Category: Tiki Bar

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South SF Bay Area Tiki Ohana at Dr. Funk

Now that San Jose finally has a legit tiki bar, …actually, scratch that. Now that San Jose finally has an amazing tiki bar, some of the locals are deciding to get together on a regular basis.

Working out of the “South SF Bay Area Tiki Ohana” Facebook group, local tikiphile and all-around mensch Michel von Schiltach decided to get the ball rolling. Michel lives within walking distance and helped with some of the build-out, so is the perfect ambassador for these meetups.

As of now the schedule is, starting at opening at 4 pm and lasting as long as it lasts:
1st Sunday of the month
3rd Wednesday of the month

Last night was the third Wednesday, and I arrived a little late around 7 pm. So nice to see a few friendly faces interspersed with San Jose locals doing the tiki thing midweek. With Dr. Funk’s central location and convenient parking garage across the street, I’ll definitely be returning more frequently.

Dr. Funk is now serving food, and from what I’ve been told the portions are quite large for the price, and everyone seems to enjoy the meal. There was some discussion about Dr. Funk possibly being an all-ages place once food was starting to be served, but the decision is that it was stay as 21 and over. Dr. Funk is also now offering reservations, so be sure to make one if you’re coming with a larger group.

Check out “South SF Bay Area Tiki Ohana” group in Facebook for more details.

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Tiki Haven’s Island Mai Tai

My route back home from Trad’r Sam went right past Tiki Haven so I thought I’d pop in to check this place out again, too. The bar is located in the Sunset District and is a neighborhood sports bar with a tourist-tiki theme. No confusing this with the craft places downtown, but on the other hand it is still quite a friendly bar where your wife won’t be frightened to enter. The parklet outside features some very nicely themed tables and stools that are in great condition. There are plenty of restaurants nearby.

Service was friendly, similar to my previous visit, and the Mai Tai was prepared quickly. This very good Island Mai Tai was shaken prior to serving, and had a well-balanced ratio of juices to spirits.

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Trad’r Sam Mai Tai

My company gave me a “wellness” day so I took a trip to San Francisco to visit Trad’r Sam, the longest continually operating tiki bar in the world. Like many bars outside the city’s financial and tourist core, this is a dive bar not a craft cocktail place. Inside things are … very divey. There are some longtime bamboo framing elements around the tables, and a few tiki mugs hanging above the bar, and a lot of tired bones. Inside, the place is cash only, and they have a long menu of cocktails along with a modest collection of spirits and beer.

The owner of Trad’r Sam took offense to my review a couple years ago when I said that all the drinks were pretty much the same. Part of my revisit was to test the theory.

My $9 island Mai Tai was prepared thusly:
Splash of bottled Lime and Sweet & Sour mix
Splash of Triple Sec and Amaretto
Splash of Grenadine 
Steady pours of Myers’s white rum and a dark rum (might have been Cruzan)
Big splash of Pineapple Juice
Healthy float of Myers’s dark rum

If the grenadine was removed I would give this a passing grade, as my first few sips came off the bottom where the grenadine had settled and it was not good. Once I stirred it up a bit more the cocktail improved. Service was efficient and friendly enough for a dive bar.

I was thinking about a second cocktail when another patron ordered a Zombie. The Zombie had even more pineapple juice and more rum, but otherwise seemed like the same ingredients. Served blended.

So, it was one and done for me. I’m glad I took the drive out on a sunny Friday. The parklet outside was spartanly appointed but definitely was being well used by regulars who were starting the weekend early. 

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Trader Vic’s Tonga Fundraiser

Trader Vic’s Emeryville is hosting a fundraiser event on Thursday, February 24th from 6:30 – 9:00. The proceeds will be directed to the Fraternal Order of the Moai Foundation and are benefitting Tonga for the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption.

The event includes a special Tongan dance presentation by the consulate of Tonga. There will also be silent auction items donated by large collection of artists and tiki venues (see below). Additional music is from DJ Speakeasy Ray.

Guest bartenders include Marie King or Tonga Hut Los Angeles, Jeff Ponder and Jasmin Fajardo of Pagan Idol, Jeanie Grant of Palmetto, Tony Martinez of The Kon-Tiki, and Trader Vic’s alumni Brent Harris and Ismael Arriaga.

Thanks to Trader Vic’s for organizing this. I’m sure this will be a very special event, so be sure to make a reservation. See you there!

Silent Auction items from: Sven Kirsten, Shag, Woody Miller, Pleasant Tiki, Smugglers Cove, Latitude 29, Tiki Diablo, Chris Shima, B-Rex, Forbidden Island, Shannon Mustipher, Tikiyaki, Wilfreds, Tiki Oasis & Trader Vic’s
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Tonga Punch

Trader Vic’s Emeryville is bringing back this vintage cocktail as a special fundraiser this month (this version is from the 1972 Trader Vic’s Bartenders Guide). The Tonga Punch is “a refreshing and fruity combination of light rum, curacao and grenadine mixed with orange and lemon juices” and is a very sweet cocktail that is easy to drink. Mine tasted very cherry-forward, so I wonder if maybe they used the Trader Vic’s Maraschino Cherry syrup in place of the grenadine.

For the month of February, Trader Vic’s will donate $10 for each Tonga Punch sold to the Fraternal Order of Moai, benefitting the country of Tonga for the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption.

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Disco Banana Article in Exotica Moderne

The new issue of Exotica Moderne arrived, with my article about the Disco Banana cocktail by Jeanie Grant.  Haven’t heard of this amazing cocktail? That’s why I wrote the article! It is one of my all-time favorites.

The article includes Jeanie’s original sketch for the cocktail, so check out the article to learn more about how this cocktail got its name. Thanks to Jeanie for telling me the origin story!

The typo in the captions for the two photos came from me. Minor dyslexia.

Copies of Exotica Moderne are on sale at House of Tabu, so be sure to order the issue now before it sells out.