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Advice on which TIki bars to hunt down in California Please help ! |
Pickle
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Aug 30, 2004
Posts: 17
From: London
|  Posted: 2004-08-30 08:15 am Permalink
Hey
I'm planning a trip in October starting from San Francisco, heading down to Los Angeles, out to Las Vegas and up though the desert back to SF... (probably stopping here and there on the way)
Anyway I'm from London and as we only have a couple of days here and there on our trip, I wondered if any of you guys could recommend your favourites in each? (I'm trying to save the time it would take me to trawl through the Locating Tiki forum)
We love our rock n roll too, so anywhere that combines the two would be a bonus 
Thanks in advance for any help
[ This Message was edited by: Pickle on 2004-08-30 08:21 ]
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Johnny Dollar
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 01, 2003
Posts: 2920
From: Baltimore, Maryland, PNG
| Posted: 2004-08-30 08:27 am Permalink
welcome on board pickle! is that pickle like a cucumber pickle or pickle like the sandwiches you get in a pub?
some excellent resources to check are
http://www.tydirium.net/ and http://64.81.235.211/cgi-bin/index.cgi, and the book 'tiki road trip' is highly recommended (amazon, etc.)
does that get you started?
_________________
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Pickle
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Aug 30, 2004
Posts: 17
From: London
| Posted: 2004-08-30 08:36 am Permalink
Thank you!
That's a great start!I can't wait!
(oh and it's kinda a mix of always being in a mess and a love of pickles)
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Tiki Rider
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 05, 2002
Posts: 497
From: South Orange County, CA
| Posted: 2004-08-30 10:04 am Permalink
pickle, Welcome
Try the Royal Hawaiian in Laguna Beach, Sam's in Huntington Beach, and Bali Hai in San Diego.
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christiki295
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 09, 2003
Posts: 3616
From: LA-2547 mls east Hawaii &5500 Easter Is
| Posted: 2004-08-30 2:03 pm Permalink
Sounds like an excellent tiki hunt.
Here are my choices, which is not an exhaustive list:
SF: Tonga Room & the Bamboo Room
East Bay (SF): Trader Vics & the Conga Room
LA: Tiki Ti, Purple Orchid, the Tonga Room and Trader Vics
OC: Sam's
SD: Mr. Bali Hai Tiki Hut & Islands at the Red Lion Hanalei
Vegas: Taboo Cove at the Venetian (get there early to avoid the cover) & Kanhunaville accross the street at the TI - Treasure Island
Check this board using the "Search" function as well as checking the category tiki events and tiki locations.
Also, allow me to make another plug for TikiBar's (Titlebaum -sp?) The Tiki Road Trip. Don't leave home without it!
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boingo
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Jul 01, 2003
Posts: 13
From: San Francisco
| Posted: 2004-08-30 2:13 pm Permalink
Quote:
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East Bay (SF): Trader Vics & the Conga Room
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That's" Conga Lounge" in Oakland. It's just a few short blocks from the Bart (underground) station -Rockridge exit- very convenient if you're heading to the East Bay from SF. They play alot of Elvis and oldies there too, if you like Rock n' Roll.
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PiPhiRho
Grand Member (first year) 
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 981
From: Redondo Beach
| Posted: 2004-08-30 7:04 pm Permalink
In LA the "Tonga Room" is actually the "Tonga Hut", a dive tiki bar in North Hollywood. The Tonga Room is in San Francisco in the Fairmont hotel. That is recommended in SF as well as the Trader Vic's in Emeryvile. If you go to the Trader Vic's in San Francisco/Emeryville then you might want to skip the Beverly Hills Trader Vic's and instead go to Bahooka in Rosemead. Of course, if you have time you can always do both. In LA, Tiki-Ti and Bahooka would be my top recommendations, as well as the Purple Orchid in El Segundo.
All of these places can be found in the Locating Tiki forum.
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Tiki Baron
Tiki Centralite
Joined: May 14, 2003
Posts: 62
From: Culver City CA
| Posted: 2004-08-30 8:33 pm Permalink
Pickle -
I'm sure you've been there, but I really enjoyed South Pacific London - I'd hate for you to miss one in your own backyard.
