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New Tiki Bar to hit Chicago |
Kill Devil
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 16, 2011
Posts: 121
From: Chicago
|  Posted: 2012-02-10 10:10 am Permalink
Just heard this today and will watch closely. Hopefully they'll get this "right" and Chicago proper will hold its own, Tiki-wise: http://chicagoist.com/2012/02/10/tikiphiles_rejoice_paul_mcgee_to_op.php
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tikibars
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 11, 2002
Posts: 2014
From: Aku Hall, Chicago
| Posted: 2012-02-10 11:37 pm Permalink
Paul McGee is a great mixologist with a passion for tropical drinks, and an awareness of tiki history.
The location worries me though.
It is four blocks north of city hall and the financial district, and less then two blocks from the tourist zone by Hard Rock Cafe and Rainforest Cafe.
McGee's partners are big-time trendy club-owners.
This is not going to be "Smuggler's Cove east"... but if McGee is working, I will slurp up what he is mixing; no doubt about it... especially since it is walking distance from my day-job!
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RevBambooBen
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 12, 2002
Posts: 7198
From: Huntikington Beach
| Posted: 2012-02-11 08:12 am Permalink
From Time Out Chicago
" For example, McGee was just on the West Coast where he visited an old-school tiki bar that shall remain unnamed. The creators of tiki would be "rolling in their graves" if they could have seen what McGee saw. "It was a pretty sad state of affairs," he says. The drinks were poor, and accordingly, "nobody was having any fun in that place."
The Mcgee-Melman tiki bar will be laid back and fun, the guys say. But it will maybe not have the kitsch. "It doesn't have to be pirate themed for it to be tiki and to be fun. I think we can do a modern interpretation of tiki."
Have any "Modern Interpretation non Kitsch" tiki bars made it
yet? Gonna keep my eye on this one.
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Limbo Lizard
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 24, 2006
Posts: 605
From: Aboard the 'Leaky Tiki', Dallas
| Posted: 2012-02-11 10:15 am Permalink
Sounds like their concept takes its cue from the success of the Vegas Trader Vic's.
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bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 10562
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2012-02-15 11:59 am Permalink
Is that an ironic statement? 
Whatever it is gonna be like, it must be better than this!:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/rays-tiki-bar-chicago
"A good friend had the in on Ray's Tiki Bar, and I am so glad I tagged along! In the midst of the Wicker Park streets, all of the sudden I felt like I was in Key West. Chill, down to earth, Jimmy Buffet & Bob Marley playing - nickel beers - what fun."
If you had a choice between "Key West Tiki" and "Las Vegas Trader Vic's Tiki", which would you choose? 
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Miss Hell
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Feb 02, 2012
Posts: 69 | Posted: 2012-02-18 08:08 am Permalink
Quote:
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On 2012-02-15 11:59, bigbrotiki wrote:
Is that an ironic statement?
Whatever it is gonna be like, it must be better than this!:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/rays-tiki-bar-chicago
"A good friend had the in on Ray's Tiki Bar, and I am so glad I tagged along! In the midst of the Wicker Park streets, all of the sudden I felt like I was in Key West. Chill, down to earth, Jimmy Buffet & Bob Marley playing - nickel beers - what fun."
If you had a choice between "Key West Tiki" and "Las Vegas Trader Vic's Tiki", which would you choose?
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With Wicker Park being such a "hipster" neighborhood (I lived in Bucktown for a few years). Its a shame they resorted to settling for a Jimmy Buffet style of tiki bar. Hopefully the new place can be more of a resemblance of Chicago's now defunct Trader Vic's.
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Tipsy McStagger
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 21, 2004
Posts: 3388
From: HELL
| Posted: 2012-02-18 11:07 am Permalink
I don't have high hopes for the melman tiki bar.... this is going to most likely be a huge disappointment. The drinks might be good but without the proper atmosphere, why even call it a tiki bar ?? call it a cocktail lounge that serves all kinds of cocktails, both tiki drinks as well as old stand-bys..... If you want to be a bar that makes the best cocktails, then don't drag tiki into it. Many bars as well as every other chinese restaurant serves tropical drinks and no one has a problem with it because they aren't billing themselves as a tiki bar... Once you call yourself a tiki bar you better be up to the challenge of delivering both good drinks and the atmosphere to drink them in.... otherwise, watch out..... the problem with the melman project is that it's too little, too late..... they should have done something like this 14 years ago in this town, when it counted. It seems that opening a tiki bar these days is the last ditch attempt by corporations after they have officially run out of good ideas.....My thoughts are that they are just showing up late to the luau with this one.....
As for ray's- i'll check it out but I'm betting this is not even a real bar but someones apartment. I think the whole thing is someone's idea of a joke...."let's take pictures of out tiki bar, post it on yelp and then have our friends post a bunch of reviews !!" I've lived in the wicker park/ bucktown area for 13 years- I know the area well and do not recall a bar or any other business establishment on that corner in that area. But, i have been wrong before and alot changes in a short time in this city so I'll do a drive-by when i'm in that area and take a look.... maybe try google maps and see if i can see a street side view.
if i'm wrong and this place is legit - holy shit is this town in a sad way.....
okay - i googled ray's address and as suspected, it's 3 flat apartment.... the address is real, but i'll bet whoever posted the yelp listing doesn't even live there.....all residential - nothing i saw wandering the google street to indicate a tiki bar or any bar for that matter.... I guess it's early "april fool's" on the tiki folk.... i'll bet everyone in that picture of ray's bar posted a review of the place....
[ This Message was edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2012-02-18 11:17 ]
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Tipsy McStagger
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 21, 2004
Posts: 3388
From: HELL
| Posted: 2012-05-23 04:49 am Permalink
it's on the move.... new tiki bar to open in wicker park instead of river north.....
http://chicago.eater.com/archives/2012/03/12/is-lettuce-entertain-you-opening-two-new-spots.php
in the basement of an all glass office building structure.... just the place i would want to drink a mai tai.....
[ This Message was edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2012-05-23 04:51 ]
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Luki
Grand Member (first year) 
Joined: Mar 01, 2003
Posts: 147
From: Chicago area
| Posted: 2012-08-23 10:07 pm Permalink
Just FYI I think you mis-read that...the article mentions Bub City / the tiki bar and then talks about how they're ALSO working on two new properties in Wicker Park. The Bub City / tiki thing is still happening in River North.
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Tipsy McStagger
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 21, 2004
Posts: 3388
From: HELL
| Posted: 2012-08-30 05:33 am Permalink
here's an update article - doesn't say much but offers a little more insight into paul Mcgee's new tiki bar.....
http://timeoutchicago.com/restaurants-bars/15624701/fall-preview-paul-mcgee?package=15628081
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tikiskip
Grand Member (6 years) 
Joined: Nov 26, 2005
Posts: 2085 | Posted: 2012-08-30 9:36 pm Permalink
Mr. McGee needs a tailor his sleeves are too long.
Hope the bar works out.
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