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Lucky Tiki, The, Mission Hills, CA (bar) |
The Sperm Whale
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 23, 2004
Posts: 1538
From: Lakewood California
|  Posted: 2005-04-10 10:43 pm Permalink
Yeah - What Riptide Said!!!! Good all the way around!!!
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tikiyaki
Grand Member (5 years) 
Joined: May 18, 2004
Posts: 2677
From: The Exotic Port of REDONDO BEACH, CA
| Posted: 2005-04-22 07:57 am Permalink
Quote:
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On 2005-01-13 17:03, IcedTiki wrote:
Bigger than Tiki-Ti but then again so's my linen closet. |
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LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!
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Tiki Bird
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 25, 2003
Posts: 850
From: Cerritos, Ca.
| Posted: 2005-04-25 1:56 pm Permalink
Utopiandreem & I made the trek to Lucky Tiki & enjoyed the decor & the bartender Diane (if i remember correctly) very much last night. Drinks were good as well. If your ever in the area, it a must see. Got alot of good ideas for decoration for our own home bar.
TBird.
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Kukoae
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Apr 26, 2005
Posts: 37
From: The Valley
| Posted: 2005-05-26 02:45 am Permalink
I just made a quick trip up to Mission Hills to try this bar out (Wednesday evening).
It's a veritable spacious palace compared to Tiki-Ti, and is packed full of very nice tikis and room treatments we should all give resounding applause to the owners for consulting what must have been "real Tikiphile" craftsmen.
The fireplace wasn't lit (but it looks real), but the entire lighting level and overall feel of the place was very nice. I tried the "meihana" drink, which was a bit sweet and under-rummed to my taste. The very friendly barmatron (Diane(?) - it was a bit loud [from the jukebox]) had another much more potent and stealthy drink she gave me a sample of that was called "Come-on-and-lay-me" or something like that.
It tasted unusual, something like a Tropical riff on a Long Island Ice Tea. I'd probably try it properly, but I can't quaff such tacnuke drinks and still expect to drive home.
I only had one drink as I didn't have long to stay, so I'll refrain from commenting on the quality of the drinks.
They sell their own tiki mugs for $10.
People were very friendly, and in fact, I had more bar denizens talk to me than did at the Tiki-Ti, where aside from Mike (Sr), I had non-trivial dialogue with only one person.
The barmatron was very gregarious and while a self-confessed "I don't like these tiki drinks", she did wax poetically about how "cool" the sorts of people the bar attracted. She was rather amazed when I told her there was a website of hardcore Tiki-lovers who collected information about places like this.
The jukebox was playing some awful Guns-and-something-or-other rock/heavy-metal stuff, so I promptly reconfigured the mood with some Les Baxter [_Strange Village_ and _Stone God_]. Wow, I was amazed they had _Moods of Exotica_ in the machine --- that stupid album is over $90 on elame, er, ebay.
I don't know what the naysayer(s?) are on about, but this is a very very noteworthy specimen of "newly fashioned" Tiki bar.
It doesn't have the dense built-up history, artifacts and feel of the -Ti, of course, but it's not even a year old. It would be like saying Stanford is a weak university because it's not 800 years old like Cambridge.
And it doesn't have the -Ti's smoke, a definite advantage for me.
At this point, comparing in the bartending department is a no contest. Mike's a master, even if his Mai Tais are served in highball glasses w/o fresh mint.
I intend to give _The Lucky Tiki_ a more proper sampling... it'd be nice to find some other TCers with whom to compare notes (in person), as I'm still calibrating my tastebuds to these drinks. For almost my entire life, I've never really experienced any "bars" and cocktail drinks - just wines, and straight-up/with a water back single malt scotches.
I'm "getting it" with respect to how these drinks are meant to taste, but in the wild, it's a pretty elusive thing.
I honestly can't imagine how you could expect any better in the decor/tiki department - I sense the Powah of the Tiki Force behind its design. It had alot of real bamboo, lots of little dark nooks, pufferfish, floaty balls, and tikis all over.
=Kukoae=
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twowheelin'tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 28, 2002
Posts: 712
From: santa monica
| Posted: 2005-05-30 9:54 pm Permalink
This place just went WAY UP on my scale. We went sunday night for drinks with that blond bartender, that gal can mix!, what a talent.
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kirby
Grand Member (7 years) 
Joined: May 04, 2005
Posts: 1599
From: SoCal
| Posted: 2005-05-30 10:11 pm Permalink
i could not have said it better myself riptide the lucky tiki is awsome the people are great and i love it. il see yah there...kirby
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Riptide
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 12, 2005
Posts: 379
From: Garden Grove, CA
| Posted: 2005-05-31 7:32 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2005-05-30 22:11, kirby wrote:
i could not have said it better myself riptide the lucky tiki is awsome the people are great and i love it. il see yah there...kirby
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Kirby -
Thanks for the "shout". I call 'em as I see 'em, and the Lucky Tiki is great. Let me know when you will be down that way again. I have no problem driving "far, far, away" for such a great place to chill and get great drinks.
