It isn’t just a fabulous cocktail, one of our favorites. It comes with a Banana Chip and you can use the cocktail as a dip!
Our drinks on Saturday at Zombie Village were just as great as we’ve come to expect, including that blended Disco Banana with cinnamon and potent rums. The place was medium busy around 9:30 and in addition to the Disco Banana Mrs. Mai Tai also had the Coco Pandan that comes with an ube popsicle.
Meanwhile, I tried the Over the Garden Wall from the seasonal cocktail menu. This has Indonesian rum, elderflower, absinthe, coconut, citrus, and spice. I will say this leaned very close to being too spicy hot for me, but overall I liked the complex flavors. It was pretty good, but I should have ordered the Disco Banana.
Like clockwork, every five years it is time to revisit Hawaii West, a dirty tiki bar near the border of North Beach and Chinatown in San Francisco. This venue has a long history but the years have not been kind, so much so that even experienced tikiphiles have never heard of this place. Part dive bar, part tiki bar – this is definitely not the bar for everyone.
We entered at 9:00 pm on a Friday to find the place dimly lit and a mature lady sitting alone at the bar watching TV and having a snack. An awkward pause ensued. The staring contest ended when I asked if she worked here, at which point she dropped her fork and worked her way back behind the bar. I scanned the back bar, trying not to focus on the softcore photo prominently displayed back behind the bar. I also looked for a menu, missing the large sign off at the end of the bar.
The good thing about being on the Search for the Ultimate Mai Tai is that few bars won’t know how to make one, especially one with a few tikis scattered around. The orange and red cocktail soon appeared I handed the lady a twenty. Just $8 came back, meaning that this Mai Tai was only a couple bucks cheaper than the world class Mai Tai at Smuggler’s Cove – but Hawaii West is a place that seems like it was from a different universe. As grenadine laden Mai Tais go, I’ll have to admit it wasn’t half bad.
A trio of young people entered and must be semi regulars, chatting with the bartender. While waiting for our Lyft, we found that the toilet wouldn’t flush and reminding us our friend had a bad bathroom experience on our last visit. Reading the Yelp reviews, it appears food is sometimes available here which strikes me as … unappetizing.
I don’t object to tiki dive bars that appeal to a local clientele, such as with Trad’r Sam across town. Though, I’m not sure who Hawaii West is for.
Mrs. Mai Tai and I had a great time on Tiki Tuesday at Dr. Funk with some dinner and drinks while enjoying the music from DJ Ship Rex. The Tiki Tuesday thing seems to be working well in Downtown San Jose and there was a lively crowd. Rex’s upbeat vintage tunes were delightful and we enjoyed the Fried Rice and Chinese Chicken Salad. We also tried the Malasadas, which were good but small.
The quality issues at Dr. Funk seem to be a distant memory now, as I enjoyed another really outstanding Mai Tai with Tuesday’s all-day Happy Hour pricing. Julie loved the Milk Punch and also had the Dr. Funk favorite the Shipwreck (also all-day Happy Hour pricing). Service was prompt and friendly.
Well Oiled Mai Tai
The waiter asked if I’d like to try a special from Bartender Justin and I was pleased to try a Well Oiled Mai Tai, a sort of hybrid of a Mai Tai and a Corn n’ Oil cocktail that was published in Difford’s Guide. As such, there was orgeat, falernum, bitters, and some great rum. This was a great change of pace and nice to see something off-menu being offered for this discerning Mai Tai fan. Justin and team have been doing great lately.
Dropped into Smuggler’s Cove earlier in the week to see what’s new and to reacquaint myself with their legendary Mai Tai. Indeed the SC Mai Tai is still going strong, a very approachable yet very flavorful cocktail that seemed mild at first but definitely packed a punch by the end. Still one of the best Mai Tais in the world.
Smuggler’s Cove is celebrating their 15th Anniversary this year and their new swizzle stick is a monster. I’ve never seen such a gigantic swizzle. I ordered a Pampanito and SC usually puts a swizzle in it but couldn’t because this thing is just too large for the glass!
