Luau Locations?

I'm currently helping some friends with a Hawaiian Luau party they would like to host this summer... however we are having some difficulty finding an appropriate location for this event. It's going to be a more formal luau of sorts for approx 150 people. Any ideas of a place that can accomodate this large party and provide relatively good (and convincing) luau fare? (We're particularly looking for a venue in the city of Chicago or north to far-north burbs.)

Additionally, any resources you have in creating a classy- not gaudy! - luau would be greatly appreciated! (anything from obtaining real or silk tropical floral arrangements to folks to put on a hawaiian performance (hulas, ukukeles, etc)

[We have already reached out to some Chicagoland resources based on our google searches but we were curious if there were any resources some LTH folks could suggest as well.... ]

Thank you in advance!

You might want to check out the people at Tiki Terrace in Mt. Prospect (thetikiterrace dot com). They advertise that they do events. I would say their food is passable. They do not do an authentic kalua pork in the restaurant but they may if they throw a luau for someone. They seem to be involved with another organization called "The Barefoot Hawaiian."

The restaurant is fun, but if you want to go on the weekends (which is when they have live entertainment) you will have to deal with their slapdash telephone/reservation system, complete with people who say, "Can you wait a minute?" then put down the phone, walk away and forget about you while chatting audibly about this and that to someone else.

Thanks Bibi Rose - I actually spoke with the owner of the Tiki Terrace, however the place can only accomodate 50 guests to allow room for any possible entertainment. I've also spoken with the folks at Barefoot Hawaiian...

foodie1 wrote:Thanks Bibi Rose - I actually spoke with the owner of the Tiki Terrace, however the place can only accomodate 50 guests to allow room for any possible entertainment. I've also spoken with the folks at Barefoot Hawaiian...

I guessed you might have already. I'd love to hear anything else you find out for my own future reference.

A couple of years ago when I was still a student at Northwestern, I attended the annual luau hosted by the Hawaii Club. The students performed luau dances and delicious food was served. However, I think they may have cooked the food themselves. At the very least, maybe you can get some of them to dance or point you toward some resources? Here is their website.

Good luck.

Pucca wrote: I attended the annual luau hosted by the Hawaii Club. Here is their website.

Good luck.

Thanks Pucca! I've sent an email and hopefully they can provide some information and resources too!

I don't have any profound recommendations for a place to have a Luau style celebration, but I have a suggestion for a place to source appropriate decorations, etc. It's called Barnard's @ 375 W. Erie, just west of Orleans. They have a great selection of items that could be used for decorating, covering just about any theme imaginable. They are the go to place when you need something you don't think anyone will have. . . (Last purchase there by me was giant scissors for a ribbon cutting).

It's also a fun place to go visit.

www.barnardltd.com

Not sure if they serve food, but Hala Kahiki in River Grove would definitely have the right atmosphere.

And if you'd be willing to substitute Chinese food for Hawaiian food, consider Chef Shangri-La in North Riverside -- although I'd rank the food there as decent but not great.

Hi. I was a member of NU's Hawaii Club as an undergrad and still help them with their annual luau. As Pucca suggests, the club itself prepares the food served at its event. The decorations (fresh flowers/foliage and the like) are typically donated by friends and family and shipped from Hawaii shortly before the event. This is the SOP for the University Hawaii Club luau across the nation.

In any case, I'll post some notes about smaller luau-type events I've hosted on my own, in case you might be interested...

The basic luau fare is not at all complicated. Check out http://onokinegrindz.typepad.com/ono_kine_grindz/home_cooking/ or the luau section of http://alohaworld.com to see for yourself. Ti leaves can generally be omitted or replaced by banana leaves, and taro leaves can often be found in Asian or Caribbean groceries. I've done the cooking for my events; but with the number of guests you're talking about, it's clearly not an option for you. Given the simplicity of the dishes and availability of their ingredients (you honestly can't screw this stuff up), you should be able to convince an open-minded caterer to handle the food for you.

IMO, the Tiki theme is the epitome of gaudy. A ballroom, or a large, private backyard would make better venues than a Tiki-themed bar or restaurant (no offense, MJ, as I do think that your suggestion would be absolutely perfect for a fun, casual party). Adding tropical foliage and subtle accents onto white tablecloths is more than enough to convey the theme without conjuring images of bad cocktails and tacky aloha shirts.

