The Search for the Ultimate Mai Tai
Traveling the Bay Area and beyond to find the best Mai Tai in the world! Tiki, cocktails, and adventures by Kevin Crossman
Mrs. Mai Tai and I made a side-visit to Monterey on the way home from Paso Robles and checked into Hula’s Island Grill for Lunch. After all the imbibing the night previous, it was Shirley Temples rather than cocktails for us (we do love those cherries). Service was spot on but it was a bit too cool for Hula’s fine back patio.
We had a great lunch in a little nook next to some framed vintage photos and even saw a framed version of the Barack Obama Birth Certificate.
Central California’s newest tiki bar is Cane Tiki Room, located in downtown Paso Robles. As drinking destinations go, Paso’s downtown has some great cocktail bars, plenty of craft beer, and every third storefront is wine tasting. So a tiki bar certainly is a unique offering to appeal to the locals and tourists who come to downtown to imbibe.
Mrs. Mai Tai and I arrived about ten minutes before 4:00 pm when they opened on Saturday. There was a large group ahead of us, but the line soon grew and grew. It was probably twenty deep and the place filled up fast with everyone being reminded of the 90 minute time limit. We saw several groups come in for a one-and-done cocktail, many of which had already been our drinking already. So it was that kind of clientele.
But that clientele had a pretty good experience. Cane Tiki Room is nicely appointed with some coherent and thematic art, plus straight exotica music to set the mood. There is a host station and plenty of wait staff and bartenders, too. While we didn’t partake in the food, they do feature many popular Hawaiian and Chinese favorites. There is a very healthy selection of premium rums and spirits.
We had three rounds of drinks before we left for dinner elsewhere, and found the quality of the cocktails to be quite good. There are a mix of classic stirred cocktails such as the Bumbuzzled (and Old Fashioned riff), but others with interesting ingredients such as Soju Think You Can Dance with Ginger Soju and Yuzu. I liked my Jet Pilot riff called the Space Cadet. The menu is large enough so that everyone has something to try, but not too large to be overwhelming. A skull rating supposedly helps you but I felt that some of the ratings were too low.
Everything seemed pretty damn good… except the Mai Tai made with Macadamia Nut Orgeat, Denizen White Rum, and Cihuatan 12 rum from El Salvador (not one of my favorite rums). Had a funny taste and was really not up to the same level as the rest of the cocktails.
Overall, though, Cane Tiki Room is a welcome addition and we’ll no doubt return.
Unlike the Mai Tai which has a well-established canonical recipe, the Navy Grog does not. There’s the Don the Beachcomber version. There’s the Trader Vic’s version. There are versions that blend key ingredients from both. And then there are places that do something different. This is the Dr. Funk Navy Grog.
Still a heavy cocktail with lots of grapefruit and rum, but it does not lean into the traditional ingredients such as honey or pimento dram. Instead, Dr. Funk introduces a different set of spices including Grapefruit Bitters. It is worth trying and you might even prefer this recipe.
The South Bay Ohana meetups at Dr. Funk in downtown San Jose are currently the 1st Sunday and 3rd Wednesday of each month. This month the theme was March Matchiness, which gave Mrs. Mai Tai and I an excuse to wear this Witchdoctor matching set we bought a couple years ago and designed by Devon Deveraux.
We finally got to try the food at Dr. Funk and found it be pretty good. Service was great as always, even for us with a larger group and some people coming and going.
Come join us at the next meet-up on Sunday April 3.
Congratulations to Adrián Castañeda for completing the Expedition rum list at The Kon-Tiki.
As is the tradition, there was a special cocktail menu made in Adrián’s honor. Three Morrissey-themed offerings were available, and the music was a selection of Smiths/Morrissey covers. Quite well done. The two cocktails were a fine Grog, as well as an excellent Derby Daiquiri riff featuring Agricole.
Adrián seems to be a man about town, I keep bumping into him at events across the Bay Area and even at a vintage store in Sacramento! He definitely put us all to shame with his dapper outfit and completely crushed the gong.
I was in the city yesterday near the Cove so popped in to see if they could top the amazing Mai Tai I had at Trader Sam’s made with Appleton Reserve and Hamilton Pot Still Blonde.
As you can see from the photo, what was pulled was the Pot Still Gold, not the Blonde. In this respect, I can’t blame the barback who retrieved the bottle because I’ve done the same thing before at home and in stores since all the Hamilton rums have the same label and in this case the Gold doesn’t look “gold” at all. It’s exactly the same color as the Blonde (if anything, the Blonde is shade darker).
Of course the Smuggler’s Cove Mai Tai was excellent, but I would say there’s something about that Hamilton Pot Still Blonde that really amplifies the Mai Tai. I hadn’t really considered that rum for a Mai Tai blend but it has a little extra oomph in the cocktail. The Gold is no slouch but seems to be missing something. The Blonde has some additional aging and no coloring.
Sunday night at the Smuggler’s Cove was quite relaxing and was easy to strike up a conversation with bartender Steven Liles who entertained us with some stories.
I was pleased to try this Singapore Sling riff at Dr. Funk, which I found to be a wonderful blend of complex flavors. It is made with “wild roses, velvety honey, bright citrus, Cocchi Rosa aromatized sweet vermouth, Becherovka herbal bitters & gin.”
Ken Wongdejanan really crushed it on this one. The cocktail program at Dr. Funk continues to impress and seems to be extraordinarily strong across all cocktail styles.
