Restaurant reviewer disses tiki culture fans

Mike Hume, restaurant reviewer for the Falls Church News-Press in Virginia, took a shot at tiki fans in his review for Mama Quan's Tiki Hut, a temporary bar that's open through summer. Mike says,

One drawback to the venue’s temporary Tiki status: In addition to the after-work crowd and the late night loungers, the setup also attracted a number of hut heads a tad over-obsessed with Tiki tavern culture. This lot was disappointed by the sparse decorations, and more so with the plastic 24-ounce Mai Tai tumblers that bare the likeness of some Polynesian god or another. Apparently true Tiki joints require ceramic glasses to house the various blends of Mai Tais.

Ouch. "Over-obsessed."

So are we tikiphiles a bunch of loudmouth jerks who bitch and whine unless every bar is decorated like the Mai Kai? Or should be just be happy that a new tiki bar opened up at all?

I'm thinking we're an educated consumer that demands a higher quality product. Wouldn't a beer fan be a little taken aback if it was a served in the incorrect type of glass (Pilsner, pint, etc.) or worse yet, a plastic cup?

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Link to restaurant review

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4 Responses to "Restaurant reviewer disses tiki culture fans"

Humuhumu says:

September 6, 2006 at 9:19 pm

I do think that sometimes we put unfair expectations on places that have no interest in trying to be a midcentury-style tiki bar. We weren’t there with Mike Hume; maybe the people he encountered were boorish.

However, it sounds to me like he’s over-generalizing a single experience with a set of tikiphiles, making it sound like 1) Mama Quan’s is rife with disappointed tiki wierdos (isn’t it more likely that they were there to check it out, and being disappointed, will not be returning?), and 2) anybody who cares about the quality of decoration in a tiki bar (something that is *defined* by its decoration) is an obsessive freak.

I agree with you — it’s a sad state of affairs if others will look down on you for being disappointed when being served in plastic. It doesn’t sound like Mike Hume is the sort of fellow I’d be likely to take any recommendations from, so I suppose it’s just as well that he put me off with his snide comment about tiki lovers.
Humuhumu says:

September 6, 2006 at 4:19 pm

I do think that sometimes we put unfair expectations on places that have no interest in trying to be a midcentury-style tiki bar. We weren’t there with Mike Hume; maybe the people he encountered were boorish.

However, it sounds to me like he’s over-generalizing a single experience with a set of tikiphiles, making it sound like 1) Mama Quan’s is rife with disappointed tiki wierdos (isn’t it more likely that they were there to check it out, and being disappointed, will not be returning?), and 2) anybody who cares about the quality of decoration in a tiki bar (something that is *defined* by its decoration) is an obsessive freak.

I agree with you — it’s a sad state of affairs if others will look down on you for being disappointed when being served in plastic. It doesn’t sound like Mike Hume is the sort of fellow I’d be likely to take any recommendations from, so I suppose it’s just as well that he put me off with his snide comment about tiki lovers.
Swanky says:

September 11, 2006 at 3:42 pm

You gotta feel the love… By that I mean, us “over-obsessed” tiki folk have a love for the genre and know that feeling. And we know that a half done tiki bar is not going to impart the love to anyone. So, we are dissappointed. We want to feel the love and share it. We want new converts. We want people to know what we feel. Bad drinks, bad food, poor decor, wrong music, bad lighting, no special mugs, etc. all impede the love. Some places give us the perfect love, like the Mai Kai or Hala Kahiki, and other places give us a glimpse of the love that is obscured by the music or neon beer signs or whatever. Then you get places that give no love at all, you have to bring your own. Sounds like that is what we have here. Unless you are already a fan, you won’t feel it at all and no one will become a fan by going to this place.

We just want to share the love! Is that so wrong? If people only knew the joy of the true tiki temple, they would join us! We are hoping to swell our ranks by supporting and creating the spirit wherever possible. If we criticize, it is not out of hate, but out of a desire to see and share the true light of our tiki love…

Or, we just want to have a quiet place to have a good drink near our homes… and it should look like it popped out of the Book of Tiki. This age of no tiki bars has forced us all to become bartenders and get all snooty about a Mai Tai that is not as good as what we make at home. We’re a tough crowd, but a supportive one.
Swanky says:

September 11, 2006 at 10:42 am

You gotta feel the love… By that I mean, us “over-obsessed” tiki folk have a love for the genre and know that feeling. And we know that a half done tiki bar is not going to impart the love to anyone. So, we are dissappointed. We want to feel the love and share it. We want new converts. We want people to know what we feel. Bad drinks, bad food, poor decor, wrong music, bad lighting, no special mugs, etc. all impede the love. Some places give us the perfect love, like the Mai Kai or Hala Kahiki, and other places give us a glimpse of the love that is obscured by the music or neon beer signs or whatever. Then you get places that give no love at all, you have to bring your own. Sounds like that is what we have here. Unless you are already a fan, you won’t feel it at all and no one will become a fan by going to this place.

We just want to share the love! Is that so wrong? If people only knew the joy of the true tiki temple, they would join us! We are hoping to swell our ranks by supporting and creating the spirit wherever possible. If we criticize, it is not out of hate, but out of a desire to see and share the true light of our tiki love…

Or, we just want to have a quiet place to have a good drink near our homes… and it should look like it popped out of the Book of Tiki. This age of no tiki bars has forced us all to become bartenders and get all snooty about a Mai Tai that is not as good as what we make at home. We’re a tough crowd, but a supportive one.

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