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If you could travel back in time... |
Swanky
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 03, 2002
Posts: 5298
From: Hapa Haole Hideaway, TN
|  Posted: 2013-11-21 11:20 am Permalink
One of the things I am trying to get across in my Mai-Kai History seminar is that the Mai-Kai today is like a time machine back to DtB. They took so much from Don's to make the Mai-Kai and then spent the next 50 years trying to keep as close to that tradition as possible. The Maître D's today were trained by the former head Maître D' at Don's Chicago. The seating captains, everything, are all doing what they did at Don's. The drinks are Don's recipes with a little change here and there. Many are exactly the same recipes, expect they have had to work to keep the flavor right as ingredients come and go.
The guests today are not the same and some things have changed with times. You can get in without a jacket now men.
But if you want to know what it was like to visit Don the Beachcomber's, just go to the Mai-Kai and you can get at it for sure.
At the end of this year they celebrate the Head Maître D's anniversary at the Mai-Kai. Angel started in 1963 as a busboy. 50 years. He was trained by Andy Tonata from Don's. He trained everyone there today. The legacy continues.
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"Mai-Kai: History & Mystery of the Iconic Tiki Restaurant" the book
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TikiTacky
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 23, 2010
Posts: 1319 | Posted: 2013-11-21 11:55 am Permalink
That's really great news, Swanky. It's good to know that things can generally still be done the "old way" and (hopefully) be successful. I'm hoping I'll be able to get down to the Mai Kai one of these days. Maybe in my retirement. 
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"You can't eat real Polynesian food. It's the most horrible junk I've ever tasted." —Trader Vic Bergeron
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TikiTacky
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 23, 2010
Posts: 1319 | Posted: 2013-11-21 12:02 pm Permalink
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On 2013-11-14 06:12, AceExplorer wrote:
I did a very successful repair 6 months ago when I dropped a mug during a move to a new home, would like to share my notes with you. Will PM you later today when I get more time.
Facebook is a scary time-killer for me, and I don't have enough free time, so I tend to avoid it although I do have a pretty fleshed-out profile under my real name. I will have to give the tiki forums there a try sometime, but somehow I suspect it's just not as efficient as TC and offers too many side-distractions and crap.
Great photo with the Husky in a fez, by the way! Very nicely done with the Trader Vic's glass, etc.!
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Yes, I'd love to know what you did and whether it's held up. There isn't a lot of discussion of this online (even outside of TC), but what there is a lot of is disagreement in terms of what works and what doesn't. Some say Elmers glue, others say superglue, others use epoxy. A cracked mug is very different to repair than a broken mug! I went with the superglue method myself and I guess time will tell whether it was sufficient. I've marked it with a pencil so I can not whether the crack has spread.
I don't do Facebook at all. I have way too many concerns regarding their policies on privacy, and frankly I just can't see the benefit. I know a lot of people use it to stay in touch, but I'm already in touch with the people I want to be in touch with.
Thanks for the kind words. I don't get into Photoshop as much as I used to since I'm not a designer by trade any more. I was actually the technical editor for the Photoshop CS6 Missing Manual book, which was a huge amount of work but a lot of fun. I really love when I get an opportunity to work in it, and I still look for opportunities to play around.
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"You can't eat real Polynesian food. It's the most horrible junk I've ever tasted." —Trader Vic Bergeron
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TikiTacky
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 23, 2010
Posts: 1319 | Posted: 2013-11-21 12:07 pm Permalink
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On 2013-11-20 16:43, mike and marie wrote:
Original Don's. Convince him that the amazing variety of tequilas from Mexico would lend well to creating a full menu of potent, exciting cocktails. And the cuisine---tacos, burritos, enchiladas, and so on---incredibly exotic yet exciting to American tastes. Open in SoCal and make a big new restaurant in Texas. Expand outward from the American Southwest. By the time Vic Bergeron gets wind of it he'll double down on his Senor Pico's in order to compete.
When we get back we'll log on to tacocentral.com to read about the history of Don the Desertdrifter and Senor Vic, and also find arguments about how "palm trees (in and of themselves) are not taco, but can lend to the experience if done right." Conventions will be held to save the out-of-fashion Chi-Chi's chain before the coming of the great Taco Revival. And everyone will be comparing the size of their sombrero collections. Ole!
Don't think it's possible? See Casa Bonita, as recently pointed out by lucas vigor.
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I realize you're being flippant, but I felt like pointing out that the reason tiki took off the way it did was because it came at just the right time. BOT spells out how so many confluent things had to converge for tiki to thrive. I'd be curious to see some discussion of what it was that seems to have allowed tiki to have a resurgence the way that it did.
