 |
Royal Hawaiian, Laguna Beach, CA (restaurant) |
Koolau
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 23, 2006
Posts: 323
From: Oahu, Hawaii
|  Posted: 2008-02-24 9:41 pm Permalink
How can tikis as large and distinctive as those Bumatay carvings just disappear? Where do they go? Are there secretive tiki hoarders?
|
ron-tiki
Grand Member (first year) 
Joined: Feb 24, 2007
Posts: 337
From: los angeles
| Posted: 2008-02-26 2:23 pm Permalink
yes.there are many tiki hoarders out there.the best part about that is when they sell their stuff most people have never seen it before.
|
bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 10562
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2008-02-26 6:46 pm Permalink
Time for the Tiki-Squad to raid the Long Beach neighborhood's backyards and dens, and check for unregistered Tikis without a license!
Can someone here design a Tiki-Squad BADGE, please? 
[ This Message was edited by: bigbrotiki 2008-02-26 18:48 ]
|
kranktiki
Member
Joined: Mar 08, 2008
Posts: 1 | Posted: 2008-03-09 09:44 am Permalink
If anyone is planning to go to the Royal Hawaiian right now for anything other than their food, prepared to be let down. The renovation is mostly complete. I don't know what else they are going to do, but it now has great lighting fixtures, and bare beige walls. While I was there the owner was covering up as much of the bare walls as he could by stapling photos of patron printed on plain white 8.5x11" paper. He did say the fish are coming back, but if that's all, I won't be.
The Mai Tai was so-so. The Navy Grog was weak. The ribs were good but nothing special.
|
Joe Banks
Grand Member (4 years) 
Joined: Aug 02, 2007
Posts: 518
From: Hollywoodland
| Posted: 2008-03-10 07:36 am Permalink
I was there a week ago and the place was very shiney and sparse. Not at all like a tiki bar. A few Oceanic lamps here and there...but that's it. The hip-hop music was loud and there was very little feeling of the old Royal Hawaiian.
However, though nothing was served in bowls or mugs, the bartender did tell me that they had purchased all of the drink recipes from the previous owner. I ordered the Lapu Lapu, and it was great. So...unless they really bring in a lot more decor...the bottom line is-
No, there is no tiki lounge in Laguna.
Yes, there is a place to get a tiki cocktail in Laguna.
(On the plus side, a lot of people in the bar seemed to be drinking a Lapu Lapu...though the bartender told me that most people are just ordering it because it has a lot of booze)
|
Jungle Trader
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 04, 2003
Posts: 3691
From: Trader's Jungle Outpost, Turlock, Ca.
| Posted: 2008-03-10 08:50 am Permalink
Quote:
|
(On the plus side, a lot of people in the bar seemed to be drinking a Lapu Lapu...though the bartender told me that most people are just ordering it because it has a lot of booze)
|
|
There you have it, the real reason we all love tiki.
|
bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 10562
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2008-03-11 7:07 pm Permalink
Hi, my name is ......... I am an alcoholic. I even pretend to be into something as silly as TIKI and engage in all kinds of elaborate shenanigans to hide my TRUE motive... 
|
bigtikidude
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 10, 2004
Posts: 8259
From: Anaheim,Ca.
| Posted: 2008-03-11 7:36 pm Permalink
Tiki = sophisticated alcoholism
Jeff(bigtikidude)
|
Tiki Trav
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 25, 2006
Posts: 631
From: NSW Central Coast, Australia
| Posted: 2008-03-11 7:37 pm Permalink
This is another terribly sad thread, I just read it from start to here and can do nothing but sigh in the knowledge that I have missed out on ever seeing one more old school tiki bar... i gotta get to the rest while they still stand...
I think someone should begin taking moulds of ALL of the vintage carvings of value (historic or otherwise) in and around restaurants etc to preserve them and offer replicas to stop them disappearing forever, this may deter theft too....
|
Jungle Trader
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 04, 2003
Posts: 3691
From: Trader's Jungle Outpost, Turlock, Ca.
| Posted: 2008-03-11 9:31 pm Permalink
Shootz Trav, not to worry. There are many artists now who are creating history. Collect their stuff and before you can blink your eye this day will be 30 years gone.
|
bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 10562
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2008-03-11 9:52 pm Permalink
This thread is so sad it could drive a man to drinkin'...
|
Koolau
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 23, 2006
Posts: 323
From: Oahu, Hawaii
| Posted: 2008-03-11 10:45 pm Permalink
Jungle Trader - who's creating Bumatay-style tikis today? I really like that streamlined stylized look, but most modern stuff seems traditional or aggressive/grotesque.
|
Jungle Trader
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 04, 2003
Posts: 3691
From: Trader's Jungle Outpost, Turlock, Ca.
| Posted: 2008-03-12 07:17 am Permalink
Koolau, I found this on TC. http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/viewtopic.php?topic=10286&forum=1
But I don't know if anyone is carving that style.
