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)

 

 

 

Chicken Pacific Recipe

 Chicken Pacific (A Tiki Classic)

Ingredients:
750 ml (about 2 1/2 cups) sour cream                                  
2 tsp tarragon                                          
1/2 tsp thyme                                             
1/2 tsp garlic powder                                 
1/2 tsp paprika                            
2 1/2 tsp salt
6 boneless chicken breasts
2 cups Crushed Cornflake crumbs (Yes the Cereal!)
1/4  cup butter
1/2  cup diced olives
1  cup Cocktail shrimp (Optional)

Also needed:
1 medium bowl for Cornflake crumbs
1 medium bowl for Sour cream mixture
1 large baking dish



Directions:
1.Crush Cornflakes in a zip lock bag with a Rolling pin or rum/wine bottle.
2.Preheat oven to 350 F
3.Combine sour cream with tarragon,thyme,garlic powder,paprika and salt.
4. Dip chicken into sour cream mixture coating liberally then dip into corn flake crumbs, coating well.
5.Reserve leftover sour cream mixture and add olives and cocktail shrimp to it then set aside.
6.Melt butter in baking dish; place chicken flat side  down in dish.Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.
7.Turn chicken bake for an additional 20 minutes.
8.Turn Chicken & pour reserve sour cream mixture to cover chicken and continue cooking for an additional 10 minutes.
9.Let stand 10 minutes and serve.(May also heat sauce to serve separately)

*This recipe may be baked and frozen. Thaw, reheat slowly in oven preheated to 350 degrees. Size of baking dish will depend on the amount and size of chicken you use.

Vegetarian Version:
For chicken substitute Extra-Firm Tofu sliced 1/2"thick with deep grooves to soak in sour cream mixture omit Cocktail shrimp.

About the Dish: 
This is a rich & decadent main course that is out of this world and should be a must try at your next Luau.My Mother used to make this back in the Sixties to impress her dinner guests and it doesn't disappoint...Enjoy! ~ Dr.Cyclops