A Tiki Bar in the Galapagos?

Posted by The Tiki Chick in Bar & Restaurant Reviews and tagged with Ecuador, Galapagos, Honu Tiki Bar, National Geographic Islander, Tiki, Tiki Bars, Travel August 15, 2013

Most of my vacations are planned around visiting as many tiki bars in the area as possible, but not my most recent destination: The Galapagos.

Instead, we admired the unique shell shapes of the saddleback tortoises for which the islands are named…

snorkeled with curious sea lions and indifferent sharks…

tried not to accidentally step on the marine iguanas in heaps of hundreds at our feet on Fernandina…

marveled at the seeming absurdity of penguins living on the equator…

and witnessed the mating dance of the aptly named blue-footed boobies.

We spent a week on the National Geographic Islander and had little contact with civilization aside from a day spent on Santa Cruz. We strolled along the “T-Shirt Mile” in Puerto Ayora, where you can stock up on all your “I Love Boobies” souvenir needs. (Or “I Love Bobbies” for the tourists that aren’t so sharp-eyed.)

I did a doubletake when I saw a sign for Honu Tiki Restaurant in bamboo letters. A tiki bar in the Galapagos?! According to their Facebook page, which has a nice logo featuring Moai mugs, it made its debut in August 2012. I know “honu” means “turtle” in Hawaiian but some sources say it can also refer to the land tortoise, so it’s fitting that they named the tiki bar after one of the most iconic animals in the Galapagos. (It also happens to be down the street from the giant tortoise breeding center at the Charles Darwin Research Station.)

As they weren’t open at the time, I unfortunately wasn’t able to experience it for myself. However I could still get a look at the covered patio from the sidewalk. I didn’t see any carved tikis but there do appear to be some colorful tikis stenciled on the gray wall in the back, plus plenty of bamboo chairs and a tropical mural. Perhaps my next trip to the Galapagos actually will revolve around visiting a tiki bar.

Tiki-fied 1959 El Camino at Burbank Car Classic

Posted by The Tiki Chick in Other Tiki Topics and tagged with Burbank, Car Show, Cars, Classic Cars, El Camino, Tiki August 7, 2013

We moved to Burbank a year ago and since then we’ve enjoyed getting to know our little slice of suburbia. On July 27, the city hosted the 2nd annual Downtown Burbank Car Classic, featuring 200 hot rods and other restored automobiles from the days when cars really had style.

I missed the event as I was out of the country (more on that in a future post), but our friend Saima sent me these photos of this red-hot beauty that had been tricked out tiki-style. Thanks to Wikipedia, I figured out it’s a 1959 Chevrolet El Camino, the original model that was only produced for one year.

In addition to the colorful tikis under the hood, there’s more inside along with bamboo and lauhala matting detailing and a tin tiki sign. And check out those tiki door lock knobs!

There’s also a tiki impaled on the antenna, though I just might like the In-N-Out cup above it even more. (I’m guessing it was intentional and not the result of careless littering.)

Giveaway + Tonga Hut’s 55th Anniversary Celebration

Posted by The Tiki Chick in Events and tagged with Los Angeles, Shag, Tiki, Tiki Bars, Tiki Mugs, Tonga Hut July 27, 2013

Last Sunday the Tonga Hut in North Hollywood celebrated its 55th anniversary with an art show, live music and the debut of new merch, including t-shirts, Mai Tai glasses and tiki mugs. (They also took this opportunity to announce that Tonga Hut will open a new location in Palm Springs!

Since one of the mugs was designed by Shag — and limited to 155 — a considerable line for the merch table had already formed when we arrived a little after the noon start time.

Shag’s elongated design ($85) is inspired by the tiki near the entrance to the bar, while the open-edition Drooling Bastard mug ($60, included a drink) pays tribute to the fountain inside.

The art show is always a highlight at these special events at the Tonga Hut. This one included submissions from Doug Horne, Eric October, Philippe Tilikete and other creative folks.

The bands Casino 66 and Creepxotica performed inside while the parking lot behind the bar featured a bunch of tiki and vintage vendors.

Deadhead Rum had set up a thatched hut booth that showed off custom decorated “tsantsa” (shrunken head) bottles of their rum. They were also offering free samples of their rum and tequila.

Just one of the many neat things for sale were these Pyrates of Lana Pua bottles. Each was decorated with a combination of shells, nautical charms and authentic African trading beads.

I was also enamored with these bejeweled bracelets from Amy, co-owner of the Tonga Hut. I couldn’t resist getting this one…(As if I needed more Enchanted Tiki Room stuff, right? Oh well.)

Meanwhile, Eric October had designed a print for the Tonga Hut — and Drooling Bastard buttons to boot — and Tiki Val turned the fabric into shirts and other wearable art. (They had also done the same for Bahooka when it closed.)

The first 200 people at the event received a goodie bag filled with Tonga Hut swizzles, coasters, matchbooks, stickers and bookmark with Shag’s mug design on one side and the recipe for Tonga Hut’s Hawaiian Eye on the other.

Mr. Hockey has graciously donated his swag bag to be awarded to one lucky reader! To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on this post with a happy birthday message for the Tonga Hut. (Bonus entries can be earned by liking The Tiki Chick on Facebook or following me on Twitter — just leave a comment letting me you’ve done so.) I’ll randomly choose a winner by Tuesday, August 6. (Comments have to be approved on this blog, so don’t worry if yours doesn’t appear right away.)