Otto's in the Press
NY Post - Oct 17 2002
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Deejay Ronnie Seward does his thing at Otto's Shrunken Head Tiki Bar & Lounge
in the East Village, one of a rash of Polynesian-theme hangouts.
Let's get Pacific
No bar is an island, but Tiki spots try

By DAVID LANDSEL

THEY did the hula in the Hawaiian Room at the Lexington Hotel in the '40s.

Their children danced at Times Square's Hawaii-Kai all the way into the '80s, and lunched at Trader Vic's in the basement of the Plaza Hotel until 1993.

With the recent boom in Polynesian-theme party spots, it's clear that New York's Tiki gods hadn't died - they were just taking a nap.

How else to explain the return of the crowds to the formerly lagging Barmacy, which reopened this week as Otto's Shrunken Head Tiki Bar & Lounge?

Co-owner Steve Pang is going for a "rock 'n' roll tiki" theme with this conversion of a once immensely popular East Village bar.

Tiki touches abound, but liberty is taken with leopard-print bar stools and dark, rock club-esque walls.

It works because of strong, satisfying concoctions like the Zombie (served in a really big porcelain tiki mug) and the deep-dish Volcano Blast, bluer than the waters of the South Pacific, and served ablaze.

Be there this Saturday for a grand-opening party that kicks off at 7 p.m., with burlesque by Fancy Chance as well as live music.