Some shots of the interview with Otto Von Stroheim on the Tiki with Ray show, filmed live at Forbidden Island. The interview is now live on Ray’s YouTube channel, and is a breezy history of Otto’s role in our community and some stories about Tiki News, Tiki Oasis, and more. Ray is a good interviewer, and Otto knows how to be a good interviewee. Check it out.
It’s really great that Forbidden Island can host these kind of events, alongside the usual regular Tuesday night Ohana gathering shenanigans.
We returned to Tiki Tom’s last Thursday when the temps in Walnut Creek were 112°. Thankfully, everything was cool inside.
The interior remains gorgeous and music is on point. We also got a preview of some new special effects that are coming soon in conjunction with some upcoming menu changes. It’s great to see investments continuing here, even after their elaborate renovation last year.
The cocktail prices have come down a bit since our last visit, so the $15 Mai Tai ($10 for Happy Hour) is within reasonable norms in the Bay Area. Especially since this Mai Tai is so tasty, using an aged and overproof Jamaican rums. Mrs. Mai Tai really loved the Ohana Punch, a Pina Colada riff featuring green apples, walnuts. So outstanding she ordered a second. The menu is split between classics and originals.
Our food was pretty good and all items were delivered to the table at the same time, which is an improvement over the procedure on our previous visit. The menu leans into Hawaiian favorites, and I liked the Kahlua Pork Bowl with rice.
Thanks to our friend Tiki with Ray who arrived before we did, we were introduced to owners Darrin and Rick DeRita, as well as Steffani DeRita who is the GM. Suffice to say that they told us a lot about the rebirth of the venue and discussed some of the upcoming menu changes too. There are some very interesting things coming, including the BenZombie cocktail that pays homage to Bamboo Ben who led the renovation build.
We appreciate the hospitality from the DeRitas who were super accommodating on a couple things during our visit.
Congrats to our friends at The Kon-Tiki who celebrated Monday evening with the long-awaited release of their Worthy Park Single Barrel Rum. This cask-strength rum from Jamaica comes in at a hefty 66% ABV and you’ll taste every bit of the flavor. Obviously overproof and quite funky by general rum standards, but not so much that this can’t be sipped neat or on the rocks. It’s from barrel 717 and aged five years in the tropics.
These bottles are for sale. Prices vary depending on whether you buy one, two, or a case, but think ~$60 per bottle. It is a great rum and supplies are limited, so be sure to visit The Kon-Tiki soon to secure this great rum.
For the party on Monday, there were some cocktail specials featuring this rum along with other products from the Worthy Park / Rum-Bar Rum portfolio. Of course I had to try the Kon-Tiki Barrel Mai Tai and this rum is simply a great choice. One of my favorite Mai Tais of 2022. Expect to see this as a higher-end Mai Tai option in a revised menu coming soon.
Got to speak a little with Zan Kong who is the Commercial Manager for Spirits at Worthy Park. Such a nice guy and knowledgable and passionate about what Worthy Park is doing.
For many years the distillery has made a tidy profit selling bulk rum to the likes of Hamilton Rums, Doctor Bird, and others. But lately the distillery seems to be using more of their rum for their own products. I’m a fan of their mainstream aged rum release Worthy Park Single Estate Reserve, but also their unaged Rum-Bar Overproof expression and Worthy Park 109, a lightly aged dark rum. 100% pot still rum, always.
Kon-Tiki Barrel Mai TaiZan Kong from Worthy ParkKon-Tiki Owner Christ Aivaliotis
With temps over 100° we took a risk visiting Dr. Funk, but we’re pleased to report that their air conditioning is working great. It was sooo coooool inside.
Speaking of cool, we tried some of the new cocktails on Dr. Funk’s refreshed cocktail menu. We really enjoyed the Drink of the Gods, with overproof rums, coconut and heavy cream, pineapple, lemon, turbinado, walnut bitters, and cherry liqueur. Such an amazing blend of flavors.
We were less impressed with Thai Chi, with rums, spices, milk syrup, and turbinado. This is Mrs. Mai Tai’s flavor profile but overall it didn’t have the complexity or rich flavors which Dr. Funk is known for.
I had the Sidewinder’s Fang, which uses Lemon Hart Blackpool Spiced Rum to good effect, along with a fine blend of citrus and passionfruit. It was really fantastic.
The outside patio now has a thatch roof of sorts, increasing the appeal of this venue on the weekends when it is used when things get busy. It does add more escapism to the deck as well, to go along with the fine tropical and retro music that is still thankfully being played.
It was really fantastic hanging out at Dr. Funk last night. Cool drinks. Cool music. And cool air, too!
The merch display looks great and I understand maybe the jukebox wasn’t working great anymore, but I’m super bummed it’s gone. Used to love to be able to go to Forbidden Island and play some music I wanted to hear. And the best part was that it didn’t cost anything to make your music selections.
Also, the green B-Rex glass is a perfect size for rum sips with big ice cubes, or for smaller tropicals with modest amount of ice. And the design is cool. Grab it before it’s gone.
Had to go somewhere for the actual Mai Tai Day on August 30. Forbidden Island hosts their Ohana nights on Tuesdays and they had guest bartender Captain Dave from the Captain’s Cabin bar in Arizona, so this was the choice.
We were all too happy to relax on FI’s well-appointed back patio. Mrs. Mai Tai ordered her standard Chamborlada, always a favorite here. She also had the Tradewinds that combines coconut and apricot flavors so well.
I went with FI’s standard Classic Mai Tai. They’re using a multi-rum blend in the Mai Tai and I thought it was pretty good. There’s a certain tanginess that I really liked. They have a new cocktail menu and there’s a Viking Mai Tai that I’ll try next time.
Captain Dave had a few drink specials and I dug the Shipwrecked in Scotland, which thankfully leaned more into the Jamaican rum than the Scotch. Lots of good flavors.
Nice to be able to say hello to Michael Thanos, who petitioned Oakland to recognize the Mai Tai and where this August 30 Mai Tai Day stuff originally emanated from. Cheers!
Such a fun day in Emeryville yesterday at Trader Vic’s. Lines for cocktails and food were very well managed and plenty of outdoor seating.
My seminar on the Hawaiian Mai Tai went pretty well. A great turnout even in room doing cocktails and rum tasting and (after the door to the outside was closed) which was a little warm. Thanks to those who attended, for being engaged, and laughing at my jokes. The meme got a big laugh. Slides are available here on the site.
I was pleased to be a judge for the cocktail competition. Some great cocktail entries. Congrats to Marisa Miller for winning, and be sure to check out her Kunia Cooler cocktail during September at Vic’s.
Marisa Miller
So much going on. Wish there was time to socialize with more people but it was nice to see so many familiar faces. Thanks to @westcoastmseve for getting me onto the program.
And now for the actual Mai Tai Day on Tuesday Aug 30th. Cheers!
