Author: Kevin Crossman

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The Last Rites Mai Tai

A bit unusual for us was that we were out fairly late in San Francisco last Saturday, after dinner and couple bars. There was interest in keeping the party going and we settled on Last Rites, arriving just before eleven. There was a short line outside but we were seated in about ten minutes.

There was good energy at Last Rites even as some of the crowd dispersed during our excursion. The great looking menu has been revised since our last visit and it’s somewhat easier to read than past editions. The manifest style design with blood stains really conveys the downed aircraft theme that Last Rites is famous for.

While David and Amy smartly went with the namesake Last Rites cocktail (still very good) I tried the Mai Tai to see if it was improved from the so-so versions I’ve had over the years. The menu says this has high ester rums, cashew, American triple sec, and lime and unfortunately found that I didn’t really get cashew or high ester flavors at all. Basically flat, like the one I had on my previous visit last year. Not terrible but not in line with the other great cocktails I’ve had here before or compared to Mrs. Mai Tai’s coffee-forward Permanent Midnight that was delicious.

The atmosphere inside Last Rites was a welcome respite from the high energy venues we’d visited earlier, one of the key reasons we love visiting this adventure themed bar.

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Frankenstein’s Cocktail Bar Pop-Up

Here’s the description:

Inside Frankenstein’s lab, you’ll find yourself surrounded by mysterious potions, shimmering elixirs, and spine-tingling concoctions. Help our Mad Scientists complete their work by adding the final ingredients to the secret formulas. Together, you’ll unlock the secrets hidden within the simmering beakers and test tubes.

There can only be one Frankenstein — will it be you?

This sounds like common pop-up bar experiences where there’s a storyline and some actors, often with tests and activities that the audience participates in.

Bucketlisters’ Frankenstein Cocktail Bar is not that kind of pop-up.

Instead, it’s a decorated bar in the basement under the country bar Westwood located in San Francisco with themed cocktails, plus the opportunity to pay for a tarot card reading. In our case the bartenders were not dressed up as scientists or with make-up, however we did find they were very efficient and friendly. The decor is somewhat sparse considering the large space, though an animatronic Monster is a welcome and cool touch. Most attendees were dressed for Halloween in some fashion.

The ticketing system references “interactive cocktails” but these aren’t plot related, it’s things like a glass with cotton candy where you pour the cocktail over it – no great shakes and honestly is misleading in the ticketing system. We went with the $22 general admission which includes entrance and one cocktail ($15 value), so there’s effectively a bit of a cover charge. That said, the ticket says this is for 90 minutes but we stayed well past that timeframe and were in no way asked to leave.

The good news is that we found the cocktails to be pretty good – and suuuuper boozy. So much that several of us were really “feeling it”. Mrs. Mai Tai’s Electric Jolt with cotton candy was really good as was her Spidey Senses. I enjoyed the smoked Monstrosity old fashioned, and we all got to enjoy the Creature of Havic that’s served in the Monster’s skull! I’ve got say this part was pretty cool.

If you set your expectations according, and definitely eat beforehand, I think this concept is executed well enough to be worth checking out.

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Witches Brew at Hula Hoops

While attending brunch we saw that Hula Hoops has a couple seasonal offerings and the Witches Brew was recommended. The ingredients are black rum, citrus, and charcoal syrup meaning this leans tart but overall pleasant. It’s served in a little cauldron and contains a little dry ice inside a metal tea bag, so it bubbles ever so subtly as you drink it!

The presentation is pretty interesting and the hanging witches hats throughout the venue make for fun photos. Check it out in South San Francisco while you still can.

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Twisted Tiki: Cozy Cocktails in Santa Ana

After our dinner on Saturday at Strong Water Anaheim, some of us wanted to keep the tiki thing going so we ventured out to see what else Orange County could offer. We attempted Stowaway in Tustin, where Mrs. Mai Tai and our friends had pre-gamed earlier, but when we arrived it was mid-evening and around an hour wait. Since none of us had been to Twisted Tiki in nearby Santa Ana we thought we’d give it a shot.

The Twisted Tiki is inside the McFadden Public Market, right off the main entrance on Main Street. The moai is your hint there’s something behind the door, and we were able to get a table basically right away inside the Bamboo Room where the bar is located. The Shipwreck room is across the Foyer and is used as an overflow space. Both rooms are small but nicely appointed with no windows to keep things dark and cozy, and for a food hall the decor is pretty reasonable – this certainly isn’t a million dollar build but for this type of venue we’ve seen far worse.

