Under the soft glow of porcupinefish lights and watchful eye of carved tiki idols, our production coordinator, Dena, a tiny thing of just over 100 pounds, leans over the massive wood bar and politely says to the bartender, “I’ll take a Bora Bora headhunter, please.” Yes, I think to myself, tonight’s gonna be a good night.
As senior editor of Fresh Home, I get to do a lot of fun stuff (press trips, TV appearances, work with amazing talent), but it’s our hard-working, hard-playing staff and inspiring readers that make the exhausting deadlines and ups and downs indicative of the publishing industry worth it all. So when I get the chance to interact with either, I know good times are a sure thing.
Which leads me back to tiki night. In this issue’s Liska’s List (page 23), I made a pledge that the Fresh Home team would embark on a tiki tour of Milwaukee, where our editorial office is based, to do a little followup field research on Kara Newman’s Cheeky Tiki story (page 90). And as promised, I’m posting pictures. Here’s a snapshot(s) of our night out.
Stop #1: Foundation Bar, 2718 N. Bremen St., Milwaukee. In short, this place rocked. The all-tiki-all-the-time decor—palm fronds, bamboo-covered walls, saltwater aquarium, and so much more—set the perfect tone for our adventure. Known for their made-from-scratch Mai Tais, the Blue Hawaiian (rum, coconut, lemon, pineapple), Little Grass Shack (Barbados rum, apricot, peach, Chartreuse, and pineapple served in a hula girl cup), Dark & Stormy (dark Bermuda rum, ginger beer and lime) and aforementioned headhunter were some of our fave refreshments.
welcome to Foundation Bar
booze, twinkle lights and tiki mugs, oh my!
must-have tiki decor: marine kitsch, carved idols and a hula girl
back row, left to right: dulcie shoener, katherine conrad, kerri balliet, deb mulvey, howard greenberg, christian millman, dena ahlers; front row, left to right: dan bishop, monica kamradt, rachael liska, heather lamb
Stop #2: Bryant’s Cocktail Lounge, 1579 S. 9th St., Milwaukee. Billed as Milwaukee’s oldest cocktail lounge, plush velvet walls, cozy booths and nearly there lighting, make this place a must go when you’re in Brew City. There’s no menu here. That’s because their expert servers and bartenders are literally cocktail artisans. Tell them what you like and they’ll craft a drink especially for you. Black Magic (which came to our table flaming), Navy Grog and whatever coconut concoction they whipped up for me that night are especially mind-blowing options.
howard, try as you might, you can’t hide from us under that drink umbrella
it’s like “a vacation served in a tall hurricane glass”
Stop #3: At Random, 2501 S. Delaware, Milwaukee/Bay View. There are really no words to describe this one-of-a-kind Milwaukee landmark. But imagine a swinging ’40s lounge awash in Christmas, and you get the gist. Sweet and sassy waitresses in wigs serve up specialty ice cream drinks and tiki creations. If my memory had been a bit sharper at this point in the evening, I would share more. But, honestly, I just remember a lot of laughing…with good friends.
our delightful waitress, shirley, poses with christian, his wife, michelle, and I as we share a tiki love bowl
yes, without a flash, it really does look like this inside
dena, heather and dan (and sammy davis jr.?) under tiki’s blurry-eyed, but happy spell
So there you have it. Have you been to any terrific tiki joints that you’d like to tell us about?
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