Hi Tiki-sters!

My day job has recently taken me out into the wilderness that is Ballarat (about 1.5 hours out of Melbourne for any visitors who might read this).  On one of my jaunts to check out the local lunching establishments I found myself drawn to a very colourful looking cafe, complete with a row of pink flamingos out the front.  Upon peering through the window I KNEW I had to stop in to investigate.

The Krooze in Cafe is on Main Road in Ballarat right near the University and IBM’s fancy new data centre.  It’s filled to the brim with absolutly wonderful 50s retro diner-style furniture, and the colours are garish (in a good way) with pinups and 50′s throwback posters in every direction.  There is a distinct Tiki flavour to the place too – a good sized bamboo shrine to the Tiki Gods grabs your attention as soon as you enter which is adorned with orignal exotica albums – Martin Denny and Les Baxter are on proud display.

The people here are salt-of-the-earth friendly kinda folk – while I was there  I spent some time chatting with one of the owners, Alan, about Tiki, hotrodding, burlesque and pin-ups (part of your complete breakfast of retro-cool pop culture!).  This place should definitely form a key part of any road trip for retro/tiki/hotrod types venturing out into the wilds of Victoria.  It’s a place where you can curl up and relax with a retro book or magazine under a beautiful SHAG print on some incredibly comfortable 50s couches and sip away on a coffee or hot chocolate with some nice, tasty and honest diner-style food.  This place is definitely worth a bit of a look-in.

Cheers,

Kev

I came across some very sad news recently.  The owner of the La Mariana Sailing Club, Annette Nahinu passed away on the 19th of July at age 96.  Annette’s contribution to the preservation of Hawaii’s recent Tiki Bar heritage is immeasurable.

The La Mariana was opened over 50 years ago in Honolulu in Hawaii.  Hawaii had recently become the 50th state of the United States of America, and Tiki fever was gripping the country.  Entrepreneurs (Don the Beachcomber amongst them) began opening enormous Tiki resorts and restaurants throughout the islands.  As the Tiki trend began to cool and the venues started to close down, Annette would be there to collect what was left of the decor and furniture that was being disposed of.  Over the decades the collection of Tiki artifacts that have amassed at La Mariana is impressive.  It’s like a shrine to the great Tiki Bars of the Islands.

La Mariana is on my short list of about 5 Tiki “must-sees” in the world today.  I was lucky enough to be able to visit there at the start of this year, but sadly did not get an opportunity to meet Annette.  The La Mariana is an absolutely wonderful place.  The atmosphere is thick with history and has a great organic “hand-made” vibe.  It is what I imagine our bar will feel like in 50 years time.

I hope La Mariana is taken over by the “right” person.  Annette’s legacy is an American treasure, and it deserves to be looked after.

I’ve attached an album of photos I took at La Mariana so you can see how special the place is – click on the image below to see more.

Cheers,

Kev

Click for photos of La Mariana Sailing Club

Hiya,

You may remember me talking about a podcast that I do called SOUSED.  Well, earlier this year we shot a video for SOUSED showcasing a number of Melbourne’s prominent cocktail bartenders showing off the face they make when shaking a cocktail – popularly believed to be the face one makes when making love.

Anyway,  I thought I’d include part one of the video here coz it features the wonderful Tiki Lounge and Bar!  Enjoy!

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=8cFJ-fKFRQY]

Hey there!

It occurs to me that some people who stumble across this blog may be travelers searching for things to do while in Melbourne. If you’ve come here because you’re in to Tiki, cocktails or sub-culture, I thought I could help out with some helpful pointers for getting the most from your visit.

Cocktails and Bars

Ok first of all, you absolutely must find a bookshop and arm yourself with a copy of Deck of Secrets‘ “Bar Secrets: Melbourne” and “Bar Secrets: Melbourne City Fringe”. These sell for under $10 each, and have 52 cards, each with a review, contact details and map for some of Melbourne’s nicer bars. Be warned that many of Melbourne’s bars are hidden away – it’s often quite a hunt to find the obscure alleyways where we hide our best venues.

Some of my picks for Melbourne Cocktail bars are:

1806 – A new bar run by Sebastian Reaburn, Melbourne’s mad scientist of Cocktails, and an avid drinks Historian. Seb is a veritable font of knowledge, and the drinks at 1806 are a testament to this (the name of the bar is a reference to the first written definition of the cocktail in the year 1806 – definitely a place for cocktail nerds like me).

Seamstress – Melbourne’s bartending dream team works at this new bar in Lonsdale Street. Headed up by Jason Chan, who has a knack for hunting down obscure and exotic spirits, Seamstress is a must-see bar.

Der Raum – world renowned cocktail bar doing lots of innovative “molecular mixology” stuff.

Golden Monkey – Asian inspired drinks and decor with ever-friendly staff, the Monkey has been the darling of the Melbourne bar scene for the last two years or so.

Murmur – Very low key “cuban-style” bar – this is a typically Melbourne Alleyway bar. Look for the giant chandelier in the alley.

Ginger – Head off the beaten track a little to Brunswick Street a bit north of the city, and you will find Ginger – a progressive cocktail bar with a great friendly atmosphere. After 3 visits, you’re practically family thanks to the most awesome hospitality of Alex Ross and her crew.

 Tiki Lounge and Bar – Hands down the best bar in Melbourne.   Exquisite drinks and impeccable hospitality are the hallmarks of this behemoth of the Melbourne Cocktail scene.  Plus, their head bartender is smoking hot.

Subculture:

Tiki seems to attract a lot of attention from the low brow art community and pop culture enthusiasts. Here are a few people in Melbourne who are doing their best to further the cause…

Outre Gallery – Lots of lowbrow art and artists – Shag, kozyndan, Niagara and many others, Outre is the place for Tiki artwork and books.

Route 66 – Clothing store specialising in rockabilly type styling, Route 66 often play host to bands in their Prahran store. Great people and strong supporters of Tiki Lounge and Bar.

There are a number of Burlesque troops floating around in Melbourne. Off the top of my head we’ve got HiBall Burlesque, The Town Bikes and Man’s Ruin (who I can’t find a site for after 30 seconds of intense googling.) They’re all well worth checking out.

I’m sure I’ve missed some vital stuff out – please feel free to drop a note in the comments if you’ve got anything to add.

Cheers,

Kev.