Author Archives: The Tiki Chick

Tiki at the LA County Fair: Part Two

Posted by The Tiki Chick in Objets de Tiki and tagged with , , , , ,

I’ve said it before (last year around this time, actually) and I’ll say it again: I love the fair! The LA County one, to be precise. There’s just something magical about the way the carnival rides look lit up at night.

And it’s one of the few times of year when it’s acceptable to eat things like chocolate covered Oreos wrapped in bacon.

Chicken Charlie usually concocts a few new diabolical desserts, and last year marked the debut of the deep-fried Klondike bar. It was ridiculous in the best way, so melty and gooey. I really hope it returns for 2011.

Then there’s also the random tiki sightings—I do believe this one takes the cake! (Oh yes, I went there.)

I guess many consider tikis as shorthand for “summertime,” so vendors prop them up to get people in the mood to buy jacuzzis and patio grills. These ones are clearly *ahem* inspired by Wayne Coombs.

And even Terry’s Palms & Tikis booth was back for another year, with skull and pirate-themed stuff and painted tiki masks like the kind imported from Indonesia.

The Shrimp Guys were serving up Hawaiian style garlic shrimp, which is kind of funny considering they used an Easter Island moai (complete with topknot) to adorn their booth.

And because I’m so far behind on my blog posts, the fair’s already sneaking up on us again! Why, we’re almost halfway there…

55th Anniversary Adventureland Tiki Glasses at Disneyland

Posted by The Tiki Chick in Objets de Tiki and tagged with , , , ,

A few months back, I mentioned the four giclées that Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily designed in honor of Disneyland’s 55th anniversary. When I was back there in December, I discovered that they had spun off those images onto glasses, like this one with the tiki from Adventureland.

They look neat, though alas not very photogenic (at least not with my camera skills)—and for $7 they’re practically a steal. (You couldn’t even buy two churros for that.) Don’t count on getting a full set, though, the Fantasyland ones seem to have been sold out since Day One.

Pizza Oom Mow Mow – California Adventure

Posted by The Tiki Chick in Bar & Restaurant Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

I’ve put off posting about the restaurant Pizza Oom Mow Mow at Disneyland’s California Adventure theme park for awhile now. These pictures are actually from last January.

I remember eating here when it first opened, oh, like ten years ago (!). I had no real desire to return, though, until I noticed this surfer dude tiki column at the entrance…

…and his tiki wahine counterpart. They were very cartoony and of course “Disney-fied,” but I thought they were kind of cute. (Especially since I’ve been subjected to far worse.)

The pizzas and pastas—the same served up elsewhere in the park—were pretty bland. I’d much rather go for one of those crazy delicious corn dogs or a po’ boy from Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen.

The name was inspired by the doo-wop song “Papa Oom Mow Mow” that was covered by the Beach Boys, to go with the 1960s surf shack vibe they had going on here. (You might recognize the tune better as Family Guy favorite “Surfin’ Bird.”) I really dug all the chunky swag lamps hanging about.

Now this pizza-munching tiki hanging out over the registers reminded me of those weird tikis lurking at the Boutiki at Disney’s Polynesian Resort. Funny how Disney can get it so right and so wrong.

They had some either neat design elements, too, like surf movie posters on the wall and these vintage California postcards. So when we came around this place this place in October, I was shocked to find this:

The restaurant was completely gutted, but that surfin’ tiki was still standing. By December, he was gone. (I wonder if somebody “adopted” him?) Pizza Oom Mow Mow was a casualty of the extensive re-branding they’ve done at the park recently. The space is being turned into Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta, opening this spring.