Made it back to The Kon-Tiki to partake in the Wednesday Ohana night. Always fun to see the Oakland Oahana regulars and the efficient and friendly Kon-Tiki crew.
We tried a couple new things. While Mrs. Mai Tai had the legendary Kon-Tiki Burger with fries, I tried the Shrimp Tacos that I’d never seen on the menu before. I was so glad I did because they were totally fabulous, so fresh with pico and jack cheese. I’m not sure if these will stick around but I’d encourage anyone to try them.
Pop Star
Mrs. Mai Tai also tried the Pop Star cocktail, with apple brandy, gin, Aperol, watermelon, hibiscus, lemon, and orange. This fruity drink had some welcome layered flavors and definitely wasn’t too sweet. I really liked it, just as I’ve liked most all of the entries on the current cocktail menu.
This cask strength Demerara rum from Guyana is one of my favorites. The famed Port Mourant pot still produces leathery and heavy rum that coats your tongue and lingers for hours. Always a key component of Navy Rum and Demerara rum blends, El Dorado released a cask strength bottle of Port Mourant as part of their Single Still series. Aged for a decade and issued at 56.7% ABV.
The Kon-Tiki in Oakland has several of these El Dorado expressions and so last night was Port Mourant night as I continue to work on the Kon-Tiki Expedition rum list. This rum is great just by itself but I almost always have rums at the Kon-Tiki in a Mai Tai since their base ingredients are so great that a fab Mai Tai is nearly a guarantee. Such was the case here, a bold flavorful Mai Tai that you can seemingly chew it’s so thick.
Expressions like this don’t last forever, so I recommend trying it if you’re in downtown Oakland or at another quality bar with this rum.
Always described as a gorgeous bamboo tiki bar, Oakland’s Kona Club hasn’t embraced the cocktail trends most tiki bars have. Famous for their sugary Macadamia Nut Chi-Chi, neighborhood bar clientele, and music that doesn’t lean exotic, Kona Club sometimes draws ire from hardcore tikiphiles. But, friends, I’m here to tell you that some updates to the cocktail menu mean that it may be time to revisit those assumptions and opinions.
There’s a new section of Select Classics on the menu which include a Saturn, Jungle Bird, and Three Dots & a Dash. Plus a ’44 Mai Tai made with Jamaican rum, fresh lime, Dry Curacao, and orgeat. Having had plenty of cheap but ultimately not very good Kona Mai Tais here in the past, it was nice to see an option without pineapple, guava, and amaretto.
The standard ’44 Mai Tai is still made with small cubes, but nonetheless is still way better than the old Kona Mai Tai (which remains on the menu, if that’s your jam). Kona Club actually has a pretty decent rum selection as well, and I ordered a second ’44 with Hamilton 86 Demerara Rum and that too was pretty good (though needed more shaking/dilution). While they do measure the ingredients, they’re doing the fresh squeeze of “juice of one lime” bit, so your mileage might vary on the balance.
’44 Mai Tai and Undertow
Mrs. Mai Tai ordered two highballs. These are prepared in the glass with minimal stirring, so this can be detriment to the cocktail. That said, we both thought the Undertow with platinum and coconut rum, guava, passionfruit, lime, and orgeat was pretty good. Fruity in a good way, but not stickily sweet like the infamous Chi-Chi. She also tried the Left Bank with gin, elderflower liqueur, lemon, and soda. She thought it needed more elderflower, and I guess I would agree. It definitely tasted better after additional stirring and a squeeze of the lemon wheel garnish.
Thursday evening around 8:30 was quite fun, with lots of people cycling through and having a great time. Music was better, more of a mix of instrumental/retro tunes and no hip-hop or classic rock. I’ve had service issues here many times, but this time the staff was super attentive and friendly.
Kona Club still isn’t “craft cocktails” but at least is now a lot better. Definitely a lot of fun in a good neighborhood where parking isn’t a problem. I’ll be back.
