, 2005
Posts: 861
From: Lowell, Mass
| Posted: 2007-03-27 4:18 pm Permalink
You know we can dominate the jukebox... I have a lot of quarters in my car!
Tikisgrl
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VampiressRN
Grand Member (5 years) 
Joined: Nov 23, 2006
Posts: 5086
From: Sin City Lincoln Hills (NorCal)
| Posted: 2007-03-27 7:19 pm Permalink
The place is lucky to have all of you....you might be able to help it get more tikified. Good Luck
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 "Oh waiter, another cocktail please!!!"
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johnman
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 18, 2005
Posts: 452
From: RI
| Posted: 2007-03-28 7:29 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2007-03-27 16:18, Tikisgrl wrote:
You know we can dominate the jukebox... I have a lot of quarters in my car!
Tikisgrl
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Sweet Tikisgrl - I'll bring my collection of SBA dollars too.
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Scottes
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 18, 2007
Posts: 490
From: A Little North Of Boston
| Posted: 2007-04-15 06:27 am Permalink
A dozen+ of us got together last night at the New Tiki.
http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/viewtopic.php?topic=23324&forum=4&57
I had stopped in to the New Tiki about a week after it changed hands and became the New Tiki. I wanted to check it out and try the food, and take a look around at the "tiki-ness" of the place. Only the lounge is really tiki (but as you can see from the pics above it's great). The food then was less than stellar - the crab rangoons were bland, the fried rice was boring and the Pupu Platter was OK - but missing the little stove so it got cold and I never finished it. There was one item on the Pupu that did not get eaten past the first bite. I can't remember what it was though - it was not very memorable.
Fast forward 5 weeks to the New Tiki....
As to the food now - there's been a hell of an improvement! The mini dumplings (Peking Ravioli) were great - they seem to be the same recipe as the larger, standard ones but they work so much better as mini, bite-sized ones. Nice job here - though I have to say that the sauce was boring and not that great. The Crunchy Shrimp were also delicious - nicely sweet with a clean batter. The fried rice - which was not very good on my first visit - has also seen a heck of an improvement and it's now more like the fried rice you're used to. I also tried a wonton filled with curry beef that was quite good, and a Crab Rangoon that was sweet and tasty. Very little crab - as is typical these days it seems - but the bit of sweetness was nice and made them worthwhile. I also noticed that the Pupu Platter has the little stove now, too. Nice.
The Water Dog soup was my personal favorite. I've never heard of this before, so I when I saw it on the menu I had to try it. It looked much like a Wonton soup - water chestnut, pork strips, scallions, Chinese celery and some other stuff in a moderately dark beefy broth - but it had bite-sized dumplings rather than the typical Wontons. And it was excellent. I am a big fan of Wonton soup and I'd have to say that this Water Dog soup has hit my top spot for favorite in the area. Highly recommended.
I found the drinks to be very good - typical New England variants but done well. I had 2 Mai Tais - "Jimmy's Mai Tai" - which is not a standard Trader Vic Mai Tai but more similar to the ones I've had all around Boston. They were both very good, and will be my staple drink at New Tiki. I also had a Head Hunter, served in one of the coconut mugs that Brian recently found buried out back. I enjoyed this drink too - somewhat light in alcohol and with a pleasant coconut milk base, it was very tasty. I also noticed a couple at the next table had ordered Scorpion Bowls, which came in new "Scorpion-Bowl-For-One" mugs that Brian recently acquired. I will have to try one of those next time, since I've always enjoy Scorpion Bowls. I did hear that the Fog Cutter was not so great though, but it might have been due to the fact that one of the bartenders was working her first night.
All in all I really like the New Tiki. The improvements in food make for one hell of a change for the good. And from talking to Brian the food will only become better. (He did have a copy of Beachbum Berry's Taboo Table as his new "bible" - along with the Grog Log and The Book Of Tiki!!) The lounge looks great with all the tiki, and they have live bands on Friday & Saturday night. The band last night - Big Time Trio - was a hell of a lot of fun, even though they wouldn't play Styx's Mr. Roboto. (Sorry Sully!) The new staff shirts are fantastic, by the way! Loved them!
