I missed this one:
Ask Chris: Razing the Bar
May 12, 2014 Chris Nichols 0 Comments
Q: Whatever happened to that amazing carved bar from Yee Mee Loo in Chinatown?
A: The massive wood, silk, and gilt confection was installed inside the Spring Street landmark in 1939. The building was torn down five decades later to make room for the world’s ugliest minimall. In 1999, Alvin Simon moved the salvaged bar to his Glendale restaurant, Cinnabar. After Simon died in 2010, the relic was put in storage—minus the frontispiece, which was cut to fit into a pickup. The family is open to parting with the bar and asked me to vet offers. See my e-mail address below, or look for me at the Good Luck Bar* in Los Feliz, the only place that still makes the famous Yee Mee Loo “blue drink.”
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Los Angeles Magazine
*Good Luck Bar, 1514 Hillhurst Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027:
google
Just in case anyone wants to drown their sorrows tonight:
google
Quote:
Originally Posted by Martin Pal
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Even though the Goddess of Mercy (
Kwan Yin) barred us from her temple tonight, I'm heartened to realize that
MichaelRyerson could not lose.
ETA, Regarding the below, my new Taiwanese roommate says "Yee Mee Loo" (which would be pronounced "E Way Loo") means (not literally) something like "a taste of home when one is far away", which explains the matchbook wording (sort of). "Pa" would like to go home (or feel like he's home), but must make do with something that tastes like home ("I'm going for a drink" is the shorthand answer to his son's question), because "It feels like home eating here" . So, the meaning is more profound than if it just meant "blue drink" (which it doesn't).
I fear my clunky retelling of my roommate's explanation does not convey the full emotive experience which "Yee Mee Loo" apparently conjures up.
(My roommate has only been in the US for a month and Western,
very-approximate pronunciations of Chinese sounds, spelt out in a different alphabet, are causing much hilarity and confusion.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by ethereal_reality
Several people on the tiki blog have said "Yee Mee Loo" literally means "Blue Drink".
tikiroom
I don't know Chinese...but I doubt it.
Any translators here?
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