Tiki on “American Dad”: Part 3

Posted by The Tiki Chick in Tiki on TV and tagged with American Dad, Party City Tikis, Tiki, Tiki on TV October 16, 2012

After the latest disappointing Treehouse of Horrors episode from “The Simpsons,” we needed something to take our minds off the awfulness. Thankfully that arrived soon after when we spotted a bunch of tikis on “American Dad.”

In “Killer Vacation,” which aired on October 7, 2012, the Smith family takes a vacation on an unnamed tropical island, and shenanigans follow. Hayley and Jeff are propositioned by another couple while sipping umbrella and coconut drinks at the poolside bar, complete with bamboo and a tiki mask on the wall.

Harder to miss were the giant blue and red tikis decorating the luau that Roger the alien attends later in the episode. Lots of Party City tiki influence apparent here (even more so in the last picture in this post).

I think somebody that works on this show must be into tiki, since this is the third time we’ve found them and I’m sure there are others that we’ve missed. Check out the tikis on “American Dad” Part One and Part Two to refresh your memory.

More Related Posts:

Tiki on “Archer” (You better be watching this show!)
“The Simpsons” Make Fun of Trader Joe’s (with Tikis!)
Tapa, Ukes & Surprisingly Neat-looking Tikis on “South Park”

Tiki at the LA County Fair: Part Four

Posted by The Tiki Chick in Other Tiki Topics and tagged with Food, Fried Food, LA County Fair, Tiki, Ugly Tikis October 8, 2012

In this requisite annual post I present to you more of the myriad reasons why I love the LA County Fair. Among them are taking photographs of the ferris wheel at sunset, eating strange fried food and finding random tiki sightings.

Chicken Charlie is famous for serving up deep-fried delights, but this year he introduced a new stand called The Pineapple Express that offered some island-inspired options that were promoted as healthier than your typical fare fair.

One of these was the “Naked Shrimp” ($11.95) with white rice and pineapple chunks, served in half a pineapple shell. If you’re concerned this dish sounds too healthy, don’t worry, they also give you a side of melted butter! The shrimp looked like they might have some spice, but were pretty bland. I appreciated the novelty presentation, but we’ll skip this next year.

On the other hand, the deep-fried lobster on a stick ($12.87) was juicy inside and the crisp coating had great seasoning.

Of course, Chicken Charlie couldn’t stray too far from his roots so there was also deep-fried Spam and deep-fried pineapple rings with chocolate sauce (both $6.44) to continue the Hawaiian theme. Not surprisingly, the latter wasn’t very good. I guess the deep-fried Klondike Bar shall remain my all-time favorite.

Even though we went at the end of September, the weather was still hotter than it had any business being. We paused to cool off with some shave ice at The Big “Kone” Huna, which I think might have been a new food vendor at the LA County Fair this year.

Their stand had a thatch roof, some tiki masks and bamboo poles, but also hot rod flames, disco lights and dance music, so that was a bit odd. As was their logo with a surfin’ dude in a scary-looking tiki mask. Yikes.

We couldn’t decide what flavors to get so we went with their suggestion of strawberry and pina colada “Hawaiian style” with sweetened condensed milk on top ($5.06). It was pretty good, though I kept stealing spoonfuls from our friends’ order of lime and margarita.

Every year we make sure to visit the arts and crafts building. We speculate on the fierce rivalry among the jam and preserves makers, and examine the prize-winning baked goods slowly decaying in the glass displays. There was no tiki cake this year, but there was this impressive cake for “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.”

We’re also slightly obsessed with the tablescaping contest where people decorate tables according to themes, complete with elaborate centerpieces and menus for an imaginary meal. (Part of our fascination has to do with the nitpicky critiques from the judges, like “Teaspoon near knife is a questionable decision.”)

Of course this table caught my eye! It was inspired by James Michener’s book Hawaii, and featured a thatch roof over the table, woven palm frond placemats, monkey pod wood dishes, mini tiki torches, fake tropical flowers and tiki salt and pepper shakers. The Hairpin has some great pictures of some of the other tablescaping entries (including one for Game of Thrones!).

