Author: Kevin Crossman

Posted on

Classic Cocktails at Nightcaps at Rosetta

Nightcaps at Rosetta is the cocktail-focused evening storefront for Livermore’s Rosetta Roasting cafe that includes a different theme each day. We visited on Sinatra Saturday with menu items including a Manhattan, Gimlet, Negroni, Martini, Whiskey Sour, and Dark Daiquiri.

Revolver and Sepia Spice Martini

My choice was the Revolver, an early 2000s cocktail by Jon Santer at Bruno’s in San Francisco, which has bourbon, coffee liqueur, and orange bitters. This was really great and had a fragrance that reminded me of vintage bars I’d visited in the past. Meanwhile Mrs. Mai Tai tried the Sepia Spice Martini and the Autumn Orchard Sidecar – both leaned a little lighter with mild spice flavors. I’m a sucker for a sidecar and this version tasted pretty good to me.

Autumn Orchard Sidecar

Nightcaps serves savory bites and desert, so we tried a bit of both. The artichoke beignets were really good and the brie and pear fillo rolls were even better. We indulged with two deserts including a Manhattan cheesecake that was amazing. But the star of the show on the food side was the pistachio ricotta cake that was so light in body, yet still also had an amazing flavor. I would come back just for that Ricotta cake.

Posted on

Mai Tai and Tiki Bar Trivia at Dr. Funk

What a fabulous evening in downtown San Jose last night for our second hosted trivia event, this time hosted at Dr. Funk. We had a packed house of people testing their knowledge of arcane Mai Tai and Tiki Bar trivia, or maybe just load up on $8 Mai Tais and nacho fries.

We did four themed rounds of trivia, starting with Mai Tai Origins, South Bay Tiki, What’s in a Mai Tai, and Tiki Bars. Questions ranged from the simple (“In what city was the Mai Tai invented”) to deeper cuts such as the longest continuously operating tiki bar in Southern California. Hint: it isn’t Tiki Ti or Tonga Hut. Our last question about a British celebrity garnered a wild reaction when the answer was revealed.

16 teams were formed with up to four people, including themed names such as Team Finkonistas, Whiskey Business, Rum Believable, and the Two Swizzle Sticks. Prizes included a fab gift basket from Dr. Funk including a mug, tshirt, sweatshirt, and gift card – plus some tiki mugs and Mai Tai glasses from my collection.

Two teams tied for first so we went to sudden death with an obscure question about the number of issues of Tiki News. Congrats to Beachcomb Bubbies for winning and Rhum Island Provisions for also garnering an amazing score. Thanks to all who came out – I hope you had fun.

Winning team Beachcomb Bubbies
Second Place: Rhum Island Provisioneers

I was having so much fun I almost forgot to have a Dr. Funk Mai Tai, but I couldn’t leave without my reward at the end of the event.

$8 Mai Tai Monday
Posted on

Livermore’s Best Mai Tai at Nightcaps at Rosetta

Mrs. Mai Tai and I spent Saturday in Livermore, sandwiching a showing of the Hamilton movie with a couple bar experiences that we’ll write about in the coming days.

But there’s one highlight I don’t want to delay discussing which is the excellent Mai Tai that I had at Nightcaps at Rosetta. This is the cocktail-focused evening storefront for the Rosetta Roasting cafe that includes a different theme each day.

We missed Tiki Thursday but the staff was kind enough to make a Mai Tai and it was most definitely a treat on par with the cakes and savory bites on the venue’s menu. The Mai Tai contains Hamilton Pot Still Black and West Indies Blend, two bold rums that work great in this format. Very well balanced and pleasant throughout – it’s great.

If you look closely in the photo you can see the large tiki and some jade tiles that appear in a dark corner of the venue.

Posted on

Lei’d Back at Sacramento’s Jungle Bird

It’s been more than a couple years since we’ve been to Sacramento’s leading tiki bar The Jungle Bird for some reason, but stopped in for a drink and some light food on a recent excursion. The place was fairly busy for a Sunday evening and they were playing a varied mix of exotica and other retro tunes. We left before things turn metal for Sabbath Sundays at 9 pm.

We’ve had mixed experiences with food and drinks in the past but things were on par this visit. I enjoyed some potstickers and my 1944 Mai Tai was pretty good. Julie went in a sweeter direction with the deliciously creamy Lei’d Back that includes Dole Whip alongside vodka and citrus. Jungle Bird’s cocktails are priced mostly at $14-$15, so a little less expensive than what we see in SF/LA, and our service was great. The large and varied menu also includes a potency rating which was helpful for Julie since she was driving.

The Jungle Bird is doing a lot of things right and remains a compelling and welcoming destination.

Posted on

Tiki Lounge Lights Save the Day, er, Night

PG&E has been working in our neighborhood for weeks but Wednesday had two scheduled power outages that were part of the maintenance. The one in the morning came right on time but the one at 4:00 never happened and we thought we might have been able to skip it until the lights went out past 8:00 pm when it was already quite dark.

Luckily, our new Tiki Lounge Light with the Moai mug was within easy reach and uses a rechargeable battery for power. Totally saved us from huddling in darkness as the power went off and on and off and on and off and finally on.

We’ve purchased several pieces from Tiki Lounge Lights and Greg even worked with us on a custom order using our favorite tiki mugs a few years back, so check them out when they’re vending at events or reach out on Instagram.

Posted on

Mai Tai / Tiki Bar Trivia at Dr. Funk

Join us on Monday, Sept 8 at 7:30 pm for a special trivia event at Dr. Funk in Downtown San Jose. Groups of up to four can compete for prizes and bragging rights, plus enjoy Dr. Funk food and cocktails including $8 Mai Tais. Consider a reservation to secure a table inside.

If you know tiki bars and Mai Tais you should do very well. We’d love to see you in San Jose on a weeknight.