Author: Kevin Crossman

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Spring Saturday in Sacramento

Mrs Mai Tai and I drove up to Sacramento and had what Frank the Tank called “a nice little Saturday.” We visited several antique and vintage stores including the Midway Antique Mall which is our favorite.



Dinner was at The Jungle Bird at opening at 4 pm (hence the line outside in the photo). The cocktails were on point as always, and in addition to my Mai Tai I decided to order a Mint Julep since it was Derby Day. Man, that Mint Julep was fantastic, so sweet and minty.

The food options at Jungle Bird seem to be more limited than they used to be. The veggie Potstickers were good, as was the Veggie Stir Fry with noodles, but Mrs Mai Tai seems to recall more veggie options in the past. I really liked the Crab Rangoons but have had very mixed experiences with their burger and pork belly sliders.

Jungle Bird still has a big patio out back which was great for us (I get my second shot tomorrow) and they have done a good job with the spacing of the indoor seating. The staff was super friendly and very quick with the service.

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Mai Ta-IPA

This was of the recipes during the segment of “Mai Tai or Not a Mai Tai” during my appearance on the The Rumcast a couple weeks ago. My father likes IPAs like I like Mai Tais so seemed like a perfect opportunity to give this one a try with my parents coming over for dinner.

I gotta say, this was pretty damn good. There was just a hint of the IPA in there, and we used a pretty potent one, the Denogginizer! This is a Douple IPA from local favorite Drake’s Brewing Co. just up the freeway in San Leandro. I’d even say that you could up the IPA to 2 ounces and still keep this light and refreshing.

This was so good, I’m declaring it enough of a “Mai Tai” to go on my running total of Top 10 Mai Tais of the Year.

Mai Ta-IPA
1 oz Lime juice
¾ oz Orgeat (Latitude 29)
½ oz Orange curaçao (Clement)
1½ oz IPA beer (Denogginizer)
1 oz Aged rum (Appleton Signature)
1 oz Light rum (Cruzan)

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into an ice-filled rocks or Collins glass. Garnish with Luxardo cherries.

Recipe by Jacob Grier and Ezra Johnson-Greenough.

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Birthday Dinner at The Kon-Tiki

Took the entire family to The Kon-Tiki for a birthday dinner last night. We’re not really doing indoor dining yet, so we grabbed one of the nice parklets outside. We all love the Kon-Tiki’s amazing Cheeseburger and it always tastes better when freshly served.

We arrived before 4:30 so that sun was still shining. So instead of a Mai Tai I decided to try two of the single-serving frozen drinks. The Uma Uma is Kon-Tiki’s riff on a Pina Colada/Chi-Chi and is always delicious.

I was especially interested in the Frozen Donnie’s Element, a cocktail from Kon-Tiki’s Chris Day featuring dark rum, banana liqueur, coconut cream, and cold brew liquor. Oh this is a really great cocktail – go seek it out.

Thanks to Oakhana regulars Laura Murphy and Woody Miller for the birthday rum dram. Woody asked Antoine Nixon for a recommendation and he picked a Hampden rum from their bird series. I love Jamaican rum so that was an excellent choice. So delicious.

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New Jumbo Sized Hay! Straws

I’m loving these new jumbo sized Hay! Straws. I ditched plastic a while back but can’t deal with steel or glass. These don’t get soggy like paper straws and I like the smaller “cocktail straw” sized diameter straws which are great for Mai Tais (5”) or tall drinks (7.75”). These work great but Mrs Mai Tai prefers larger straws.


Now these Jumbo Straws will do the trick, and obviously seem better for frozen drinks that are more in Mrs Mai Tai’s wheelhouse.

Highly recommended.

Visit HayStraws.com

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Patio Mai Tai at The Kon-Tiki

Quick drive up to Oakland for a Mai Tai on the patio and a peek at the indoor dining situation at The Kon-Tiki. Man, the Mai Tai was really good on the patio, listening to Yacht Rock that the Kon-Tiki is famous for.

Nice to see Chris Day and Chris Parker and of course some of the Oakhana who were doing the indoor thing. After my second shot in a couple weeks, we’ll be indoors too.

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New B-Rex Swag

So nice to see Brian and Mary Rechenmacher Trader Vic’s mini-Bazaar on Sunday. So many nice products, but I had to purchase the Collins glass set inspired by the Enchanted Tiki Room and also the cool new Camp Mug. Those are still available from the B-Rex store, so check it out and get those cool glasses and other items before they sell out.

It was so nice to have a quick toe-dip for indoor conversations and to check in with life changes and where everyone is heading. Thank goodness for the vaccines.