Finally got to visit Harbor Hut this past weekend. You can see there are good Polynesian bones here, even if the food is basically standard steak and seafood. There are a number of tikis and nautical elements on the properly, and the indoor space is well appointed with tiki artwork and an aquarium. The outside Lil’ Hut is open for Fish & Chips and similar quick service offerings.
Mrs. Mai Tai and I stopped inside for a drink in their bar in the early afternoon. Their signature cocktail is The Big Kahuna aka “The Ultimate Mai-Tai” and was the largest Mai Tai I’ve ever seen. It wasn’t too bad if Island Mai Tais are your thing, and the rum in the float tasted great. The Cucumber cocktail Mrs. Mai Tai had was merely okay.
This place clearly isn’t “high tiki” but isn’t bad for what it is. Staff was friendly, and while that bar doesn’t have too many seats there are plenty of tables in the lounge. The main dining room has great views of Morro Rock.
Happy hour is back at Oakland’s The Kon-Tiki, Tuesday-Thursdays from 4:00-6:00 pm. There are some food favorites including a grilled cheese sandwich, plus some familiar cocktails. Next time I need to try that Stiggins Pineapple rum on draft.
The Mai Tai previously graced the happy hour menu at Kon-Tiki, but this version is even better that previous one. The new Happy Hour Mai Tai features Jamaican, Martinique, and St. Luician rum and very good for a $10 Mai Tai in the Bay Area. The initial taste was a little bland, but as the cocktail diluted a little bit over a couple minutes the true flavor of this delightful Mai Tai began to shine.
There is a different Mai Tai on the regular Kon-Tiki menu, and it might be worth the $13 price to include some darker rums in the blend. But the Happy Hour Mai Tai is pretty great too.
I still enjoy the easy listening music at The Kon-Tiki. During this visit they played a song that sounded like retro 1970s soft rock but was actually the 2013 track “Don’t Know What’s Normal” from Shintaro Sakamoto. New music with a vintage sound.
Edit: Chris Day from The Kon-Tiki confirmed that the Happy Hour Mai Tai is the same as their regular menu, just lower priced. So go get it!
Another bar it’s been too long since I visited. Very welcoming vibe inside Pagan Idol and service remains stellar, along with an exotic music program that plays well for newbies and tiki bar snobs (like me).
I didn’t love the Mai Tai. Like sister bar Zombie Village, this was too Agricole forward for me. But it was more tart than Zombie Village’s so really not in my wheelhouse. I only stayed for one drink, though, and didn’t lean into menu favorites such as the Day Walker which are always on par.
I see that Pagan Idol is starting up some live music performances coming up, featuring the Alcatraz Islanders who play some great swing era Hawaiian and jazz. I took BART for the first time in forever and it was a pretty good experience (everyone wore their masks) so more Pagan visits may be in my future.
Made a return visit to Zombie Village after a long absence and was pleased to see the vibe and overall service levels are still quite strong. On an early Saturday evening the music was peppy but exotic and instrumental, so still in line with the tropical aesthetic.
My Mai Tai was fine – a little heavy on the Rhum Agricole for my personal taste, but quite reasonable. I only stayed for one cocktail but it was nice chatting with some of the staff.
Zombie Village is still one of the key tiki bar destinations for anyone visiting San Francisco. I always love my visits to the village.
Gatekeeping the Mai Tai is a new article from our friend Matt Pietrek on the Cocktail Wonk blog. It is definitely a good summary of what’s happening online these days, as our tiki community grows and as more newcomers start to explore exotic cocktails.
The Mai Tai is the defacto standard tiki cocktail, so of course is the bellwether for this discussion. Though, Pietrek is quite savvy by changing the narrative to another cocktail in the example:
Newcomer: Check out my Navy Grog! I didn’t have grapefruit juice, so I used pineapple juice. And I subbed cinnamon for honey syrup. Tiki Veteran: Sounds great, but it’s not a navy grog. The grapefruit and honey are core flavor elements of that recipe. Newcomer: Don’t be elitist. I like my Navy Grog the way I made it. Narrator: Off to the races we go!
It is a good example. Newcomers sometimes accuse veterans of being elitist and know-it-alls, and there’s no doubt the shoe sometimes fits. Yet, the particular example is indicative of a newly emerging point of view that the cocktail can be whatever you want it to be.
When it comes to tiki culture, I’m a “big tent” guy. Geeki Tiki mugs based on Star Wars? Love them. Disney inspiration? Totally up for it. But the line has to be drawn somewhere and cartoonish “clown tiki” is my personal line.
Same goes for cocktails. As Pietrek points out in his article, nobody would defend newcomers who make a Manhattan with orange juice or a Margarita without tequila. So why must a Mai Tai made with whatever you want be okay?
It isn’t okay.
If that makes me a snobby gatekeeper then I am totally okay with that.
I do like Pietrek’s example where the tiki veteran says “sounds great, but…” That’s an education the newcomer needs to hear (and quite a few bartenders, I might add). As long as it is said nicely.
Cocktail Wonk Matt Pietrek autographing my copy of Minimalist Tiki
Pietrek’s site is a wonderful resource that compliments his amazing book Minimalist Tiki. He concludes that leveraging permanent sources is key for intellectual discourse and not just merely ephemeral social media comments. That’s one of the reasons why we started this site; to document historical facts along with our opinions and recommendations.
It was great to run into the Chris Sinclair and Drew Garrison from the Good Bottle Podcast at the California Rum Fest a couple days ago. Their latest episode covers the festival in detail, including rum brands on the rise and new expressions to seek out. They also cover the top selling rum brands and the results may surprise you.
The episode ended with a little Mai Tai discussion, and a shoutout to our little corner of the internet on their “Dope Follows” segment (mahalo!).
Chris and Drew are looking to an upcoming episode featuring riffs on the Mai Tai recipe, which they’ve invited me to help discuss and judge. I’m totally down for that.
Some of the California Rum Fest vendors offer their rums in a cocktail format, and the best one yesterday was Mai Tai at the Plantation booth. Made with Xaymaca rum from Jamaica, this little Mai Tai tasted great.
Kuleana rum had a nice rum punch that I enjoyed along with some samples of their rum from the Big Island of Hawaii.