Also just FYI - Whittier is a bit of a travel in the Los Angeles area -- but Oceanic Arts is certainly a worthy stop in the Los Angeles area. It's not a bar, but certainly a place to consider if you're making the Tiki rounds in Los Angeles.
T.B.
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Pickle
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Aug 30, 2004
Posts: 17
From: London
| Posted: 2004-08-31 02:46 am Permalink
Quote:
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On 2004-08-30 20:33, Tiki Baron wrote:
Pickle -
I'm sure you've been there, but I really enjoyed South Pacific London - I'd hate for you to miss one in your own backyard.
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I've only been to South Pacific once, there were a few too many drunk idiots that night for my liking (and I was a bit disappointed)
Although the burlesque stripper was pretty cool!
Trader Vic's in the Hilton Hotel London is amazing if you ever get the chance to visit again (although the cocktails are ridiculously pricey....£12 each (about $16)
If anyone knows which bars are cheapest that would be good too (bit of a budget)
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Tiki Baron
Tiki Centralite
Joined: May 14, 2003
Posts: 62
From: Culver City CA
| Posted: 2004-08-31 8:36 pm Permalink
Quote:
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If anyone knows which bars are cheapest that would be good too (bit of a budget)
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Pickle - I would definetly recommend Bahooka (in Rosemead) with Budget in mind. IMO it's basically Trader Vic's on a budget. Most of the drinks range in the 6-7 dollar range as opposed to the 9-12 dollar range. A full menu for Tiki Drinks and Food.
If on the other hand you can only go to One Tiki Bar here in Los Angeles - I would definely steer you to Tiki Ti. Just my opinion.
Cheers.
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The Sperm Whale
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 23, 2004
Posts: 1538
From: Lakewood California
| Posted: 2004-08-31 9:16 pm Permalink
Hey Pickle-
One place that I can't recomend enough is BAHOOKA in Rosemead in Southern California. It is definatly worth checking out. Good Luck on your adventure. Here is the Address and Phone number for BAHOOKA:
4501 N. Rosemead Blvd.
Rosemead, CA. 91770
Phone# (626) 285-1241
Maholo,
Spermy
[ This Message was edited by: The Sperm Whale on 2004-08-31 21:19 ]
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spy-tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 11, 2003
Posts: 702
From: glendale, ca
| Posted: 2004-08-31 10:35 pm Permalink
Don't forget Damon's in Glendale.
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christiki295
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 09, 2003
Posts: 3616
From: LA-2547 mls east Hawaii &5500 Easter Is
| Posted: 2004-09-03 7:06 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2004-08-30 14:03, christiki295 wrote:
Sounds like an excellent tiki hunt.
. . .
LA: Tiki Ti, Purple Orchid, the Tonga Hut and Trader Vics . . .
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Upon reflection, the Lava Lounge on La Brea, north of Sunset, should be added instead of the Tonga Hut, unless you are in the mood for a more tiki dive bar.
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Steve_Legend
Member
Joined: Sep 07, 2004
Posts: 9
From: London
| Posted: 2004-09-07 08:54 am Permalink
Hey, thanks to everyone with usefull information, Pickle and me will have a Tiki Fun time in (hopefully sunny) California!!
All hail the Tiki gods!!  )
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TraderMoe
Member
Joined: Sep 06, 2004
Posts: 2
From: SF Bay Area, CA
| Posted: 2004-09-07 1:29 pm Permalink
In SF you should also check out Trad'r Sam's in the outer Richmond District (6150 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA). But definitely go earlier in the day. Last time I checked it gets overrun by "hipster" types at night and becomes less than fun - well, for me at least. But if you go around 5PM or so, it's just a neighborhood dive bar.
The story goes that Sam was a Merchant Marine in WWII and he traveled around collecting all these drink recipies, came home and opened this bar. Who knows if it's true, but it's a nice story at least. It has a really cool horseshoe shaped bar, and bamboo furniture and booths. There is even bamboo phone booth. Also, the drinks are legendary. If you're low on funds, you could just get a Scorpion Bowl and drink it between you and 3 friends and that's all you need. I haven't been back there in a while, but it's where I met my husband, so it's still my favorite.
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