Tiki

Tiki Border

Bahooka is the closest tiki establishment to The Starving Writer (aka: Trader Tom). It's a ramshackle old building filled to the brim with nautical and tiki decorations, and though it's a little on the cheesey side (Don't expect a fine dining experience like at Trader Vic's)...it has a lot of charm. Make sure you feed a carrot to Rufus (the giant Pacu fish...cousin to the South American Piranha). You may recognize the interior because Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (starring Johnny Depp) was shot on location there.

Jeff Berry is the author of Beachbum Berry's Grog Log, which US News & World Report dubbed "the island bar bible." The Bum's subsequent books on vintage tropical drinks and cuisine, Intoxica! and Taboo Table, have made him the toast of the global tiki bar revival. In 2005, the Museum Of The American Cocktail elected the Bum to its Advisory Board; in 2006, Los Angeles magazine included him in its Best Of L.A. issue.

Nicknamed by a local Southern California surf band for his onstage and on-bar antics, Crazy AL has been carving tiki imagery since 1990. His “Polynesian Pop”-inspired sculpture can be found from Hawaii to New York, and he’s one of the most sought after carvers in the biz. Known for his authentic and imaginative style, Crazy AL’s been at the forefront of the Neo-Tiki revival, which has vastly grown in the last ten years.

Critiki is a reference resource for the collecting, travelling or researching tikiphile, with information on over 500 locations, and as many pictures.

The exterior is easy to pass by, but inside this building is a classic tiki style establishment with lots of bamboo and beautiful murals of pretty polynesian women. They also have great steaks. Definitely worth sampling.

Heather Watts illuminates a dark paradise that twists the imagination. Unified by threads of humor, faith and fatalism, her work explores the inviolable relationships between complimentary opposites: life, death, fantasy and reality. Tikis figure in much of her work.

This is the biggest overall polynesian pop directory out there. It has categorized lists of almost everything. They bill themselves as, "a personal Rapa Nui (Easter Island) on the vast digital Pacific."

Mission Tiki, a tiki-themed drive-in, is the recently remodelled version of a drive-in that opened in 1956. Tiki Diablo (Danny Gallardo) created the decorations and it looks fantastic. It combines two of StarvingWriter's favorite things...film and Tiki!

This place is a giant warehouse dedicated to tiki decoration. Bob and Leroy have been running this business for 50 years and are tiki carvers extraordinaire. You can also rent decorations and tiki poles for your backyard luaus.

This site offers a way to display your tiki mug collection online. View the collections of others or look up individual mugs and average E-bay auction prices. My collection is listed under Trader Tom.

Drop anchor matey and be welcome! Pyracy.com be a full blown online community, gar, with forums (Pyracy Pub), chat, and free email for sea rovers, carousers, freebooters, salty wenches and the like. It's not exactly Tiki, but pirates like rum also and the nautical theme blends pretty nicely with the Tiki theme. Definite crossover potential.

Sven Kirsten wrote what is perhaps the most definitive book on Polynesian pop culture. This site provides a fun tour, but only scratches the surface of what’s in the actual book.

Tom Thordarson, or "THOR" as he is best known by collectors of his work is an artist who resides in both California and Hawaii. This store features his art and other collectible Tiki and Hawaiiana related merchandise.

Mahalo! This is a great place to search for events in your area or have discussions with other people interested in polynesian pop culture. The best resources for tiki enthusiasts on the Internet.

A highly regarded tiki bar in Los Angeles. Tiki-Ti has 86 tropical drinks to offer. The bartenders are true mixologists. The place is extremely tiny and can get pretty packed, but it's worth it.

This place is fantastic. It has a bookstore of unusual titles and caters to comic book culture, tiki, lowbrow and pop surrealist art. They have a selection of Tiki Farm mugs to purchase, often have gallery showings, and are just a short walk or drive from the Tiki-Ti Bar.

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