As a side note, Kirby- your website and your artwork are great. I will have to find a place and then figure out which work to purchase. I look forward to meeting you someday.
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atomikitty
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 04, 2005
Posts: 317
From: San Fransisco, now LA!
| Posted: 2005-06-01 3:24 pm Permalink
Thanks so much Twowheelintiki! It was truly a pleasure to serve you and your lovley companion (is it Carmen?) It's meeting great new tiki-philes like you that make the strange hours and marachino stained fingers all worth it! I only wish you could have stayed later to hear DJ Lee, and hob knob with the great turn-out of tiki centralites last Sunday. Hopefully we will see you again soon-I look forward to trading drink recipies with you!
Mahalo,
Suzy
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Polynesiac
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 29, 2004
Posts: 2020
From: San Pedro, CA
| Posted: 2005-06-01 6:55 pm Permalink
Hey right on! (a little belated) welcome aboard atomikitty - I too can atest to your mixology skilz for all those great non-alco fruitpunches you served me the night of the tsunami relief party. I'm looking forward to making the trek back up when I don't have to drive...to try some of the other yummy concoctions!
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Polynesiac - putting the "F" back in "ART"
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kirby
Grand Member (7 years)
Joined: May 04, 2005
Posts: 1599
From: SoCal
| Posted: 2005-06-09 3:34 pm Permalink
i didnt know there was a lucky tiki in fiji???
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=571&item=6184346878&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
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UtopianDreem
Grand Member (8 years) 
Joined: Jun 02, 2003
Posts: 292
From: LA County, CA
| Posted: 2005-06-11 5:23 pm Permalink
Did you notice that tap handle appears to have one of the Dollar Tree tikis glued on top of a block of wood (the ones that were being sold last year)? And if you look at the label, the font for "Lager" doesn't match the font on the logo. I'd say say "Buyer Beware".
See the tiki at the far right in the picture posted by Juno last year and tell me I'm not right:
Dollar Tree Tiks!!!!!!
[ This Message was edited by: UtopianDreem on 2005-06-11 17:28 ]
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Digitiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 22, 2004
Posts: 749
From: L.A. baby!
| Posted: 2005-10-04 09:50 am Permalink
Humuhumu lists a Lucky Tiki mug in her collection on Oogamooga.com. Is this a new mug that they are offering or is it a one-off?
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Humuhumu
Grand Member (5 years)
Joined: Aug 22, 2002
Posts: 3536
From: San Francisco
| Posted: 2005-10-04 10:26 am Permalink
That's a Tiki Farm mug; it's a general production item you can find in stores, and there is also a "Las Vegas" version of the same mug. I'm not clear on the genesis of the design -- if this is a mug that Tiki Farm had in their plans, and it just worked well for the Lucky Tiki, or if this is a design that Lucky Tiki requested, and they & Tiki Farm agreed to not make it exclusive to Lucky Tiki. There's also a shot size version of the design.
I've got 2 Lucky Tiki mugs in my collection -- the one that's ackshully called "Lucky Tiki", and an earlier mug Tiki Farm did for them just as they were opening that is one of their production mugs (pale green rarotongan) with a black screenprint of the Lucky Tiki logo on the back. Word at the Lucky Tiki is that there is a third design on the way, based on the head of the Lucky Tiki logo. But I'd just count that one as rumor at this point.
Lucky Tiki Mugs in Ooga-Mooga
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Critiki - Ooga-Mooga - Humu Kon Tiki
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DrMiguelito
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Aug 05, 2005
Posts: 57
From: San Diego
| Posted: 2005-10-21 4:58 pm Permalink
Went there this past August (sorry for the delay in posting about it--I just uploaded the photos) and couldn't be happier. During my sordid '70s youth the Valley was full of tikis and Polynesiana of every description. Most of it is gone now, so I'm glad some folks have seen fit to revive it. It's a straight shot of just a mile or so from my parents' house, too--all I have to do when I'm up there is point my car in the right direction.
Anyway, here are some photos I took:
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Humuhumu
Grand Member (5 years)
Joined: Aug 22, 2002
Posts: 3536
From: San Francisco
| Posted: 2006-02-13 3:49 pm Permalink
The Lucky Tiki is moving in October! The Mission Hills location will be open for seven more months, with the last day being September 30. After that, they'll be closed for a few weeks until they reopen in a new, larger location in North Hollywood.
Lucky Tiki Moving in October
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Critiki - Ooga-Mooga - Humu Kon Tiki
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