Simultaneity.
It took Andy a terribly long time to get home from work, much much longer that usual, so we ended up getting a late start. Just as we hit the sidewalk, the #77 bus that we needed went by. We waited another 15 minutes for one (during which time I unsuccessfully tried hailing a cab). While on the bus, which apparently was the slowest in all creation, it started raining cats and dogs. The roof of the bus was leaking. Eventually we got to Belmont/Kimball and got off. Crazy rain everywhere. We managed to hail a cab. Just as the last of us was getting into the vehicle, there was an enormous thunderclap and a woman standing on the sidewalk screamed, “That gas station just got hit by lightning!” A thin thread of smoke could be seen. But no fireballs, luckily. Our cab driver was a bit twitterpated and had some trouble turning the cab around. I wanted to get the hell away from that intersection. Eventually we got on the expressway, which was like a creeping parking lot. Clock was ticking. The five of us were scrunched into the cab, four in the back seat and one up front. But we got there in one piece, Des Plaines, between the Blockbuster Video and the Radio Shack at the Oaks Shopping Center. Middle of nowhere. Amazingly, we were only 15 minutes late. Joy had arrived before us on her own.
The space is about twice as big as the old location I’d say, and the interior decoration was pretty amazing. Tons of woven matting on the walls, carved tikis, glass lamps, dramatic lighting, artificial foliage etc. We were seated promptly but it took quite awhile for our waitress to appear. She apologized profusely and indeed the rest of the evening she was very attentive. By the end of the evening, between the six of us we’d sampled every drink on the featured menu. They varied from mediocre to very good; their heart is in the right place but they lack that certain something, that Trader Vic’s craft and precision. The food however was solid. The egg rolls: paper thin crispy wrappers, a tangy dipping sauce. Didn’t take long for those to disappear. The taro chips were fresh, hot, just salty enough. I definitely enjoyed my entree, shredded roast pork over rice with cole slaw. Its saltiness cut my sugary drink, Blue Hawaii. We each had about three drinks and an appetizer in addition to our main courses, and we got two desserts. Came out to about $50 a person.
The floorshow was pretty wild, kind of like Des Plaines’ version of Vegas. A female emcee cracked mildly ribald jokes between dance routines and songs. Including the Dance of the Poi Balls. Lots of audience participation, birthday girls (in their 40’s and 70’s) hauled onstage and taught to hula, a few Don Ho songs, some slow dancing by couples there to celebrate their anniversary. Andy was whooping it up and clapping like crazy. The enthusiasm in the packed crowd was infectious.
We left our seats a bit after 10 o’clock. While waiting for our cab another downpour appeared from nowhere and then abruptly stopped five minutes later. We piled into the cab and took it all the way back to lakeview. It came out to only $10 a head.
So in summary, it was quite an evening. Worth the trip and I’d certainly go back again (though probably on a weeknight when it wasn’t packed to the gills). But man oh man, I can’t wait till Trader Vic’s opens. The tropics will certainly be a whole lot closer.
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