Via vintage Hawaii Kai Menu:

Hmmm. Now I want to go to Trinidad and Haiti!

This is also a mailer menu. My first thought looking at this menu cover is, it’s kinda creepy. But then I think, “Zombie Village”, hello! Creepy indeed!

A little watercolor of the joint is nice on the back. From the Critiki entry it appears this either was or became a Skipper Kent’s place. Once again, there is almost nothing on Tiki central about the place. Makes me wonder. If Zombie Village had been in Tennessee, I would have searched out everything I could about the place and posted it on TC. Just goes to show how jaded Californians are about tiki.

The inside of the menu has that nice line at the bottom that reveals the mug price is included in some of the drink prices.

I would almost say this isn’t quite a tiki bar, but just tropical, but there are all of Don the Beachcomber’s recipes on the menu, so it must be part of the “family”. This site says it opened on November 27th 1935.

This is a pretty impressive menu. More of an advertizing mailer really. Sugie really seemed to have a way with the celebrities. Beachbum Berry talks a little about this place in his discussion of Ray Buhen, the famed bartender of the Tiki Ti. Ray worked at the Tropics and probably brought those recipes with him.

I was surprised to find nothing on Tiki Central about the place. Tiki Road Trip says that it later became The Luau, Steven Crane’s first tiki bar.

The menu is impressive when fully folded out. It has “quotes” from various celebrities about the drinks, including: Bob Hope, Lana Turner, Rita Hayworth, Mickey Rooney, Lucille Ball and Bette Davis, among others. 

Apparently many people blatantly ripped off Sugie’s Tropics. There are at least three places who use his images and phrases, in Denver, Dayton and Hollywood.

3D breasts on this matchbook too, a Sugie “signature” idea.

Also has raised boobs on the match cover

Dayton Ohio Tropics

I have wanted to do a site archiving tiki ephemera for a while. I worked with kohalacharms to plan a site to archive his collection and others. Humuhumu said she was working on a similar plan herself. Better to support her than split our resources.

Her latest creation is Arkiva Tropika, and it is the collection of Mimi Payne, and it is exquisite! One look at the front page and I fall in love with Poly Pop all over again!

Thanks Mimi for sharing and thanks Humuhumu for making it a joy!

Via Humu Kon Tiki

The Aku Aku in Las Vegas has always been a sort of high point to me. Vegas and tiki. And knowing Bamboo Ben’s grandfather Eli Hedley put it all together makes it even better. Aku Aku ephemera is one of the few tiki things I collect.

I just got this Drink Menu to go with my dinner menu. The image on the cover is the same as the dinner menu

The first page has some of the branded glassware and there is a tiki bowl. I am a fan of the ice shell drinks. To make an ice shell (Kern Matie, GM of the Mai Kai taught me this) you first need a pretty round glass, like a wine glass. You put crushed ice in the glass and using a spoon, press it around the glass so that it makes a shell around the interior maybe 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Put the glass in the freezer and let it set up. Then take the glass out and gently push the ice down on one side so that it comes up to make the shell and then press more crushed ice in the glass to line it again and refreeze.

Here are a few more drinks. Makes me thirsty!

This menu came up on Ebay and it is a glimpse at why tiki collecting is so intriguing for me. The restaurant is simply named “The Polynesian” in Torrance. Here is why serious collectors collect drink menus. Inside this menu are images of the bowls and mugs used to serve their rum soaked cocktails. Note the Gardenia floating in the left hand bowl. Classic. With the menu you can match a mug to its original locale and maybe pour the correct mixture into it if you dare.

The images on this menu are phenomenal! These mugs kick major tiki butt. If you have one of these treasures in your collection, please share. The menu auction ends Sunday.