More ripped live Hapa Haole vinyl. I had recorded this record in 2007, but just recorded it again. It appears to be from the 70s. Looks like the dying end of the Tiki Epoch. Everyone in the images is elderly. The show was recorded in the Malia Polynesian Room in Asbury Park, NJ. I find no internet record of this place existing.

Sad, as Sam Makia made one of my all time favorite records. Take it as you will.

Download it here.

I have narrowed my collecting over the years, mainly due to the fact that I could quickly run out of space. Now that the Hideaway is in operation, I limited it even more.

One of the few things I do collect now are items from the Hawaii Kai, NYC. In the last few months, my very favorite recordings have become the live recordings from various island and Tiki establishments. Nothing is better than the sound of forks on plates in the background!

So when I came across this LP I thought I had hit a home run. However, I was more than a little disappointed to find out that it was a studio recording.

Here it is for you to download. If some expert out there can tell me what is causing the high end distortionin my recordings I’d appreciate it. My guess is the needle on the turntable. It is not a problem with recording levels, etc. It is at the source.

Download it here.

Lots of info on the Hawaii Kai here

Related post on the Goddess of Love mug

And the girls of the Hawaii Kai menu

Back in 2001, I made Swank Vinyl Exotica I to sell at the first Hukilau. It turns out that was the only money made on the first Hukilau! I made a second and sold them both on my website.

I just didn’t feel like putting in the time to make the CDs anymore and they ended.

I decided to resurrect them and share them now. I do not swear by the quality of these recordings, only their mood, which at those times, they reflected.

So, download and enjoy!

I have wanted to make it look up to date for a while and was very lucky to get Justin Bird, a Nashville artist and web designer, to completely revamp the site. His work is fantastic and what he did with the Grogalizer is revolutionary. It is nearing an iPhone app.

Check out the new design, and the new features. It has always been a fantastic tool, and now it contains the Bum’s newest recipes too!

The Grogalizer 2.0

I was sure to ask General Manager Kern Mattei just how one made this magical wonder on one of my first trips. Here I am 7 years later actually doing it.

Why did it take me so long? I needed the right glass. And I have not searched for it continually. Today Ms Swanky thought to look while we were at a Goodwill and we lucked upon a few perfect glasses.

The right glass must be round and have a short edge. That is, it can’t come up too far or you can’t make it work.

To make mine I used my go-to fine ice crusher, the Oster Sno-Flake. It makes good fine crushed ice and is detachable from its base so you can put it over an ice bicket and crush up tons at a time. Available for cheap on Ebay and your local antique dealer.

So now you have the proper glass and the fine crushed ice, using the back of a spoon, press the ice into a shallow shell around the inside of the glass. Keep building it up on the edges until the inside of the entire glass is covered. Put the glass in the freezer.

After it has time to freeze solid, take it out and go to the final step. I am not sure how the professionals do it. Maybe you can just let it cool on the counter for a while, but I heated the glass with my hands. You need a little warming to get the ice to seperate from the glass. A little push will tell you when it is ready. Too much and you will destroy your work.

Once the ice shell is loose from the glass, you push down one edge and back fill more ice with the spoon to get the glass covered again. Then put it back in the freezer until you are ready to serve.

I suggest the “Shark Tooth” from Beachbum Berry’s “Grog Log”. It will also likely be in his new book coming out soon, Re-Mixed. Or join me at this little event I started called Hukilau in June and we’ll try one at the Mai-Kai.

If you make one of these, be sure to thank the Mai-Kai for keeping the knowledge alive.

George passed away in 2000. I am not sure of this when this was released. Some evidence on the web indicates 1992, but I am thinking earlier.

So, enjoy the cheese of the piano bar in Hawaii, done as well as anyone. Live from the Maui Hilton Hotel on the beach at Kaanapali in the Lokelani Room.

Download here before it goes away!

Hula records Stereo HS-539

Ms. Swanky got me this sealed vintage bottle for Christmas this year and I was eager to try it. Rums of today just don’t compare to those of 40 years ago I am told. The rums they used to mix with then, we would consider only for sipping on the rocks today.

And anyone who has spent much time mixing drinks knows that Bacardi 151 is essentially best served on fire. Lemon Hart 151 is the only thing out there with a good flavor for mixing. Want to test that? Try a “151 Swizzle” using each, side by side. Look at the ratings on the Grogalizer and you see clearly who used what as the grades for the drink are all 1’s and 10’s!

So, with that backdrop, I wanted to see where this 151 stood.

I started with the Lemon Hart as a baseline. It has an immediate and strong caramel flavor. Oo, and there’s the burn! Yep, that’s 151 proof! A hazardous material you can’t send via plane. But, compared with the Bacardi, it’s mighty tasty.

