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Taboo Cove, Venetian, Las Vegas, NV (bar) |
christiki295
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 09, 2003
Posts: 3616
From: LA-2547 mls east Hawaii &5500 Easter Is
|  Posted: 2006-03-09 11:15 pm Permalink
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On 2006-03-09 22:51, hodadhank wrote:
A few days ago, I was plodding through the Venetian on my way out of Sands convention center I noticed a familiar silouette in the doorway of the China Star... It was a Bosko faux lava Moai, and at it's base a sign reading "Don the Beachcomber's, Polynesian Cocktails and Pupu's!"
I ran in to see several large Bosko totems and a pair of seven foot tall Bosko masks on each end of the bar. Above the wall sconces were framed exotica LP cover from Quiet Village, Taboo, and Ritual of the Savage and on shelves above the door perhaps ten seemingly valuable mugs. I am guessing these items were salvaged from Taboo Cove . . .
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Excellent urban archeology, Hodadhank!
Where will Don the Beachcomber be located?
A silver lining to the tragedy that befell Taboo Cove.
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reedalong
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Aug 27, 2004
Posts: 61
From: Chicago, IL
| Posted: 2006-03-10 09:06 am Permalink
This is so exciting! I hope the new DTB opens by this fall when we go to Vegas for my brother's bachelor party!
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- strictly on the kini popo -
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hodadhank
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Dec 28, 2005
Posts: 1682
From: Mission Beach, CA
| Posted: 2006-03-11 07:53 am Permalink
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On 2006-03-09 23:15, christiki295 wrote:
Excellent urban archeology, Hodadhank!
Where will Don the Beachcomber be located?
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Mahalo Christiki, but I just happened to look up at the right moment.
I asked the bartender if it wouldn't be better to put the Moai out in the corridor where people would see it better. He agreed grumbling that the Venetian wouldn't allow them even though it's halls are already littered with kiosks and signs advertising other attractions at the casino.
All he said about DTB's future location is that it would be located off the strip in a freestanding structure and that they would be moving out of the venetian at the end of the summer.
Oh, I incorrectly identified the lounge as The China Star. It is actually called The China Bar located next to the Royal Star chinese resturant.
I found some photos of its former asian themed incarnation. (From the first image you can imagine how a tall dark moai might escape detection inside the tall dark doorway of a tall dark lounge!)
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MrBaliHai
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 01, 2002
Posts: 775 | Posted: 2006-06-25 07:00 am Permalink
MrsBaliHai and I just spent 3 nights at the Venetian, and I made a point of stopping at the China Bar for one of their advertised "Don the Beachcomber" cocktails. The bartender was MIA, he'd gone hunting for a donut fix, so we sat there for a few minutes and contemplated the sad fate of Taboo Cove. When the barkeep came back (with Krispy Kreme smeared all over his lips), he informed us that the cook for the new off-strip Beachcombers had gone AWOL with the drink recipe book, but that he would try to make us something. My red danger flags went sailing up the pole hearing that, but I ordered a Mai Tai anyway.
Despite the fact that the bar was loaded with top-shelf rums, he proceeded to mix my Mai Tai with Cruzan Mango Rum and sweet/sour mix with a floater of Myers Dark on top, no limes were in evidence. The result was pretty sweet for my tastes. I struck up a conversation with him about sweet vs. sour mixology, and he told me that the China Bar owner was "modifying" the original Beachcomber recipes to make them more palatable to modern tastes (i.e. the fratboys and sorority chicks who were roaming the Venetian in swimtrunks and hooting at the top of their lungs), by, among other things, eliminating the Pernod that Don used in many of his recipes. Having had many a drink ruined by too much Pernod, I couldn't blame them too much, but getting rid of lime and lemon juice, just shows a basic misunderstanding of mixology to me.
He also told me that the owner was in litigation with the current owners of the Beachcombers in Hawaii over the copyright of the name. He claimed that the China Bar owner has actually purchased the trademark. Apparently, China Bar is up for sale, and the owner intends to break ground for the new Beachcomber as soon as the deal closes. I didn't know whether to be excited or not, because it sounds like it's probably going to be another Mickie Finnz-style surfer bar with a few random tikis tossed in. I hope I'm wrong.
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