Tahiti Nui – Hanalei, Kauai, HI

Posted by The Tiki Chick in Bar & Restaurant Reviews and tagged with George Clooney, Hanalei, hawaii, Kauai, restaurant review, Restaurants, Tahiti Nui, The Descendants, Travel September 24, 2012

Tahiti Nui Restaurant & Cocktail Lounge in Hanalei has the distinction of being, to my knowledge, the only tiki bar on the North Shore of Kauai. (Although, that’s about to change with the opening of Tiki Iniki in Princeville… Sounds like I need to book another trip!)

Tahiti Nui was opened in 1964 by Louise and Bruce T. Marston, who met in Tahiti while Bruce was serving in the U.S. Air Force. A native of the French Polynesian island Tubuai, “Auntie Louise” could trace her lineage back to Tahitian royalty. Their son, Christian, now owns “da Nui.”

Patrons can choose to sit outside on the shaded lanai or inside where the space is divided between tables and the bar. (Check out those tiki bar stools!) Colorful round lights, reminiscent of fish floats, give off a nice glow and the walls are covered with lauhala matting, tapa cloth and bamboo, plus many photographs of the founding matriarch.

Tahiti Nui has long been a popular local spot, but it has recently gained lots of tourist attention when it appeared in the movie “The Descendants” along with other Kauai filming locations like the St. Regis Princeville and Hanalei Bay.

It’s featured in the scene where George Clooney’s character meets up at a bar with one of his cousins (played by Beau Bridges). If you want to follow in his silver fox footsteps, snag a seat at the bar behind the beer taps or head to the corner of the dining room with this black-and-white-photo of Louise above, which is where his character went to join his daughters for lunch.

The restaurant hosts a luau on Wednesday nights ($75 for adults) in a separate building with food, musicians, hula dancers and free Mai Tais for the first hour. The Mai Tai ($7.50) is pretty much the only tiki drink the Tahiti Nui serves — it’s made from their 50-year-old recipe with pineapple juice, rum and a dash of guava, lilikoi and other tropical fruits.

My dining companions hadn’t been expecting much from the food, judging by the humble surroundings. But everyone was pleasantly surprised, particularly by the macadamia nut- and panko-crusted ono with coconut-lime sauce.

Another great dish was the ginger, garlic and cilantro baby back ribs. The meat was tender and fell off the bone, and the thick sauce had a little kick to it.

The pizzas listed on the menu are prepared at neighboring Tiki Man Pizza. We were warned that since our orders were going to two different kitchens that our food would not arrive together. The pies were the last to make it to the table, but they were definitely worth the wait — the toppings were fresh and flavorful, and the buttery crust put it over the top. It was difficult to decide which to get, so I was glad to hear they could do half and half. Our server said a popular choice was the #3 Huli Huli Chicken with red onions and cilantro, and it was much better than your average barbecue chicken pizza. I was also crazy about the combination of pineapple and kalua pork on #5 Da Hui.

Traditional Hawaiian music is usually performed during dinner every night starting at 6:30, and then around 9 p.m. the kitchen closes, the lights are turned way down, and local bands take the small stage to play classic rock.

I had wanted to buy one of the Tahiti Nui tank tops ($20) they have tacked up on the wall, but at the time they only had the men’s style black t-shirts (the kind the servers wear). They said they’d be getting more in a day or two, but that hadn’t happened by the end of the week when we left Kauai. Chalk it up to “island time,” I guess.

There are other restaurants on Kauai that play up the tropical setting, like Keoki’s and Duke’s, but Tahiti Nui truly offers the experience of a cozy tiki bar, and with good food and drinks, too. If you have more time in Hanalei, be sure to check out Havaiki Oceanic & Tribal Art.

Tahiti Nui
5-5134 Kuhio Hwy.
Hanalei, Kauai, HI 96714
808-826-6277