This is a selection of favorite writings and images from the now-defunct TBRP,
which was very active from 1995 to 2003, and sort of half-active from 2003 to 2007.
Now it is gone.

The Tiki Bar Review Pages site was replaced by the book Tiki Road Trip (in 2003).
The second edition of TRT (2007) is available NOW.
This is an archive - these pages are no longer updated!
Some information will be out of date.  Some of this writing goes back to 1995.
See Tiki Road Trip (2007 edition) for the most up-to-date information.

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Politiki
Washington, DC

Full review and history of Politiki
is available in Tiki Road Trip


 June 2004:

The wobbly PoliTiki is apparently gone again.

March 2000

News - Politiki has re-opened!

This dispatch from the owner:

"I am the owner of Politiki in  Washington, DC. I am glad to tell you, that after a trying time (bad management, uncaring staff) we are re-organized and back, hopefully getting better and  bigger. We have moved the Politiki permanently into the basement of our three-story bar. We have increased the size of the physical bar in the basement  and added some great booths. We are not purists. We use some of the old and new in the tiki world to get our message across.  We have also made four cool tiki style mugs: Lincoln, Carter, Roosevelt, Reagan, and more could be coming in the  future. The cool lounge and tiki music are back in the juke-box and the very cool TED now manages the basement bar. Come and check us out and we're open for  suggestions.                Thanks--Joe"

The original review:

Summer, 1998

poliI have to admit that it was with some trepidation that I drove three hours out of my way on my annual road trip/vacation this summer just to visit a Tiki Bar.  To be honest, I have driven longer than that to visit Tiki Bars in the past, but this situation was different.  You see, unlike all of the other vintage 1950's Tiki Bars I usually review, this Tiki Bar opened just a few months back.

Now, there have been few, if any, new Tiki Bars since oh, the early 1970's or so.  And of course, a certain part of the fun of the Tiki Bar Experience is reveling in their vintageness and authenticity.

So, how would a brand spankin' new, freshly minted Tiki Bar feel?

Well, pretty good, actually, I am relieved to say.

PoliTiki is located on Pennsylvania Ave. SE in Washington DC, just a few blocks down the street from the home of the President of the United States.  In fact, Ol' Bill could walk here, have a drink, use the place as an alibi next time he wants to go out and bone one of his interns, and walk home via her place.  It is located on a short strip of other bars and restaurants, but on walking by, it immediately distinguishes itself from its mundane companions by the two giant Tikis on the front sign, bamboo window shades, and the single most coveted item on my Tiki Shopping list (now that I finally got an authentic vintage blowfish lamp): a string of plastic Moai (Easter Island Statue) shaped lights. Check out the pic above, it's a shot of the front door/front patio.

Inside, a little bit of the Polynesian magic disappears.  There are these strange plaster faces all over the walls, and although cool, they're completely un-Tiki.  Behind the bar, however, there is a collection of vintage Tiki mugs and stuff that can only be the owner's private collection.  There are also two signed art prints by the masterful Mark Ryden.  Look for one by the door and the other by the bar.



.

poliThe bartender, Peggy, was really friendly and made us feel right at home.  She seemed genuinely interested in hearing about this here lil' ol' web site, and as the night wore on, she eventually ended up giving us a little free aid in our quest to end up as hung over as possible.  Our first round consisted of a Suffering Bastard (of course) and a Virgin's Downfall.  Peggy actually used decent rum, so we didn't make the have to make the Lono-face that Castillo or other such cheap rum inspires.  Either that, or she really knows how to work that cheap rum to hide the taste! Anyway, they tasted pretty good.  Purists may want to keep in mind that while PoliTiki serves all the classic Tiki drinks, they have revamped the recipes to their own liking.  They also have a short menu of food, consisting of your basic bar food (burgers and the like) and a few more traditional Tiki Bar dishes (Chinese food, basically).

We headed downstairs to the basement, where there was a second bar (closed at that moment) that was actually decorated a little better than the main bar upstairs. We noticed three big wood Tikis that we were told were carved by our pal Bosko (see links page).  There were a bunch of frat boy dorks playing pool who were laughing at the fact that we were taking pictures, but hey, we got a free Scorpion in a big flaming bowl and they didn't!  Back upstairs, Peggy told us that the third floor would be opening as a swing club soon. That's a pic of the basement bar just a few inches away from this sentence. Not the row of vintage Tiki Mugs on the top shelf between the big Moais.

UPDATE:
Tiki Bar Review Pages field correspondant David Carter visited PoliTiki on a weekend in 1999, and reported that it was insanely crowded, and overrun with frat boys and yuppie wanna be politicians.  It was cramped, loud, and there was no where to stand, let a lone sit.  Our advice, then, would be to avoid it on the weekend.

UPDATE: September, 2000
Jeff Hansell writes:
I just wanted to let you know that Politiki in downtown D.C. is now the  PENN AVE. PUB, or some such nonsense.  Same owners as before, but evidently the frat guys and government wonks that frequent the place are more into it's new motiff, namely PITTSBURG.  That's right. Tikis don't sell enough Bud Lite and Sex on the Beach, but Pittsburg themed sports banners and the like do.  The word is that the downstairs still has the tiki theme, but that room is closed most of the time anyway.


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