Category: Tiki Bar

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Devil’s Reef Remains one of the Best Tiki Bars in America

Last year I was scheduled to do a Tiki with Ray Live interview at Devil’s Reef in Tacoma. That event was cancelled when I got COVID, so I made sure to visit on my recent trip. We arrived at opening on a Friday.

The venue remains largely the same as my last visit several years back. This is a dark immersive space, with nautical elements combined with tiki and horror. There’s a large bar along with several large booths and tables in the rear. Dark mood lighting and exotic mood music are in full effect. It is very relaxing inside and you’ll totally forget the rain or whatever is happening outside in downtown Tacoma.

Fun times in Tacoma

The bar program is led by co-owner Jason Alexander, and incredibly leans on just a few Planteray rum expressions for nearly every cocktail. We were considering our order when Jason popped in unexpectedly, as he wasn’t scheduled for that shift. We caught up for a bit and when I asked about the relatively new Ferrand Dry Curacao Yuzu he immediately whipped up an incredible Yuzu Daiquiri that totally blew me away.

After Jason departed we were left in the capable hands of Gamaliel Giron who prepped great cocktails for our party. I thought that the Devil’s Reef’s Officer’s Mai Tai was fine but it didn’t blow me away. This cocktail isn’t beloved by Jason Alexander and I guess they’ve bowed to pressure to include it on the menu, but I give a wide berth considering how fantastic all the original cocktails I’ve had here are. I truly loved the Special Dry Planter’s Punch featuring Jamaica rum, falernum, and grenadine.

We didn’t try the food but we’ve heard good things, and there’s a set of non-alcoholic cocktail options on the menu as well. The Friday crowd was going pretty good by the time that we left around 7:00, so its great to see that one of the best tiki bars in America is still doing everything right. This place is a gem and to paraphrase the old Herb Caen line about Trader Vic’s (“the best restaurant in San Francisco is in Oakland”) we agree that the best tiki bar in Seattle is Devil’s Reef in Tacoma.

Yuzi Daiquiri
Officer’s Mai Tai
Dry Planter’s Punch
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Mai Tai Monday at Trader Vic’s Emeryville

This was the fantastic Original Mai Tai that I had at Trader Vic’s Emeryville  a couple weeks back.

Did you know that 2024 is the 80th anniversary of the creation of the Mai Tai, and the 90th of the Trader Vic’s restaurant franchise? The 90th anniversary logo on the Mai Tai glass looks really sharp.

Look for a lot of discussion about this into the spring and of course for the annual Mai Tai Day celebration in late August.

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Tacoma’s Old Hangout is a Mixed Bag

Popped into this tiki bar on the lower level of the McMenamins Elk Temple in Tacoma. I love the decor in the Old Hangout and indeed it is a wonderful place to hang. There’s a really interesting set of decor pieces that come from different places and styles. Music can be all over the place.

I wish I could be as effusive about the Mai Tai, which had a strange taste from the orgeat and rums that aren’t particularly assertive. Locals tell me you’ll have better luck when working with a bartender in off menu cocktails.

Entrance Doors
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Satisfying Salmon Bowl and Cocktails at Trader Vic’s San Jose Airport

I’m traveling to Seattle for business next week and it’s always nice to fly out of San Jose to have lunch before the flight at Trader Vic’s Outpost at San Jose Airport. The Teriyaki Salmon Bowl here is really great, including mango, edamame, carrots, and avocado.

The signature cocktail for this Vic’s location is the Pilo Pilo, which is served in the mug they made just for this location. The recipe isn’t out there for this cocktail but I tried to watch them make it and it seems like it has lime juice, pineapple juice, passionfruit syrup, Vic’s grog concentrate, dark rum, gold rum, and 151 rum. It is a pretty good cocktail, though I was the only one at the bar drinking Vic’s cocktails as others were defaulting to common drinks like Margaritas or just choosing beer and wine.

Salmon Bowl and Pilo Pilo

There’s a scant amount of premium rum at this location, including things like Zaya and Brugal which are sweetened and not really my thing. But there’s a very nice Mount Gay Master Select 1703 from Barbados. This is a blend of rums aged from 10-30 years and issued at 43% ABV, so it is very easy to drink but still has a fine blend of Barbados rum flavors. The price isn’t bad, $22. Wish they had a few more premiums to go along with the bottles of bourbon and Scotch on the back bar.

