The Tiki Bar Review Pages: Mt. Fuji Inn, Omaha, NE

It has come to a point in this quest for Tiki, that whenever I leave Chicago for any reason, I do some research to find out if there is a Tiki bar at my destination, or even in my path. In the case of a road trip to Denver in April of 1999, I discovered a Tiki Bar in Omaha, Nebraska. This was extremely convinient, since Omaha was directly in my path from Chicago to Denver (via I-80), and it was just about at the half way mark. I'd be able to sack out in the Omaha area after sampling a few Scorpions and Headhunters at the Mai Tai Lounge, and then continue on to Denver the following morning.

Although the rest of the trip was a disaster, the trip to the Tiki Bar was without undue chaos. Unfortunately, the Mai Tai Lounge in the basement of the Mt. Fuji Inn is really only worth a look if you happen to be in the area, and is not someplace I'd go too far out of my way to stop into again. Let's say that serious Tikiheads should give it the once over... once.

The Mt. Fuji Inn is a typical Chinese Restaurant, left over from the 1960s. With a big and ornate red gate over the driveway, and a decent (but not spectacular) neon sign, you can't miss it from Blondo Street. Arriving at 9:00 PM, I was relieved to get there before the 10:00 closing. I peeked downstairs to confirm that the Tiki Bar existed, and that they were open later than the restaurant, then I went back upstairs to eat. The only other patrons in the place were a middle aged couple who appeared to know the waitress quite well. I ordered sweet and sour chicken, and sat back to enjoy the atmosphere.

There wasn't much to enjoy, however. Typical Cantonese restaurant decor, run down and barely maintained. The three women working there might have been a family - the ancient waitress who spoke with a thick Cantonese accent and a rude manner probably bourne of years of working in the same place, (her middle aged daughter?) working the register and trying her best to smile, and (her grand-daughter?), one of the prettiest Asain women I've ever seen, wiping the tables down in preperation for closing, after the last table full of customers in her section had left. She was bored, and probably resentful that destiny had led her to this tiresome job in the family restaurant.

These speculations filled my thoughts as I tried NOT to focus on my meal, which was all sweet and no sour. It was like sucking on candy. Barely edible. I mixed in as much rice as I could, and some soy sauce to cut the sweetness, and I was able to finish it.

Headed down to the lounge, things weren't much better. There are exactly two Tikis in the place, both wooden poles about 4 feet high. They're nice, but I guess Kahiki and Hala Kahiki have me spoiled. There are also three black velvet nudes on the walls, and they're fairly decent ones at that. A few lanterns hang from the ceiling, and great big aqauariums are set into the walls behind the bar. Curiously, a CD of remixes by The Cure was playing on the juke box. Not exactly Martin Denny, but the slow tempo and dreamy quality of the tunes made them not entirely unwelcome.

The bartender was a Hawaiian geek with bad skin, a dirty T-shirt with a map of Nebraska on it, and coke bottle glasses. He wasn't very nice to me, no matter how hard I tried to be cool with him. This is why I don't mind calling him a geek! His Mai Tai and his Scorpion were indistinguishable, and like the food upstairs, they were far too sweet. The place had that musty sort of basement smell, mixed with cigarette smoke that has no where to go. By 11:30 they were closing up, just as some of the local hip kids (or at least what passes for hip in this part of the country) were showing up. They thought I was weird for taking a few pictures of the place, but what do I care? I'm probably never coming back here again anyways.

I wasn't able to get much info out of the bartender, but from what I was able to wring from him, the place became a Tiki Bar in the early 1970's, and it was "something else" before that. So there you are.

Mai Tai Lounge, Omaha, NE - in the basement of Mt. Fuji Inn, 7215 Blondo.
From I- 80, heading east: go north on Interstate - 680, take the Dodge Street exit and head east, take a left onto 72nd, head north on 72nd until you reach Blondo Street. It is just west of the intersection of 72nd and Blondo. From I-80 heading west, take I-680 to 72nd st., head south on 72nd to Blondo, hang a right.

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Last updated on July 12, 2007

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