Hala Kahiki – River Grove, IL

Posted by The Tiki Chick in Bar & Restaurant Reviews and tagged with Chicago, Hala Kahiki, Tiki Bar Review August 17, 2009

Outside the Hala Kahiki

For the third and final stop of the day in our Pre-Birthday Chicago Tiki Blitz, we headed back out to the suburbs to the Hala Kahiki in River Grove. (Part one was Tiki Terrace, and Part two took us to Trader Vic’s Chicago).

The bar of the Hala Kahiki in River Grove

The bar had lots of lanterns and nautical touches, it was probably my favorite area of the Hala Kahiki. There was a group of folks there that seemed to be having happy hour after work, and several couples showed up later that seemed to have made special trips to check out the tiki temple.

They don’t muck about trying to serve anything edible (besides bowls of pretzels)—it’s strictly beverages only. The sheer amount of variations is impressive; there are classic martinis, several fruity incarnations of pina coladas and daiquiris, and even alcoholic ice cream floats.

This tiki bar is apparently pretty popular with the kids on the weekends (lines out the door, even), and there are several rooms to go get lost in.

Like Chef Shangri-La, there’s a nice collection of Witco wood carvings.

Hala Kahiki garden

The patio had a bit of a tropical vibe with its fountain and hibiscus, but the Midwest summers are just too humid to sit outside. I also checked out the souvenir shop, which stocked tchotchkes, made-in-China Hawaiian-themed things (which you’ve already seen plenty of if you’ve been to Hawaii) and a Mai Tiki or two.

Planter's Punch

I had the Planter’s Punch (a blend of rum and fruit juices, per their menu) and it appeared to be half foam. It wasn’t bad, but I would go for something else. I’d had my eye on a different cocktail, I think it might have been the Hawaiian Caress, but I went with the punch as they said it was less alcoholic. (It’d been a long day of drinking!)

Hala Kahiki

Hala Kahiki
2834 River Rd.
River Grove, IL 60171
708-456-3222

Trader Vic’s – Chicago

Posted by The Tiki Chick in Bar & Restaurant Reviews and tagged with Chicago, Tiki Bar Review, Trader Vic's August 11, 2009

Trader Vic's Chicago

For the second stop of my pre-birthday tiki tour, Mr. Baseball and I went into downtown Chicago to check out the new-ish Trader Vic’s.

The bar of Trader Vic's Chicago

The original Trader Vic’s Chicago was housed in the Palmer House Hilton for almost fifty years before the hotel’s new owners closed it. This location in Newberry Plaza, a petite building mostly made up of condos and a few offices, opened a little more than six months ago.

A tiki in the bar

We sat at the bar since we weren’t interested in eating because a) we were still stuffed from lunch at Tiki Terrace b) the menu at Trader Vic’s Chicago is identical to the one at downtown LA’s Trader Vic’s.

The dining room of Trader Vic's

We got there around 4 p.m., just as they were opening so there was nobody in the dining room yet. Pretty swanky, I must say. (Nothing at all like the now-gone Trader Vic’s Las Vegas).

The other side of the dining room looked out over a courtyard garden where there were a couple tiki poles lying down, sort of like an archaeological display. (Or maybe they just fell over?)

The Chicago Trader

I ordered the Trader Vic’s Chicago signature drink—The Chicago Trader—made with rum, lemon, grenadine and orange curaçao. I remember it being pretty potent but not particularly tasty because the mint garnish was overpowering. The drink also came with a rock candy lollipop for some reason.

Mr. Baseball committed the cardinal sin of drinking beer in a tiki bar, but it was a bottle of Goose Island’s 312, so I must forgive him.

Trader Vic's tiki mugs

Again, the bartender trotted out all the Trader Vic’s tiki mugs they had so I could choose one as part of my b-day present from Mr. Baseball. Tiki Farm is producing a custom mug called “Rapa Nui Louie” for this location but unfortunately it hadn’t made its debut by the time of our visit.

Outside Trader Vic's Chicago

6/8/11 Update: Sadly, this Chicago location of Trader Vic’s has also closed.

Trader Vic’s – Chicago
1030 N. State St.
Chicago, IL 60610
312-642-6500

Tiki Terrace – Des Plaines, IL

Posted by The Tiki Chick in Bar & Restaurant Reviews and tagged with Chicago, restaurant review, Tiki Terrace August 6, 2009

Outside Tiki Terrace

During our trip to Chicago, we set aside a day for a pre-birthday tiki blitz/get blitzed—three bars in one day. We started off at Tiki Terrace in the neighboring north suburb of Des Plaines. Even with the trusty GPS, it was really hard to find since it’s in a giant strip mall and partially hidden from view by a Blockbuster. Ahh, suburbia.

The unassuming exterior is deceiving, as the inside is pretty freaking cool. These two giant Moai tikis flank the stage where dancers perform Polynesian shows on the weekends during dinner, hence all the lights and speakers.

We came for lunch on a weekday, so it was pretty quiet, all the better for me to go around taking photos without annoying too many people.

And what better way to start the day than with a cocktail! This lovely libation was a Mango-colada, a blend of “mango rum, fresh mango nectar and mango liqueur.” So tasty, it was almost like a fruit smoothie.

The menu featured lots of Hawaiian favorites, like a Spam burger, Maui onion soup, and, of course, loco moco! Mr. Baseball had a non-Spam burger and I ordered the kalua pork with the classic plate-lunch accompaniments of rice and macaroni salad. A side of barbecue sauce added forty cents to the bill, but it was necessary since sadly the pork was kind of dry.

As part of my birthday present, Mr. Baseball offered to get me a tiki mug at each of our stops, so our server set up all their Dynasty mugs at the bar for me to browse. I wish they’d had mugs specifically made for Tiki Terrace, but one did catch my eye. Can you guess which one I chose?

All in all, I really liked Tiki Terrace and would definitely come back again. I can’t imagine what it must be like to step in to this tropical oasis from a snowy Chicago winter. Brrr!

Tiki Terrace
1591 Lee St.
Des Plaines, IL 60018
847-795-TIKI