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Shanghai Lil's, Chicago, IL (restaurant) |
Dustycajun
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 16, 2007
Posts: 3916
From: Santa Barbara, CA
|  Posted: 2009-07-05 6:20 pm Permalink
Name:Shanghai Lil's
Type:restaurant
Street:5415 N. Milwaukee Ave
City:Chicago
State:IL
Zip:
country:USA
Phone:
Status:defunct
Description:
Another one of the many Polynesian Pop restaurants located in the Chicago area during the Tiki heyday.
I have this postcard showing the drink selections.
Just picked up this nice menu - it is really big.
The cover.
Tropical drink selections from the menu.
Some more drink choices from around the world.
Additional artwork from the menu.
I love the rendering of the woman - must be Shanghai Lil herself.
DC
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Tipsy McStagger
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 21, 2004
Posts: 3388
From: HELL
| Posted: 2009-07-05 8:07 pm Permalink
anyone care to post a pic of the ashtray..i'm too lazy to do it myself but i will if no one else steps up......
_________________
" I may not know karate..... but I do know crazy !!"
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Dustycajun
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 16, 2007
Posts: 3916
From: Santa Barbara, CA
| Posted: 2009-07-06 8:47 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2009-07-05 20:07, Tipsy McStagger wrote:
anyone care to post a pic of the ashtray..i'm too lazy to do it myself but i will if no one else steps up......
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OK Tipsy, lets see the ashtray already.
DC
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Dustycajun
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 16, 2007
Posts: 3916
From: Santa Barbara, CA
| Posted: 2009-07-11 10:23 am Permalink
Here is so more info on Shanghai Lil's from James T's book Tiki Road Trip.
Tipsy - Where is that ashtray?
DC
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Tipsy McStagger
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 21, 2004
Posts: 3388
From: HELL
| Posted: 2009-07-11 6:27 pm Permalink
okay- here it is....this has always been one of my favorite ashtrays.....back in the 80's and early 90's you could find these in just about every visit to a thrift store in chicago.....i used to give these awy to friends for x-mas i had so many back then...this one in particular has really crisp detail in the graphic..not all of them were like that...alot had muddled and smudgy looking graphics...probably because those were the ones they offered up later and didn't care about the quality so much due to the fact that everyone and their brother was probably swiping these things all the time from the place......anyway, it's been along time since i have seen these in the wild....they all just kind of disappeared.
_________________
" I may not know karate..... but I do know crazy !!"
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Dustycajun
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 16, 2007
Posts: 3916
From: Santa Barbara, CA
| Posted: 2009-07-14 4:04 pm Permalink
Tipsy,
Nice Ashtray. If you ever come across another one, pick it up for me and we'll do a little horse trading.
DC
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bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 10558
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2009-07-15 09:31 am Permalink
Here's the pop culture background to the name, a classic musical song performed by James Cagney in 1933:
http://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/s/shanghailil.shtml
...and here's the only version of the song on the net, as usual with jazz classics from that period, the vocal starts only after a minute into the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olyYvYE6Zlo
On a side note, (Warning: decidedly leading away from the subject of Polynesian pop !), the vocalist Kardos uses for the song reminds me of songs performed by Charlie and his Orchestra:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_and_his_Orchestra
A unique and esoteric footnote to Nazi propaganda, which of course was laughed off by the targeted US and British soldiers -and by hip German teenagers like my parents, who as Swing Kids could tell fake from real jazz:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swing_Kids
If they would have had an inkling of Polynesian pop back then, they would have dug it!
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Dustycajun
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 16, 2007
Posts: 3916
From: Santa Barbara, CA
| Posted: 2009-09-12 4:37 pm Permalink
Quite a history lesson there, Sven. The youtube shots of old Shanghai were interesting.
Picked up one of those ashtrays Tipsy had posted and it came with a free matchbook from Shanghai Lil's.
DC
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Dustycajun
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 16, 2007
Posts: 3916
From: Santa Barbara, CA
| Posted: 2011-02-07 11:12 am Permalink
Came across this photo of the Royal Hawaiians, a featured act at Shanghai Lil's. The info stated that the picture was from 1972.
DC
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tikibars
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 11, 2002
Posts: 2014
From: Aku Hall, Chicago
| Posted: 2011-02-07 6:06 pm Permalink
I'm gonna run this pic by Gwen at Barefoot Hawiian.
I'll be she can identify some of these people.
_________________
- James T.
My new book is "Destination: Cocktails": www.destinationcocktails.com.
Get "Big Stone Head: Easter Island and Pop Culture" at: www.bigstonehead.com.
See www.tydirium.net for Tiki Road Trip, global travelogues, and more!
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tikibars
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 11, 2002
Posts: 2014
From: Aku Hall, Chicago
| Posted: 2011-02-10 12:19 pm Permalink
Hi
Gwen writes:
"Wow - what an oldie! I do remember their faces, but not their names!"
_________________
- James T.
My new book is "Destination: Cocktails": www.destinationcocktails.com.
Get "Big Stone Head: Easter Island and Pop Culture" at: www.bigstonehead.com.
See www.tydirium.net for Tiki Road Trip, global travelogues, and more!
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Dustycajun
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 16, 2007
Posts: 3916
From: Santa Barbara, CA
| Posted: 2012-12-16 12:08 pm Permalink
Tiki Transmission Tradition - the Shanghai Lil's logo was used at the Bali Hi in Youngstown, Ohio.
Exotic drinks and a luau room.
DC
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