A Guide to the Best of Southern California : OUT & ABOUT : Tahiti in Silver Lake

TAKE A TINY SHACK. Add a bar, a few stools and some tables. Mix in an outrageous assortment of authentic Polynesian artifacts and a sprinkling of such ‘60s-abilia as a lava lamp and a wave machine and what have you got? Silver Lake’s Tiki-Ti. Four nights a week, Ray and Mike (the heralded father-and-son team) tend bar, creating unique tropical drinks (no beer or wine) with names as colorful as the decor. Order a Ray’s Mistake (named after Ray, of course, who started the bar in 1961 and created most of the recipes) or a coconutty Bayanihan--a popular selection that’s the closest thing to paradise east of Tahiti.

Tiki-Ti, 4427 Sunset Blvd., Silver Lake; (213) 669-9381.