Tag Archives: Tiki Bars

Psycho Suzi’s – Minneapolis, MN

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

*Editor’s note: This is the old location. Check out my review of the new Psycho Suzi’s here.

I knew that other tiki sighting in Minnesota would not be the last as I had penciled in a visit to Psycho Suzi’s Motor Lounge for when we headed back into the Twin Cities for our return flight.

Psycho Suzi’s opened in 2003, but with its wood paneling, string lights and what looks like somebody’s personal stash of tiki mugs lining the walls, it reminds me of a circa-1970s rec room. Tiki purists need not fret, though, as there’s plenty of bamboo, fish floats and framed Exotica album covers scattered around, too.

Emblazoned on their logo t-shirts and behind the bar is the epithet for Don the Beachcomber’s most famous drink, The Zombie: “Mender of Broken Dreams.” Supposedly the scene gets more rowdy as the night wears on, but we were there for lunch on a beautiful day when most of the patrons chose to sit under thatch umbrellas out on the patio with the moais.

Psycho Suzi’s offers about a half dozen generic tiki mugs that can be purchased upon ordering their coordinating cocktails, but this terrifying fellow is their special signature vessel from Tiki Farm. It contains “a 20 oz. delirium of Redrum, secret syrup and a whole lime.” For another $7, the mug becomes a souvenir!

Whereas the fare at many tiki establishments skews toward highbrow (er, expensive, anyway) Chinese/Polynesian, the food here is unabashedly lowbrow American (but more importantly, tasty). We loved the beer-battered Wisconsin cheese curds ($8) and bacon-wrapped cocktail weenies with bourbon-brown sugar glaze ($7.50).

There’s a selection of salads and sandwiches, but their specialty is “World Famous Minneapolis Pizza” (hardy har). We ordered their deep dish cheese pie ($13) and judged it to be a good effort, considering that we (well, Mr. Hockey at least) are Chicago pizza snobs.

This “Motor Lounge” (the restaurant was converted from an A&W Drive-In with car hops and everything! I’m such a nerd for that stuff) was featured on an episode of that Food Network show “Diners, Drive-ins & Dives.” You can see the YouTube clip here.

However, in November, Psycho Suzi’s is moving to a riverfront location just six blocks away. According to the Star Tribune, it’s four times larger than their current space. (I hope they’ll be taking these awesome atomic lamps with them.)

Psycho Suzi’s Motor Lounge
2519 Marshall St. NE
Minneapolis, MN 55418
612-788-9069

Psycho Suzi's Motor Lounge on Urbanspoon

My First Trip to the Tiki-Ti (and the Ludo Truck)

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

It’s shameful to say, because it shows just how much of a newbie I am, but Saturday night was my first visit to the Tiki-Ti. Mr. Hockey was surprised that I hadn’t already been, considering I have six years of drinking eligibility under my belt plus a year and a half of tiki fandom. My poor pseudo-excuse is that we’ve been visiting so many other tiki spots near and far that I didn’t want this experience to get lost in the shuffle.

I’ll go into the significance of this spot at a later date, for now I’ll just say that of the few drinks we tried that Ray’s Mistake was the clear favorite, followed by the Pearl Diver, with Rum, Gum & Lime bringing up the rear. (Hmm, kind of sounds like I’m calling a horse race.)

After Mr. Hockey’s fateful spin of the wheel landed on Stealth, an “ass-kicker” of a drink that masks the multitudes of liquor involved with a splash of Baileys, we decided that we should probably walk around for a bit before trying to head home.

Apparently, neither of us was hip enough to know that it just happened to be the weekend of the Sunset Junction Festival (so that’s why it took us half an hour to find a parking space…) And where there’s a fest, there’s food trucks! Mr. Hockey pointed out the LudoBites truck, the ever-elusive stand that inspired foodie fanatics to wait in line for hours upon hours during its debut.

I got the two-piece combo ($6) of the Provencal Pepitte “Chicken Balls”—they were perfectly crispy and juicy and dusted with herbes de Provence. And the lavender biscuit drizzled with honey was divine. Southern food infused with the South of France, and best of all, no line!

Hopefully, this was the kick-start for many more visits (and less logistically cumbersome ones) to the Tiki-Ti. Yet another sidenote: all those fried foods and rickety rides did get me looking forward to the L.A. County Fair…

Ludo Truck on Urbanspoon

The Tonga Lei Room at The Beachcomber Malibu

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

I already like The Beachcomber Cafe in Malibu on its own merits, but its crown jewel is The Tonga Lei Room, located at the end of the bar in the building next to the restaurant.

This little enclave of tiki fabulousness can be reserved for private parties of up to 10, but we’ve had the pleasure of dining there for lunch and on slow winter nights. (The full menu is offered.)

This Bamboo Ben (Frankie’s Tiki Room, Forbidden Island) project pays tribute to the Tonga Lei, a tiki restaurant and motel from the ’60s portrayed in that framed picture. (He even incorporated the signature font into the signage.)

When I met Bamboo Ben last week, he told me that if you look out the window pictured above, you can actually see where the old Tonga Lei used to be before it was turned into a branch of Don the Beachcomber. It’s now the Malibu Beach Inn.

Towards the bottom of this Maori tiki it reads: “No Push Button – Make Tiki Gods Angry.” So what happens when you push the button? I guess you’ll just have to go and find out!

The whole room is wired with a sound system so you can set the mood with exotica music, though you’ll most likely have to make a special request to the staff. (On one visit it took a lot of tinkering for them to get it to switch from the sports station!)

As if there wasn’t already enough to look at, the glass tabletop displays shells and ephemera like postcards and swizzle sticks from various tiki spots and Hawaiian landmarks.

I love this place so much that we came here for my birthday lunch, and one of the new things I tried was The Bootlegger made with banana rum, orange and pineapple juices ($9). I’m not a banana fan so it wasn’t my favorite, what I really wanted was the accompanying mug, which is designed to look like a rum running crate. Crystal Cove, where the other Beachcomber Cafe can be found, has historical ties to that era. (For more, see my post on The Bootlegger Bar.)

Editor’s Note: Unfortunately the Beachcomber Cafe in Malibu, and therefore the Tonga Lei Room, closed at the end of 2011. The Beachcomber Cafe in Crystal Cove (Orange County) remains open.