I do still continue to love Instagram, where even the ads help me with my holiday shopping. Plus all the connecting and commenting on the things we love to share. Check out the fun at @UltimateMaiTai on Instagram.
So, here are the Top Nine Posts for 2024.
Kamala Mai Tai (476) History of the Mai Tai (417) Trader Vic’s Black Tai Event (345) Trader Vic’s San Jose Airport Expanded Seating (295) Congrats Smuggler’s Cove on 15 Years (294) Farewell Kon-Tiki Oakland (292) Mai Tai Named Official Cocktail of Oakland (277) Best Mai Tai in New Orleans (267) Ultimate Mai Tai Rum Blend Meme (259)
Top Nine says I had 35,200 likes on 253 posts, an average of 139 per post, and that I’m in the “top 1% of accounts with up to 10,000 followers” with 7% more likes per post than average. Thank you for the likes!
Mrs. Mai Tai and I spent the morning doing antique shopping and decided to visit The Reef nearby for lunch. We were pleased to see that the place fairly busy with groups and couples, all enjoying the tropical ambiance either indoors or for others out on the patio. The music was set to Jimmy Buffett Radio, which stuck me as just fine for daylight hours near the Caliente Tropics pool.
Our server Alex was prompt and friendly, and we enjoyed our lunch including a gigantic Caliente Burger for me. Mrs. Mai Tai’s tasty Singapore Sling was very well prepared and balanced, though my Mai Tai unfortunately was too limey and didn’t have particularly bold rums. This is in line with previous visits where cocktails can be hit or miss.
The lack of pretension is a plus for The Reef and we saw several hotel guests roll in and our for drinks to bring out to the pool, so this remains a great daytime option for those staying at the resort or even day guests. It is just a lot of fun being here and looking at all the decor elements and even the retro video montage on the TV by the bar. We also peeked into the bar at the adjoining Sancho’s restaurant and saw several folks doing some drinking in the cantina which has its own retro charm.
We had a nice visit to Tonga Hut in downtown Palm Springs, decorated nicely for the holidays including some festive music and holiday cocktail list. We were able to get a table in the lounge portion of the venue and were able to admire activity within the space that continues to be a great option for tiki veterans and newbies alike.
The cocktail menu has something for everyone and our cocktails were pretty good. I went with the Mojave Punch, which remains one of my favorites from their original cocktail list and features hibiscus syrup. Mrs Mai Tai ordered the Chai Tai which has a delightful Chai syrup and is very well-balanced with a great color as part of the presentation. I also ordered some chicken skewers that were well prepared and were served with a tangy glaze sauce.
Our service was super prompt and friendly, including a great job dealing with a mixup on my order (mutual issue with me and the server). We also spotted the replica Tiki Bob mugs for sale and found that they had a few of these left, so I took one of them home.
Twenty six hundred and one days ago a man walked into a bar in Oakland and ordered an off menu Mai Tai at a tiki bar during their soft open.
the first Mai Tai
Since then I’ve had probably hundreds of Mai Tai there. Thanks to a stellar rum collection, high quality ingredients, and a professional crew they’ve nearly aways very good, sometimes stellar or mind-blowing. It was the first bar to serve the Ultimate Mai Tai and it is the venue where I’ve had the best Mai Tai of my life.
The Kon-Tiki closed last night but I had to have one final Mai Tai. The circumstances were terrible but the Mai Tai was nearly perfect, a rum forward concoction with sweet and savory notes.
Despite being a supposedly simple drink to make, there are plenty of bars (even good bars) that can’t make a Mai Tai that’s balanced or tasty or without weird flavors. But the Kon-Tiki never let me down and the Mai Tai was unbeaten.
Thank you to every bartender who’s ever shaken one up. Thank you to the Kon-Tiki for ever existing.
The Kon-Tiki Oakland First Mai Tai: Nov. 8, 2017 Last Mai Tai: Dec. 21, 2024
I got word that yesterday was going to be the last night for the Kon-Tiki and made it up to Oakland to snag a table with the family at opening.
Kon-Tiki Closing Night Checklist
_ Complete the DIY cocktail checklist by having the Pantera Rosa (lovely fruity tequila cocktail) and the Ma Kua for two (a bold sharable drink) _ Order a last Uma Uma for Mrs. Mai Tai, her favorite _ Eat the legendary Kon-Tiki Burger for the last time, the best thing in the building that has 200 rums _ Order a Mai Tai _ One last toast with Christ _ Order Kon-Tiki merch (a t-shirt) _ Say thank you to the crew _ Leave an extra generous tip _ Enjoy Yacht Rock in a tiki bar _ Say aloha to the Oakhana _ Enjoy eclectic tunes from the DJ _ Leave with my Expedition plaque _ Take group photo with the family _ One last photo of the neon sign _ Fail at trying not to cry _ Regret not visiting more often
The Kon-Tiki is closing after service on Sunday but the place is going out with a bang as patrons from far and wide and coming for one final cheeseburger or cocktail. Wednesday was the last Ohana night, the day of the week when local tikiphiles have come to hang out on what is generally a slower night than the weekends. But this Wednesday was anything but slow, with a persistent full room and a wait out the door.
The Kon-Tiki staff were in full force, with all three service wells going at the same time to pump our drinks in a timely manner. There were several wait staff, several kitchen runners, and nice to see Jeanie Grant back in the house serving as the maître d’. We want to specifically call out Chris Parker and Kriss Cucuy for exceptional service for me personally this evening.
I’m working to complete another homemade “Kon-Tiki cocktail checklist” and knocked out a few cocktails and am ready to close it out on Sunday with Mrs. Mai Tai’s help. It’d been forever since I had the Zombie and found it to be pretty great – both potent and fruity, with a touch of spice. The Virgin’s Sacrifice was far too spicy for my mild tongue so I passed it over to Jeff as a bonus. Lastly, I had the Leviathan for Two (but just for me this evening) which I’d never had before and immediately liked. The cocktail has rum, bourbon, tangerine, and spices and was nice and rich and balanced. I’m going to miss the consistently high quality of cocktails here.
If you’re trying to get to Kon-Tiki in the next couple days, prepare for waits and treat the staff with kindness. It was so fantastic last night to see the crew working so efficiently on such a busy night – all to the sound of Yacht Rock that the Kon-Tiki used to play religiously and was a welcome return for me.
The Leviathan came in a nice Moai Mug that had a little tear-like drip that was all the more poignant as I left Ohana night for the last time.
We had a great time for the annual tiki mug swap at Forbidden Island last night. Thanks to Chad for organizing and hosting this, we put our wrapped mugs into the pile and ended up with some new ones. Mrs Mai Tai really loved hers, and while I thought the mini bowl was nice I was thankful for a trade.
There’s a nice holiday cocktail menu and Mrs Mai Tai loved the Tropical Hot Coder. Meanwhile I drank a couple rums from the rum list and gladly accepted the suggestion for a premium Mai Tai made with Monymusk 10 yr Jamaica rum. Very good Mai Tai with additional depth.