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Delicious Dinner at Trader Vic’s Emeryville

Had a delicious meal at Trader Vic’s a couple weeks ago. We always start with the heavenly Peanut Butter spread that has a unique flavor and pairs well with crackers. We almost always have the Cheese Bings or Crab Rangoon as appetizers but skipped them this time.

The feature entree for me was the Island Fried Rice, which includes chicken, char sui pork, and pineapple. I would say that I’m not the biggest fan of fried rice generally but Trader Vic’s version is really great. There is a very nice blend of ginger and garlic flavors with a balanced amount of egg. It also worked really well to soak up the Mai Tai and Fog Cutter that I had that evening.

Dinner in the Lounge at Trader Vic’s has a certain energy, especially on the weekends when it’s busy and as they did for us they sometimes seat you here in order to get you seated more quickly. And there’s plenty of eye candy in the lounge, too. We probably do prefer the dining room for a longer meal, though, even if we have to wait a little longer to be seated.

Peanut Butter Crackers
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Tiki with Ray Shrunken Head at Golden Tiki

Congratulation to Ray Wyland aka Tiki with Ray for getting a shrunken head at The Golden Tiki in Las Vegas.

The positive attitude Ray brings to his blog and YouTube channel demonstrates he loves our subculture and the people who make it special. His features of home tiki bars on his blog is particularly noteworthy, highlighting the unsung fans of the genre who do the hard work to create their own stories and spaces without venture capital or an investment group.

Ray has also written extensively in Exotica Moderne magazine, discussing various topics but mostly writing about experiences at tiki bars across the country. I find Ray’s focus on the lesser known destinations as an example of his effort to write about the up and comers or under appreciated. Just in the last month, Ray wrote about Kahala Koa in Arlington Heights, IL in the latest Exotica Moderne issue and I saw that they’ve framed Ray’s article and put it on the wall in the bar. This is just the latest example of how Ray spreads the gospel of tiki.

I don’t know who is making the shrunken heads for Golden Tiki but Ray’s might be the most accurate of the heads they’ve done to date; it’s really the spitting image. We absolutely dig how Golden Tiki salutes so many people who they consider influential to the heritage of their venue and also how they salute the people currently making a contribution to the community. In this respect Ray for sure is a most deserving recipient.

So, here’s a straight-edge cheers to our friend Ray. Congratulations on your shrunken head!

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Make & Drink Lapu Lapu

There are a number of historical recipes for the Lapu Lapu / Chief Lapu Lapu cocktail, described in a recent video from Derek on the Make & Drink channel on YouTube. Besides going into the history of the cocktail and its notable presence as the featured cocktail at The Royal Hawaiian in Laguna Beach, Derek came up with his own Lapu Lapu recipe that we are trying tonight.

Make & Drink Lapu Lapu
½ oz Lemon Juice
½ oz lime Juice
2 oz Orange Juice
1 oz Passion Fruit syrup
¼ oz Rich Simple Syrup
1½ oz Light Rum
1 oz Pot Still Rum
1 oz Club Soda
¾ oz 151 Rum
Flash blend all ingredients except 151 rum for five seconds, then pour over crushed ice in a large snifter. Float ½ oz of 151 rum. Garnish with mint and a passionfruit shell with 151 rum, set on fire.

I took a few liberties here, notably on the garnish side since I had no mint and decided to use a lighted lantern pick. I used Liber Passionfruit Syrup, a light rum blend of Trader Vic’s white and Hamilton White Stache, Hamilton Pot Still Black Jamaica rum, and Hamilton 151 Demerara rum.

This is a really juicy cocktail and the excellent tangy Passionfruit Syrup from Liber really shines in this. I’m not getting much of the Pot Still rum, and if I was going to do this over I’d probably go 2 oz Pot Still and 1 oz Light rum. Or maybe just incorporate all the rum and not leave the 151 as a float, since a little of that famed Overproof Demerara rum can really add some great flavors to a cocktail.

Nonetheless, this is a really great version of this cocktail. Do you have a favorite Lapu Lapu recipe? Leave it in the comments.