Matū vs. Sonny's: A Cheesesteak Debate

**Jordan Okun** (0:03)
Mad Food, I'm Jordan, Max is here, and we gots to start with some more audience feedback.

**Max Shapiro** (0:11)
Okay.

**Jordan Okun** (0:11)
I'm sorry.

**Max Shapiro** (0:12)
Well, you've really been getting it consistently.

**Jordan Okun** (0:14)
We do.

**Max Shapiro** (0:15)
Yeah.

**Jordan Okun** (0:15)
Well, I've always gotten it. This is what I'm saying, I've always gotten it.

**Max Shapiro** (0:19)
I guess maybe I don't-

**Jordan Okun** (0:19)
But we've never shared it.

**Max Shapiro** (0:21)
I guess for me, that's also true. I just don't save it or write it down.

**Jordan Okun** (0:29)
It's pure content at this point.

**Max Shapiro** (0:31)
Yeah. It's great. We need it.

**Jordan Okun** (0:33)
Yeah. So here we go. Giorgo, now that you're in the business of booze, has there been any consideration on doing an episode on Tiki bars?
So I want to get your take on this, Max. LA is the birthplace of modern Tiki culture. Buzz Giorgo and Buzz Bubbles equals podcasting gold, which is what this person writes. Okay. So any interest in Tiki bars, Max?

**Max Shapiro** (1:02)
You know, I like Tiki cocktails, but I don't think I could do a bar hop or like have a bunch of Tiki drinks, because, you know, historically they lean very fruit juice and sugar heavy. I used to go to Tiki tea a lot back in the day and that was so much fun.
It killed me that you could smoke inside and that it was cash only.

**Jordan Okun** (1:26)
Where was this?

**Max Shapiro** (1:27)
Tiki tea is in Silver Lake.

**Jordan Okun** (1:29)
Okay.

**Max Shapiro** (1:29)
Or is it Los Feliz?

**Jordan Okun** (1:30)
They let you smoke in there?

**Max Shapiro** (1:32)
Back in the day.

**Jordan Okun** (1:32)
Yeah.

**Max Shapiro** (1:33)
I don't know if it's grandfathered in, I believe.

**Jordan Okun** (1:35)
Some places have that.

**Max Shapiro** (1:36)
Yeah. And that's, you know, I haven't been a lucky Tiki in West Hollywood. I haven't been to Rendition Room. I haven't been to Tonga Hut in the Valley.
I've only been to Tiki Tea. But one of my favorite bars in San Francisco is Smuggler's Cove, which is a Tiki bar.

**Jordan Okun** (1:56)
All right.

**Max Shapiro** (1:56)
Yeah.

**Jordan Okun** (1:56)
So he's up to it. He's open to it.

**Max Shapiro** (1:59)
Sure. I just, I don't think we could have that many drinks.

**Jordan Okun** (2:03)
Gotcha. Yeah. This person wants us to get obliterated inside a Tiki bar.

**Max Shapiro** (2:07)
It's not just the alcohol thing. It's like a sugar coma thing.

**Jordan Okun** (2:10)
Right. Yeah. Do you ever go to Trader Vic's coming up as a young man?

**Max Shapiro** (2:16)
All the time.

**Jordan Okun** (2:17)
Yeah.

**Max Shapiro** (2:17)
The blowfish hanging from the ceiling.

**Jordan Okun** (2:19)
Yeah.

**Max Shapiro** (2:21)
What a magical place. Yeah. It was inside the Beverly Hills.

**Jordan Okun** (2:23)
Yeah.

**Max Shapiro** (2:23)
It's awesome.

**Jordan Okun** (2:24)
It was.

**Max Shapiro** (2:25)
Trader Vic's coming back, by the way.

**Jordan Okun** (2:26)
Yeah. Where is it?

**Max Shapiro** (2:27)
San Monica and Doheny next to Troubadour.

**Jordan Okun** (2:29)
On that corner space? That's what it's going to be?

**Max Shapiro** (2:31)
That's what's going to be Trader Vic's.

**Jordan Okun** (2:33)
All right.

**Max Shapiro** (2:33)
Yeah.

**Jordan Okun** (2:34)
All right. So maybe that's the one. We wait for that.

**Max Shapiro** (2:37)
Who knows when the hell that opens?

**Jordan Okun** (2:39)
Yeah. It's going to be a while.

**Max Shapiro** (2:40)
This city could be 10 years.

**Jordan Okun** (2:42)
It's going to be a while. And that space has been empty for a while. It guarantee needs a ton of work.

**Max Shapiro** (2:46)
The last thing that was was like a karate studio.

**Jordan Okun** (2:49)
I never remember being anything.

**Max Shapiro** (2:51)
Yeah. Exactly.

**Jordan Okun** (2:52)
All right. All right.

**Max Shapiro** (2:55)
Yeah.

**Jordan Okun** (2:56)
Nice little dantanas to a Trader Vicks.

**Max Shapiro** (2:59)
Technically, my favorite tiki drink, technically a tiki drink, a jungle bird.

**Jordan Okun** (3:04)
OK.

**Max Shapiro** (3:04)
The most balanced.

**Jordan Okun** (3:05)
OK.

**Max Shapiro** (3:06)
But I love a proper Mai Tai.

**Jordan Okun** (3:07)
Yeah. Delish.

**Max Shapiro** (3:08)
Yeah.

**Jordan Okun** (3:09)
Trader Vicks used to have like beef sticks. I used to love them as a kid. I love them.

**Max Shapiro** (3:14)
Growing up, I thought I was on vacation any time.

**Jordan Okun** (3:17)
Yeah. You walk in there. You're in Hawaii.

**Max Shapiro** (3:20)
It's awesome.

**Jordan Okun** (3:21)
Say hi to Don Ho.

**Max Shapiro** (3:23)