Trouble presented itself in the form of the headline for the first classic drink – the “Mai Ta”. Yeah, spelled like that. We try to set our expectations for places like this accordingly, and the cocktails here are – well, they’re okay. Not terrible but not nearly as good as the other tiki venues in the O.C. My Mai Tai and David’s Three Dots were both too diluted and Julie’s Purple Polynesian Sunset was too sweet. They can’t all be winners.

Mai Ta

If I was a local I’d give this place another shot, though, since the staff was friendly and the cozy interior is still pretty nice. Maybe try to come not at the busiest time of the week and try to sit at the bar to strike up some conversation with the bartender.

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Halloween Cocktails at Strong Water Anaheim

Many bars are celebrating Halloween with a specialty cocktail menu and decor, but few have as many interesting cocktail options as Strong Water in Anaheim, no surprise since they already have a stellar reputation for consistent quality. The Halloween menu is a series of nicely designed tarot cards that are also available for purchase.

My first cocktail was the Black Magick, a nod to the Mai Kai’s famous Black Magic, made with Jamaican rum, blackstrap rum, cinnamon, honey, grapefruit, lime, espresso, and bitters. Cruzan’s Blackstrap rum is not my favorite due to its weird maple syrup flavor, and you can taste it in this cocktail – but just a hint. This is a pretty good cocktail and not as coffee forward as some drinks, more of a coffee leaning grog.

Even better for me was the Dead to Port, featuring bourbon, Jamaican rum, and spiced cranberry. The wonderful blend of flavors were highlighted by the cranberry, making this seasonally appropriate and really delicious. Mrs. Mai Tai tried the Devil’s Corn, which reads as a Painkiller with candy corn syrup, but somehow manages to not be sickly sweet and is balanced well. Also delicious, with a fun presentation.

The interior of the bar has some spooky elements but this is a restrained overlay. We made a reservation for Saturday with a large group celebrating a birthday, and I had the pleasure of sitting the Beachbum Berry booth. Strong Water’s food and cocktails remain consistently great, and this Halloween menu is no exception.

Black Magick and Dead to Port

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Breakfast at Trader Sam’s at Disneyland Hotel

We always enjoy visiting Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar at the Disneyland Hotel and wanted to check out the breakfast service that’s been running for a few months. Parking at the Disneyland Hotel is easy and you can get valet parking validated at Sam’s for 3 hours, so there’s no cost other than the tip to the valet runner. Breakfast runs from 8:00 am to 11:00 am, then Sam’s transitions to their everyday lunch/dinner menu.

Our entry was super easy as we arrived a little before 9:30 am on Sunday. The inside bar was about a quarter full and we were seated at the bar. Service for dinks and food was so quick we literally could have been seated and finished in about 20 minutes, though of course we lingered to soak up the atmosphere that Trader Sam’s is famous for.

The small-ish menu is fairly standard with a few Polynesian twists on breakfast favorites. I went with some eggs with ham and potatoes, while Mrs. Mai Tai enjoyed a fluffy Mickey Mouse shaped pancake. She wasn’t drinking and had a glass of orange juice that was actually far larger than those little glasses of OJ you usually see at breakfast. There are a couple Halloween cocktails on a special menu but we didn’t try any.

I challenged Skipper Shirley with a Mai Tai with Appleton 12, since I like to upscale the rum in my cocktail from what’s normally served here. I was honestly a bit disappointed that Shirley mentioned that she had put some Planteray 3 Star in the cocktail, because she believed that a Mai Tai should have more than one rum, though I couldn’t really complain with the end result which was a delicious drink that was perfect so early in the morning.

By the time we left the space was filling up, though was still far from capacity. Many folks were enjoying the cool air and nice views outside on the Tangaroa Terrance outside as well, but we always try for inside at Sam’s because we love vibe and things to look at. Breakfast at Trader Sam’s is a really great option for a get-away day or if you’re staying nearby and not rope-dropping the parks. The expanded hours allow even more guests to visit one of the best tiki bars anywhere and my favorite in Southern California.

Breakfast at Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar