Tiki time
HOT PLATE | New Trader Vic's brightens up, brings back the pupu platter
Like the break in a wave, Trader Vic's is roaring back.
(John J. Kim/Sun-Times)
And so is the pupu platter.
After three years of anticipation, Trader Vic's -- which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year -- has reopened at 1030 N. State, on the ground floor of the Newberry Plaza building.
At the end of its 48-year-run in the basement of the Palmer House Hilton, the tiki-themed restaurant was not known for fine dining. The mainstay pupu platter, a tray of assorted meat and seafood appetizers, was regarded as something so mid-20th century, like vinyl records and F.D.R.
Guess what? All that's back too.
"Pupu" is Hawaiian for "relish" or "appetizer." The new Trader Vic's menu features pupus that are lighter and more subtle in flavor than their cumbersome predecessors.
And what an aroma. The minute a guest enters the restaurant, they are met with a sweet apple and hickory scent from the open Chinese oven, which was built onsite. Steaks, lamb chops, sea bass and salmon are cooked in the oven.
During a late December visit to Trader Vic's, I sampled the $12 crab rangoon pupu -- blue crabmeat, cream cheese and spices, folded in a crispy wonton -- and loved the Beef Cho-Cho, a bargain at $10. Here, thinly sliced strips of steak are cooked rare in a soy-sake sauce. You finish the meat off for 15 to 20 seconds on your own flaming hibachi. What can be more fun on a winter night than playing with fire while drinking Mai Tais on Rush Street?
People have forgotten that Trader Vic's was once known for its food. Founder Vic Bergeron was a pioneer of fusion cuisine. He was one of the first to serve kiwi fruit (which he called Chinese gooseberries). And he championed cooking food in wood-fired ovens, which date back to the Han Dynasty.
The pupu's renewed popularity is partly due to the poor economy. Young people are sharing food on small plates, picking up where tapas left off.
"I've noticed for the last five years or so, people love eating in bars," said 35-year-old Trader Vic's chef Isaac Holzwarth, who came to the restaurant from the Gibsons steakhouse chain. "I hate the phrase, but it's like the 'gastro-pub' craze in Europe. People want the casual atmosphere."
The casual culinary experience reflects the environment. The Trader Vic's at the Palmer House was in the basement, which created a dark hideaway ambiance. The Trader Vic's at Newberry Beach (shall we say) is brighter, hipper and swankier, with a sly nod to the angular Southern California Googie architecture of the 1960s.
The corners of the 295-seat room feature Jetson-like avocado green booths and tropical wallpaper made from tapa cloth imported from Tahiti and New Guinea. The cloth is actually tree bark pounded into paper.
Some coconut wood fish and masks were saved from the Palmer House operation, as was the 700-pound tiki that now sits in front of the restaurant.
Even the waitstaff's wardrobe has been updated. Trader Vic's female servers were known for wearing huge flowered muumuus (think Mama Cass on Waikiki Beach). The new staff wears tailored, Asian-influenced coats and slacks in basic black, accented with green and the orange-red colors of the hibiscus flower. I wouldn't mind wearing one of these outfits to work.
"It's a very nice mix between a new Trader Vic's and classic Trader Vic's," said tiki-phile David Lawrence, 37, of Park Ridge, who was sharing pupus with his friends during the restaurant's first week in operation.
"I'm glad its back," said Lawrence, who runs the completist's tiki Web site www.konakai.com. "The only thing is the location. I liked it down in the Loop, classic Chicago. What do they call this? The Viagra Triangle?"
Now there's an idea. Trade in the sea breeze for a Cialis Breeze.
Lawrence's pal Stephanie DiBiase, 29, of Bucktown, sipped a Scorpion (rum, brandy, orange juice with a dash of almonds).
"I would give this a 10 out of 10," she said. And this was around 6 p.m.
"The challenge is that people assume tiki falls into the Jimmy Buffett realm of things and there's a bit about this neighborhood that falls into that," Lawrence said. "But there's a sophistication about Trader Vic's, the drinks they have and the meals that elevates what tiki is and restores it to the tiki which Americans understand. That's why this is a beautiful place."
Trader Vic's is at 1030 N. State (312-642-6500, www.tradervicschicago.com).