Now to the 40 year old bottle of Don Q. A much milder flavor. Yes, a flavor! And not moist socks. It’s light and nice. Sort of like a really smooth and yummy gold rum. Better than Appleton Gold. And then I swallowed. Ouch.

It’s in between the strong flavor of the Lemon Hart and the blech flavor of Bacardi. That is, it won’t give the powerful punch of Lemon Hart. But it is good. It’s nice. I may have to get out the aluminum cups and cinnamon sticks and mix us some “151 Swizzles” to get an even better idea.

Thanks Santa!

We chose to cover the bar in hardwood flooring. 6′ X 7.5″ pieces.

With each end of the bar angled to match the wall and the support beam, it required a lot of custom cuts. We glued them down, and ran screws up from underneath to hold it in place to the 3/4 plywood.

11 foot bar, that’s near 3 feet deep, meant a lot of looking at flooring. We found what we wanted, and it turned out that one box would cover the whole bar. That was a very lucky break on this special order. We could not have bought another piece. Sahara is the color and it is very close to the look of the bar and tables at the Mai Kai. Ours has square pegs in it.

I also reworked the foot rest. Picked to good straight pieces of 5 inch bamboo and cut them to match. We’ll do a little decoraing on them and screw them in when we do the bar front later.

The bar moulding is cut and ready to go. Maybe stain it today. Looking to start the back bar now and tile it and install the sink, etc.

More detail at Tiki Central.

Did some finishing under the thatch. Where I had painted the ceiling black had to be painted back to match the wall.

The new white door had to be fixed. Painted the inner edges the burnt orange from the walls.

Painted the brown around the edges and cut and glued some fijian tapa cloth on the high areas. Had a very whacky 70’s vibe at this point.

Added this tiki and it worked well. Took away that weird 70’s vibe.

Ms. Swanky found a bunch of this fabric on Ebay and covered all the stools and we put it up as curtains over the back window in the Tapa Room.

The whole process is seen HERE on Tiki Central.

In this economy, things are tough for a business that depends on tourists. And the new owner, Dave Levy has also invested a ton of money in renovating the Mai Kai in the last year.

So, spend a couple of minutes adding your glowing reviews to these online travel pages to counter the many stupid reviews of people who are clueless. Help keep the Mai Kai around for your kids and their kids to go and marvel. Hell, do it so you can go and marvel!

Yahoo Travel

Yelp

Trip Advisor

These are the top review sites when searching for the Mai Kai. And while there, be sure to look up your other favorites and give them good reviews too. They need more people who don’t complain about them being too dark or expensive to chime in!

Unfortunately, Cancun is greatly changed.

So many of the things I thought I knew have become wrong.

It used to be true that if you converted your US dollars to pesos, you’d end up your trip with 20%+ more money than if you used US dollars there. Now, it is the opposite. Most things are priced in US dollars and pesos and if you do the math, you’d find you were being screwed using dollars. Now you are screwed using pesos.

It used to be true that the prices in the hotel zone were very high and if you went downtown, you would see a near 50% price cut immediately and could bargain for better. Now the mall in the hotel zone has near the same prices, and maybe better than at the downtown markets.

It used to be that the hotel zone markets like Coral Negro were full of the most aggressive, awful people you ever were around. Being in there makes you sick. Market 28 downtown was a great relief where you could shop in peace and enjoy your time. No more. Now Market 28 is as obnoxious as Coral Negro.

Restaurants downtown are more expensive than the hotel zone.

The bus is now 15 pesos per trip, not 6.5. So a trip anywhere for 2 will cost you a much more noticable 60 pesos. The taxis are looking more okay.

Cancun always had lots of people trying to get your attention. Trying to sell you a tour or to get you to look at their goods. You either ignore them or say “no, gracious” and move on. But now it is at a fever pitch and unavoidable. Even when we sat at a table eating, we had to say no to 4 or 5 people trying to sell us things, along with the people in the restaurant wanting to take your picture and sell it to you.

Yes, it is beautiful. On the beach at our hotel was great. But most of the public places in Cancun are now unbearable.

I took my last trip to Cancun. We discovered Playa del Carmen, and that is where we will go next time. More like the way downtown Cancun used to be.

I can highly recommend the Ambiance Villas hotel and Locanda Paolo restaurant. And Walmart for pastries and fresh fruit.

Mai Kai - The Best

The rock is all local from the Candora Marble company, which supplied a lot of what you seein Washington DC.

The lucite triangle coming out of the roof is where a tree used to grow.

Upper deck area that used to be a childrens play area.

Above to the left is where the master bedroom is.

Through the bookcase you can see the step down to a study. Bedroom above.

Looks out to a gardwn and fountain area.

Download here