I can give it a try.
_________________
LET'S RIDE! - Hopper
[ This Message was edited by: Jungle Trader 2008-03-12 07:18 ]
|
Camano Mermaid
Member
Joined: Oct 30, 2007
Posts: 10 | Posted: 2008-04-04 12:57 pm Permalink
The recipe by rockdad came from me. I sent it to the OC Register Ask Your Neighbor and they printed it in Feb. 2007. I was begging the owners for years for the recipe but they won't share so I created this one. I think It's close enough and much better on manoa lettuce than iceberg.
|
Son-of-Kelbo
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 03, 2004
Posts: 590
From: NOHO, CA
| Posted: 2008-07-30 11:49 am Permalink
Libby and I made it to the Laguna Pagent of the Masters this weekend, and encountered the Royal Hawaiian --
-- undergoing additional renovations -- evidently an expansion is underway to widen the entrance and bring the restrooms down to the ground floor to accomodate handicapped guests.
(Hope those door-pulls don't 'disappear'...)
(The interior pull was over twice as tall and magnificent, but I couldn't get a pic as construction crewmen were busy around it.)
The interior was disappointing, certainly most will agree, especially considering the glimpse of what it had been in JB's post here. Glad they saved the Diorama area --
-- but it looked at best half-done, so one hopes that perhaps it will get some further refinement with miniature huts and landscaping...
A few nice props on the otherwise plain, pale mustard-colored drywall. Carved paddles, war-clubs, etc., but only this canoe shot came out --
Libby and I had Lapu-Lapus by the "Garden" window, but it's a bit of a shambles with plastic-potted landscaping and fountain plumbing, evidently yet in-progress. An optimistic sign, though, that maybe the area might be redressed in some style in the future.
We just dropped in for drinks and appetizers, and I'm glad to say it didn't smell like rank mold, which would've put our friends (and us) off the very tasty ribs and shrimp and the slightly-seared scallops, which were delicious, as were the signature Lapu-Lapus.
The bar looked uncreatively arranged, and could use a decorative re-shuffle: some nice mugs and carved poles, but it needs something much more impressive at its apex (that Canoe, maybe?), and those puffers belong in the air.
Flanking wall decor (where the War-Clubs might look best), would definitely help relieve its 'stand-alone', isolated feel against an all-too-plain drywall backdrop.
IMHO, it wouldn't take much to "hotrod" the decor back to groovyness -- maybe some wide, bamboo-framed thatch panels, a few more judiciously-chosen Polynesian artifacts, some big moso-poles in the corners, some clusters of netted floats, and something impressive over the main dining area (like the old TV'sBH outrigger up there), with creative lighting, perhaps with some nice leaf or wave 'gobos' splashed here and there. The great thing about drywall is that it makes a nice blank canvas, provided you put something over it, of course...
I'd like to see a talented miniaturist (someone, say of Mike McMillan's calibre) bring that Diorama space to life, perhaps with a slow lighting change on a day/night loop. Oooo. The Garden Space is calling out for the old Donn Beach "rainfall" effect, also on an intermittant timer.
(Might this be an OA lamp...?)
Ramping-up the Poly-Pop-pizazz would be relatively easy and inexpensive at this point, now that the rot has been routed, but it does require the eye and the will. No idea if the Owner has that sort of follow-through enthusiasm and affection for the joint's history, or if it'll just stall at the "good enough" (um, not really at all) level.
May post some updates when we return for the Pagent of the Masters next year (which, BTW, if you haven't seen it, is an astonishing, and, er, stimulating, accomplishment, and I highly recommend everyone see it at least once...)
Cheers nui nui,
SOK
_________________
"Don't let it be forgot,
That once there was a Spot,
Where Blowfish all wore sunglasses,
and Tiki-times were hot..."
SOK
[ This Message was edited by: Son-of-Kelbo 2008-07-31 10:48 ]
|
|