As far as tropical flora, I can suggest a few to you. Pikake is a type of Jasmine Sambac, which isn't sold here very often but can be conveniently ordered from growers in the southern states. It's strung into lei resembling strands of pearls, and I believe it's also the same flower used in China to create jasmine tea. The fragrance of fresh pikake, if you've never experiened it, is incredible. Tiare--a Tahitian gardenia with a very nice fragrance--is often available potted from local garden stores (I've even seen it at Sam's Club). Like most gardenias, it's pretty fickle; so if you want to put the blossoms into service, buy right before your event--presumably shortly after the grower has forced a bloom. Purple and white dendrobiums are very common in Hawaii--they are often made into durable, though scentless, flower lei. Against a background of dark foliage like ti leaves, scattered dendrobiums can provide a subtle tropical look. Hawaiian ti leaves are a type of cordyline (sp?). The red version usually shows up at Home Depot's garden centers sometime around the end of spring. You could try calling some florists in Hawaii and asking them to ship green ones to you. The leaves are very durable and should make the trip just fine. Dendrobiums are shippable, too.

The combination of fresh-cut pineapple, fresh coconut, and some blooming fragrant plants (eg pikake, tiare, white ginger, tuberose) is my standard recipe for oflactory ambience. The resulting fragrance screams tropical and is probably the one thing that guests have enjoyed the most. For the more formal gatherings, some tropical-inspired arrangements from a local florist complete the look.

thank you bobora for your info! i was thinking along the same lines with regards to the flora. I believe we are going to do a silk tropical floral arrangements for the large floral pieces and for each table, we'll be going with fresh loose petals with centerpieces of fresh pineapples and thrown in some tealights.

I used to take taiko lessons at the Japanese American Service Committee, and I know that they have a ukulele performance group there. The instructor may have suggestions on venues and dancers.

Na Kupuna Ukulele Club of Chicago
The Na Kupuna Ukulele Club of Chicago was formed in April 1997 by a group of people who were interested in learning how to play the ukulele and to sing Hawaiian songs, as well as Japanese and American songs. Na kupuna in the Hawaiian language means "elders" or "senior citizens." Mr. Calvin Lee is the instructor, and the club meets weekly at JASC for lessons. They have performed at the Daley Center, Japan Day festival at the Chicago Botanic Garden, and the Midwest Buddhist Temple's Ginza Holiday, as well as temples, churches, and senior citizen homes. They currently have 50 members. For further information about the Na Kupuna Ukulele Club, please call the JASC at 773.275.0097.

You may want to contact Aloha Grill in Lincoln Park to see if they can cater your event. It may be worthwhile to visit their store, because they have a little bulletin board with all sorts of Hawaii-related groups and events. It seems that they may be a good entry point to the Hawaiian community in Chicago (I learned about this place from a friend who used to live in Hawaii). It's certainly not a fancy/gourmet place, but luaus aren't supposed to be fussy.

Aloha Grill
2534 N. Clark
773-935-6828

asami

[quote="MJ"]Not sure if they serve food, but Hala Kahiki in River Grove would definitely have the right atmosphere.

I can tell you that Hala Kahiki does NOT serve food -- but man oh man is it fun. I haven't been there in quite some time but it is about as seriously kitsch as you can get. It's worth a visit just for the laughs.

From the Tiki Terrace website:

In 2001, with The Tiki Terrace concept, the Zuziaks would slolwy begin building the business by first developing a prop rental division of their future restaurant and bar. The prop rental division grew over the next few years and is still growing today. During the course of building this prop rental division, the brothers would gain valuable skills in fabrication that can be seen in the restaurant today. The prop rental division can be seen at www.acustomproduction.com

E.M.

Na Kupuna Ukulele Club of Chicago

I saw them at the Ginza fest last year. In fact they may have been the highlight (it wasn't the food). 30 seniors strumming ukuleles and together producing about the volume of one guitarist, singing the most cliched old Hawa-a-ai-ii type songs. It was strangely moving, actually, not just campy. I hope when I'm that age I'm strumming the ukulele against the dying of the light.

I've contacted the Ukulele club and spoke with the most sweetest woman! She was a doll and hopefully we can have the group perform at our event....depending on the locale, since the Ukulele club would prefer to perform within the city and close burbs.