It had never occurred to me, but once you cut the top off of a pineapple purchased at the supermarket, it can actually be planted. Last January after a party where I used my trusty Vacu Vin pineapple slicer, I found and followed the super-easy instructions at Rick’s Woodshop Creations.

The step-by-step guide includes lots of photos, so it’s easy to figure out what you’re supposed to do. Surprisingly, the process is pretty idiot-proof and the plant fairly hardy — I had originally just stuck my pineapple top in some dirt (the wrong thing to do) and even though a couple of weeks had gone by, Rick’s instructions got me back on track. Four months later, I have a healthy-looking plant that’s progressing nicely.

How to grow a pineapple instructions

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I’d always been hesitant to use fresh pineapple in my drinks because of the expense of sliced pineapple at the grocery store — a small package of chunks can run up to $5.00 in my area. I’d attempted to cut up a whole pineapple a couple of times with just a sharp knife: it worked OK, but after a good 15 minutes of effort I ended up with something that looked more like a science experiment than a garnish.

Recently, I came across a William & Sonoma-branded version of the Vacu Vin pineapple slicer in the clearance rack of their otherwise highbrow store. It’s deceptively easy to use: you slice off the top of the pineapple, then push the Vacu Vin down into the flesh of the open pineapple, twisting as you move deeper into it. When you get to the bottom, you pull the device up and out of the fruit and you end up with a length of 1/8″ high, perfectly spiraled pineapple.

Cutting the pineapple this way takes less than a minute, the fruit is ready to cut into rings or smaller slices, and you end up with a hollowed out pineapple — perfect for pouring drinks into!

There’s three models available: a plastic version with cutting wheels for three different sized pineapples, in plastic at a single-sized, and in stainless steel at single-size. My single-size plastic has been doing great — the stainless steel model would be a good choice if you cut a lot of pineapples, but is probably overkill for the average person.

$7.95 – $18.95

Buy Vacu Vin plastic plastic pineapple slicer at Amazon.com | Buy Vacu Vin stainless steel pineapple slicer at Amazon.com

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Dave at Daveland runs a great photo blog of vintage Disneyland photos and also has a website of park photos broken down by “land.”

Dave’s Enchanted Tiki Room & Tahitian Terrace page is of particular interest to tiki fans, with photos spanning the attraction and restaurant from the 1960s to today. Watch in amazement as the garden tiki gods change color schemes!

Visit Daveland Tiki Room photo page

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Oceanic Arts has been supplying the world with tiki goodness for a half-century, creating carvings and sending thatch to some of the best known and loved tiki bars and restaurants around the world.

To celebrate their 50th anniversary, the company commissioned Tiki Farm to create commerative mug, and it’s a beauty. Each mug also comes with a 12-page booklet detailing the history of the company. The mugs are only available at the Oceanic Arts store, limited to 2 per customer.

$39.95. Limited edition of 500.

Visit Oceanic Arts website

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In an attempt to keep diners on campus, Vanderbilt University has started a program to offer foods and food service locations with more variety than an average university cafeteria.

One of the concepts is a 650-square foot tiki-themed food stand in the university’s Varsity Market, called “Ro*Tiki.” Students order made-to-order wraps, panini, salads, sandwiches, soups and pizza from an 11-foot tall talking tiki pole with a touch-screen system. Fabricating the facility, which once held a deli, cost $61,000, but the investment has paid off as sales went up 16% in the first two months. The facility also won “The Big Idea: Customer Service Innovation” award from the National Association of College and University Food Services in the Convenience Store division and Food Management magazine’s “Best Concept” award in 2006.

Because of the fickle nature of students, the facility was planned to stay in place for 5 years. After that time it will be re-themed. That only leaves two more years for Vandy students to enjoy the aloha spirit!

Find out more about Ro-Tiki at the Vanderbilt University website

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Trader Vic’s celebrates 31 years of exotic dining, Polynesian cuisine and island-inspired cocktails with its first festival-style anniversary party, Lavapalooza 2007. On May 19, guests will enjoy a full day and night of luau-style food options, Trader Vic’s signature Mai Tais, a variety of native-island activities and live entertainment by the Tongo Hiti band, headed by Mike Geier of Kingsized, with Monkey Zuma and Dames A’Flame. In addition, Trader Vic’s anniversary party will give back to the city of Atlanta by making a charitable donation of Lavapalooza ticket sales to Keep Atlanta Beautiful.

The celebration will begin at 1:00 p.m. by the Hilton Atlanta poolside. This area will contain multiple food stations including a pig roast carving station, barbeque pork spare-ribs, Kung Pao chicken and grilled Kobe Hanger steak. In addition, there will be four tiki bars complete with Trader Vic’s world famous fruity concoctions, beer selections and spirit options. As if good food and drinks weren’t enough, Lavapalooza will feature various activity stations such as tiki carving and hula lessons along with interactive lei making lead by Steve Latour, otherwise known as ‘The Real Lei Man’. Additionally, Derek Yaniger, an artist known for his native wood- carvings and island-themed paintings, will be attending the Trader Vic’s anniversary party accompanied by other special guests– to be announced soon.

Lavapalooza tickets can be purchased in advance via Xorbia at www.xorbia.com for $20 or at the door for $25. All tickets include one drink and one food coupon with a portion of the proceeds benefiting Keep Atlanta Beautiful. Hilton is also offering a special $150 package that includes two tickets and an overnight stay. For more information, please contact Pallava Goenka at 404.221.6339 or pallava_goenka@hilton.com.

Buy tickets at Xorbia Tickets | Visit Trader Vic’s Atlanta website

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Internet-based tiki product retailer BarTiki is getting it’s own mug, inspired by the company’s logo. Produced by Tiki Farm, the 2-tone brown & off-white glaze mug is a limited edition of 200 and retails for $25.

The mugs will debut at an event tonight, May 12, at 7:00 pm at Mugoomba, the private bar located in Tiki Farm’s warehouse. There is a limit of 2 mugs per patron. Any unsold mugs will be available at BarTiki later in the week.

Map to Mugoomba at Tiki Farm | Bartiki website

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