So a big Thumb's Up to New Tiki. And remember, this is NOT the Tiki Lau. This is the New Tiki.
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Rum Review Blog - http://scottesrum.blogspot.com/
[ This Message was edited by: Scottes 2007-04-15 06:29 ]
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Hula Cat
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 14, 2006
Posts: 171
From: Bellows Falls Vermont
| Posted: 2007-04-15 10:37 am Permalink
I really liked the Navy Grog...all of em'!....their version of General Tao's Chicken was better than most as the veggies were el dente, chicken was good but I perfer a little less sauce and crisper chicken....I concur with Scottes on the Little potsticker dumplings...Yummy!...gotta try the soup next time....now if I can get them to make Tahitian Mermaid a la Kahiki,Tropical Bistro (Ohio) style !....I'll get the recipe!
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[ This Message was edited by: Hula Cat 2007-04-15 10:38 ]
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procinema29
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 31, 2003
Posts: 465
From: los angeles
| Posted: 2007-04-17 11:08 am Permalink
At first, I thought that "flashless" photo was supposed to convey what your vision is like after you've spent a little time there.
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The Granite Tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 02, 2005
Posts: 785
From: Nashua, NH
| Posted: 2007-04-17 11:34 am Permalink
After my 4 Mai-Tais there Saturday night, EVERYTHING looked like that!
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jacflash
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Apr 21, 2008
Posts: 11
From: Concord, MA
| Posted: 2008-06-02 06:36 am Permalink
My significant other and I hit this place last night and I was really disappointed. I think my Mai Tai had Sprite in it... the color was good but the flavor was corn syrup with a rum burn... no balance, no lime except the wedge on the rim (which was all the garnish we saw all evening), no detectable orange flavor, no nothing. Our other drinks were just as bad -- all sweet, no tiki. I thought the new owners had revamped the drinks, and I remember being more impressed on my last visit a few months back... did I just show up on a bad night?
[ This Message was edited by: jacflash 2008-06-02 06:37 ]
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lovlilynne
Member
Joined: Sep 15, 2008
Posts: 2 | Posted: 2008-09-15 09:47 am Permalink
Sad to say, but the New Tiki will close on 9/27/08. I guess they could not get out "death spiral" that someone else described. I am very sad. I've been going to the Tiki Lau since I was a teenager. I've continued to go with my family - we average about 2x a month. It certainly was a throw back. You had to know what to order and stick with the basics. They have the best hot and sour soup of any I have had anywhere (don't even order it in other Chinese restaurants) and the best egg foo yung. They also have some of the best appetizers, especially the egg rolls. I will miss it. There really isn't any other place like it around. My mom suggested the Hong & Kong in Chelmsford, but I think the food there has really gone down hill? I don't know because I haven't been there in a long, long, time.
I have been to the Makaha, and they make a decent egg roll, but we went for lunch one day and the food was awful - not fresh and cold.
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twitch
Grand Member (4 years) 
Joined: May 12, 2006
Posts: 415
From: Vacant lot where T. Vic's, Van. was
| Posted: 2008-09-15 7:21 pm Permalink
Ah, that sucks.
Get plenty of pictures, and get all TCer's in the area to gather for a night of celebrating its existence one last time!
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A Collection of Exotic Albums! & The Sandy Warner Files
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lovlilynne
Member
Joined: Sep 15, 2008
Posts: 2 | Posted: 2008-09-24 04:11 am Permalink
Hi - just an update, my DH went last night for one last Mai Tai (he gets a muddled Mai Tai, and says that they have the best), and he also said that they are auctioning off (silent auction) items in the restaurant. I'm sorry, I don't have specifics - I asked him if they were auctioning off the tiki masks, etc., and he didn't know. But he did say that his friend put a bid on the palm tree in the fish pond, so I'm thinking that they are including decor items. I'm sure you could call ahead if you are interested.
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