In Memoriam December 7, 1941- December 7, 2023

 

Oil on canvas painting by the artist Anthony Saunders entitled Pearl Harbor, California (BB-44). At dawn on the 7th December 1941, 350 Japanese warplanes flew from their carriers and attacked the US pacific fleet at Pearl harbor, on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. the attack concentrated on "Battleship Row" which included California (Left) and Nevada (BB-36) (Right) which was the only battleship to get underway during the attack. However coming under intense bomb attack she was later beached. For the Japanese the success was not total. as the US carrier fleet was out on manoeuvres on the day of the attack.

 

The Tradewinds (Circa 1974)

Tradewinds is a delicious sweet-tart tropical cocktail that first appeared in the pages of Beachbum Berry Remixed, served as a large communal drink. Re-remixed into the perfectly-balanced single-serve recipe shown below, but you can double or triple up on the ingredients if you’d like to serve it in a big tiki bowl.

Ingrediants:
1 oz. (30 ml) Dark Rum
1 oz. (30 ml) Gold Rum
1 oz. (30 ml) Apricot Liqueur / Brandy
1 oz.*(30 ml) Coco Lopez Coconut Cream
1 oz. (30 ml) fresh lemon juice

Quickly blend all ingredients with a cupful of crushed ice, pulse-blending five or six times so as to break down the ice just a bit. Pour unstrained into a tiki mug or tall glass, and serve with a straw. Lemon wedge speared by a tiny umbrella (turned inside out to give it a windswept appearance) Optional: Grated nutmeg, Pineapple fronds.
NOTE:* Smuggler's Cove use 1.5 oz Coco Lopez coconut cream
Also Bombay Sapphire Gin can be substituted for Rums

 

Toronto's Forgotten Tiki Past

Part 3: Trader Vic's (Hotel Toronto)

Trader Vic Bergeron was late to Toronto's Tiki scene just squeaking into Toronto's Golden Tiki Age in 1975 when he opened a Trader Vic's inside the newly built Hotel Toronto at 145 Richmond Street W.Toronto, Ontario
Though last to the TO scene His was the longest surviving Tiki Bar lasting from 1975-1993. For awhile it was the talk of the town playing host to many Athletes and Showbiz personalities inluding Anne Murray who booked her annual Christmas parties there for 15 consecutive years.
The Hotels' parent company operated by United Airlines which ran the company from 1970 to 1987, changing the hotel's name to the Toronto Westin in 1980. In 1987 it became the Hilton Harbour Castle and today it's simple known as the Toronto Hilton. Had it lasted a few more years it would have made it to the great Tiki revival of the late 1990's but sadly it faded away with little fanfare as Tiki itself had and now replaced by a Ruth's Chris Steak House.
Source: Globe and Mail, March 8, 1978: On dreary winter nights, when the scent of sunny islands is the only promise of springtime, this Polynesian hideaway is the ideal refuge. Those whose spirits aren’t raised by bamboo alone can relax in the arms of a giant rattan chair, and let the soft lights and silky Hawaiian music wash over them while sipping the fragrant—and fresh—fruit concoctions for which Trader’s is justifiably famous throughout the world. (A word of warning—the velvet hand of the bartenders with pineapple, mango, coconut and lime gentles liquor to a lethal whisper, but it packs more punch than navy grog.) – Toronto Calendar, in its 3/5 star rating of Trader Vic’s, December 1978..
(Pictured below are the Ads, Hotel, Ads, Articles, Today sourced from Jamie Bradburn's Tales of Toronto) 

Toronto's Forgotten Tiki Past

Part 2: Doc's Place (Town & Country)
 
Located at Gould and Mutual streets in the Westminster Hotel in the Heart of Downtown Toronto from about 1949 to 1981 was an all you can eat Buffet style restaurant called the Town & Country which had for shining instant sometime in the early 1960's it's own bonafide Tiki Bar called Doc's Place. I couldn't find much info regarding the Tiki Bar aside from some collectable Mugs which in itself says plenty for them since as everyone knows one of the true signs of a Tiki Bar is having one's own Mug(s) for consumption of one's own Tiki libations! or as a Diner's keepsakea sort of memento of their visit. Well  Doc's Place had at least 4 different styles (pictured below) of Tiki Mug but possibly more ranging from ceramic Cobra's Fang, Voodoo Grog, Pineapple to a Wooden Zombie highball so it doesn't take much imagination to figure out what kind of Tiki drinks were being served to Dave Keon and company after they had whipped  Le Glorieux a Stone's throw away at Maple Leaf Gardens on a Saturday Hockey Night in Canada. I Would love to hear any and all comments.
(Pictured below are the Westminster Hotel, Ads, Cobra's Fang, Pinapple, Bamboo highball, Voodoo Grog, postcard, Today)

 

Toronto's Forgotten Tiki Past

 Part 1: Stephen Crane's Bali Hai Room at the Ports of Call

Long before the Shameful Tiki opened it's Bamboo Doors inviting Toronto to jump on the Tiki revival bandwagon there was a time when Toronto the good had her very own Tiki Bars during Tiki's golden age. Legendary Tiki impresarios Steven Crane and Trader Vic Bergeron both opened Polynesian themed restaurants in Toronto.
Erstwhile Actor and restaurateur Steve Crane of the legendary Luau Room in Beverly Hills and arguably the third most prominent member of Tiki's Mount Rushmore behind only Donn Beach and Victor Bergeron created the Kon-Tiki chain of restaurants in association with Sheraton Hotels in 1958 to compete against Bergeron's Trader Vic's which were at that time being installed in Hilton Hotels.
At some point Crane decided to create another stand alone restaurant chain called Ports of Call where each restaurant had five rooms or Ports which had different themes and presumably with foods and drinks to match but with the main room being the Polynesian themed Bali Hai (Port/Room).
Toronto was soon blessed with one of these Ports of Call sometime in 1963, located uptown at 1145 Yonge Street which was a large corner lot bordering to the south with Shaftsbury Ave and once home to the venerable Northgate Hotel . The Bali Hai room as it's centerpiece even played host to the then Ontario Premier John Robarts with a $100 a plate fete in his honour. One of the star dishes on their menu according to John Chuckman was the Pressed Duck which was an American / Chinese fusion dish first concocted in Chicago and apparently the Bali Hai was the only place north of the border where it could be had. After I started working full time, one of the first staff Christmas parties that I attended was at the Ports of Call, at 1145 Yonge Street. It opened in 1963, and for the next decade was one of the city’s most popular dining establishments. It contained three dining rooms—the Bali Hai Room (Polynesian), the Dickens’ English Inn (roast beef) and Caesar’s Room (Italian). The Ports of Call also had two bars — the Singapore Bar (Asian) and the Batton Rouge Bar (French), the latter featuring dancing. I remember that when entering the restaurant, I walked over a wooden foot bridge that spanned a stream of flowing water. We could remain for an evening at the Ports of Call, as after dinner, we could visit one of the bars for music and dancing. By 1975 Crane had sold his Ports of Call and the new owners rechristened it the Ports which presumably did not include a Tiki bar. The original building was torn down sometime in the late 1970's replaced with the present building, a large office high-rise of typical bland form and function.
(Below are some photos of the building in the Day / Night, signage, drink menu , matchbook covers and the building today)

 

 

 

Huell Howser Visits Oceanic Arts | KCET

The late great Huel Howser takes us through a tour of Robert Van Oosting and LeRoy Schmaltz's crucible of all things Tiki: Oceanic Arts
(Rest in Peace Huel Howser & LeRoy Earl Schmaltz)

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