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"You can't eat real Polynesian food. It's the most horrible junk I've ever tasted." —Trader Vic Bergeron
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mike and marie
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 24, 2008
Posts: 352 | Posted: 2013-11-21 8:26 pm Permalink
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On 2013-11-21 11:20, Swanky wrote:
The guests today are not the same and some things have changed with times. You can get in without a jacket now men.
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This is, in our opinion, very regrettable---and also why we think tiki's heyday will remain with those times.
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But if you want to know what it was like to visit Don the Beachcomber's, just go to the Mai-Kai and you can get at it for sure.
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You've got a very interesting point with the Mai-Kai/Don's connection. Come to think of it, the photos and paintings we know of early DtB do remind us of the Mai-Kai.
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At the end of this year they celebrate the Head Maître D's anniversary at the Mai-Kai. Angel started in 1963 as a busboy. 50 years. He was trained by Andy Tonata from Don's. He trained everyone there today. The legacy continues.
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What about Patrick, is he still there? He's great, and it seemed to us that he'd been around a while, too...
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mike and marie
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 24, 2008
Posts: 352 | Posted: 2013-11-21 8:39 pm Permalink
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On 2013-11-21 12:07, TikiTacky wrote:
I'd be curious to see some discussion of what it was that seems to have allowed tiki to have a resurgence the way that it did.
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We can say what did it for us: simply seeing these fantastic places, just barely out of reach, and evident of a better, maybe even greater, time. To step into a place 40, 50, 60 years old and find it with more feeling, care, and imagination than anything made new today. Maybe a lot of people felt the same way at about the same time, and so the resurgence. There certainly has been a great resurgence or reinterest in all things retro or vintage, at least among some.
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Sunny&Rummy
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 13, 2013
Posts: 601
From: Melbourne, FL
| Posted: 2013-11-21 10:00 pm Permalink
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What about Patrick, is he still there? He's great, and it seemed to us that he'd been around a while, too...
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Patrick is still there, warm and welcoming as ever.
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Pele Paul
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 26, 2008
Posts: 714
From: San Dimas, ca
| Posted: 2014-06-23 8:46 pm Permalink
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On 2013-11-11 20:42, Atomic Tiki Punk wrote:
I will play, First off instead of Don's it would be called the Atomic Tiki Lounge
and a couple of you would not have been born (you know who you are)
Cars would still have fins & it would be against the law to tear down any Googie Architecture
and don't even think of sending back a Terminator to stop me, because I will be ready!
Oh & kiss Disco & Rap music goodbye because they will not have ever existed
also I would prevent Del Taco from ever buying out Naugles!
That's right Time Travel is a bitch!
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LOL Naugles, there's a name I have not heard in a long long time!!! amen, Naugles was the best hang out!!!! you rock Atomic!!!
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Atomic Tiki Punk
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 19, 2009
Posts: 7048
From: Costa Misery
| Posted: 2014-06-23 9:17 pm Permalink
At the last Tiki Marketplace a young man was wearing a Naugles T-Shirt
I mentioned to him that I really miss the place, he told me he was with the company that just got
the rights to the name & it took awhile due to some legal dealings, they now plan to open a new
chain of Naugles in SoCal & will use the same recipes as the original
I will rejoice when this comes to fruition! & plan to chow down on a Macho Queso Burrito & a Taco Cup
on opening day! Hail Naugles!
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exquisitecorpse
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 26, 2009
Posts: 314
From: philadelphia
| Posted: 2014-06-24 12:48 am Permalink
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On 2013-11-11 20:42, Atomic Tiki Punk wrote:
kiss Disco & Rap music goodbye because they will not have ever existed
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you realize that this would completely alter the sound and possibly even the concept of punk rock; as disco and rap had a huge influence in the late 70s early 80s in the ny punk scene.
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AceExplorer
Grand Member (6 years) 
Joined: Apr 03, 2008
Posts: 2352
From: Deep in the Jacksonville Florida jungle.
| Posted: 2014-06-24 06:43 am Permalink
It's great to hear that Naugles is making a comeback in So Cal. They had some great food.
Now what I really need is In-N-Out here on the East Coast!
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I want my own In-N-Out!
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pjc5150
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 01, 2009
Posts: 2379
From: Tampa, FL
| Posted: 2014-06-24 09:03 am Permalink
I'd be busy at the chevy dealership buying a sebring silver 63 split window vette...
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