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
Your summer refresher is here. The Lychee Luau is a new cocktail at Dr. Funk that’s perfect for those hot August nights.
The drink features vodka, Wray & Nephew Jamaican rum, lychee, passionfruit, and lemon. Tell your tiki newbie friends it has Tito’s, then watch their face as they’re blown away when they taste what beautiful flavors in a cocktail can truly taste like. This is really great, but light enough on a hot day sipping cocktails on the patio at Dr Funk.
We had a great time socializing with Ryley and Ellie from the Tiki Talk Show last week at Smuggler’s Cove. After appearing on their new podcast and YouTube show earlier this year, we saw each other briefly at Tiki Oasis and then had the opportunity to meet up in San Francisco. We really love this new tiki media series which focuses on the tiki revival. The enthusiasm that the couple has for our subculture is genuine and open minded, so we wish them continued success with future interviews and endeavors.
Smuggler’s Cove is a great place to visit with other tiki people as the environment inspires conversations, as do the cocktails. Mrs. Mai Tai went for two rounds of Dr. Barca’s Fluffy Banana, light but flavorful. I was pleased to see that Smuggler’s Cove has updated the rum used in the Pampanito cocktail, one of my favorites. Switching from Pampero Aniversario, Smuggler’s Cove is now using another dark rum in Worthy Park 109 Jamaica rum but one that’s drier, more flavorful, and a little extra boozy. Which makes the Pampanito even more fantastic.
Also nice to see the water feature working again at the Cove.
We skipped False Idol last year but prioritized visiting this time, making a reservation on Wednesday before Tiki Oasis. The bar was super crowded, but tables are given to those with reservations which helped. We’re aways impressed by the small but immersive bar that features great music and a ton of fish floats and an elaborate number of wall carvings by local legend Bosko Hrnjak.
The cocktail menu now comes in a gigantic book, which sets a lot of tone including a fictionalized backstory for the bar but also means you have to constantly leaf through the pages to make a decision. I haven’t been happy with the Mai Tais here in the past so went with a False Idol original called the Chunky Dunk, featuring banana and sherry, served up. It was fantastic, another banana drink that I simply love. Mrs. Mai Tai had the Pearl Diver, also very good and on par with the compelling one at Strong Water Anaheim that we had a couple months back.
Besides tiki classic and False Idol originals, there’s a portion of the menu called the reserve section where cocktails are prepared with premium spirts with a price to match. Against my better judgment I ordered the Reserve Mai Tai made with aged Rhum JM and Appleton 15 rum, and it was good but not really with the $32 price tag. Every other drink I’ve ever had a False Idol has been a home run but the Mai Tai remains sort of a scratch single, not bad but not as amazing as everything else. San Diego is not a good Mai Tai town.
We had a great time seeing folks from Tiki Oasis, plus tons of non-tiki people packing the place on a Wednesday evening. False Idol is located inside Craft & Commerce with a separate host station, reservations recommended.
I decided to celebrate early with this fab 1991 rum from Trinidad, made at an undisclosed distillery, during a visit to Smuggler’s Cove this week. Quite a full bodied flavor.
It is truly a blessing to be able to try these super old rums at Smuggler’s Cove. Time machines in a bottle.
Tiki Oasis weekend in San Diego kicked off in traditional style with a quick visit to the Bali Hai Restaurant on Shelter Island with DJ Ship Rex who’d never visited before. I’d only ever been for lunch or dinner and the mid-afternoon vibe was a lot more casual, with seating at the bar and in the rear portion of the lounge (no window seats, sadly), accompanied by live music.
Rex and I both wisely decided to keep things in moderation by avoiding the Bali Hai’s infamous “no juice” Mai Tai made with at least five ounces of rum! We watched the bartender prepare these and after tiny splashes of orgeat, sweet and sour mix, and curaçao a bit of ice is put into the glass. Then bottles of light and dark rum are positioned to pour into the glass. As Rex described it, “pour until full” meaning that there is tons of rum in the Bali Hai Mai Tai. Limit two per customer, as they say.
We stuck with the pleasant and juicy Goof Punch that’s sort of an island style Mai Tai with lots of pineapple juice and a ton of flavor. As we exited the venue we attempted to take a selfie with Mr. Bali Hai but the sun was basically blinding but still a fun focal point. We stopped at Trader Mort’s liquor store on the way out and found many bottles of rum for sale including some overpriced items but also some deals, plus tiki mugs and other Trader Mort branded merch.
Shelter Island is still high on our list of destinations in San Diego and the beautiful views remain breathtaking.
Heading to Tiki Oasis in San Diego by way of the San Jose Mineta Airport, so I made sure to arrive early for some drinks and food at Trader Vic’s SJC to get into the mood. It was still before 10:00 am so while I could get a Mai Tai I couldn’t order off the lunch menu yet. No trouble, the Tahitian Toast with Salmon was quite filling, but I asked for the jalapeño spread to be omitted as spicy is not my thing. The waiter asked if I would like some avocado with it and after saying yes it arrived with avocado. “Some” avocado indeed. It was delicious and totally filling too.
My Mai Tai was just great and the Guava Tai I ordered was just as good. I enjoy the little bit of tropical juices that Trader Vic’s adds for these Tropical Tais. As seasoned mixologists know, a little bit of mango or pineapple or guava go a long way and Trader Vic’s doesn’t drown it with these juices like some places do. It’s the perfect amount.
The prices at Trader Vic’s SJC are not too bad these days, either. All drinks are $18.39 including tax, which isn’t cheap but no longer expensive when you account for the tax being included. We’ve seen Mai Tais and other cocktails well over $20 that aren’t nearly as good, which is amazing for a bar at the airport. Trader Vic’s SJC is a treasure.
We had a nice Saturday last week where we traveled down to Carmel for some lunch and sightseeing, then up to Monterey, Capitola, and then dinner in Santa Cruz with a friend.
After some exhaustive antique shopping at the nearby Cannery Row Antique Mall, we took a break at Hula’s Island Grill for a drink and some decadent Ohana Pie. We enjoy the Hawaiian leaning vibe that includes some tiki elements, including a nice shaded patio out back.
Drinks here aren’t totally craft oriented but I do enjoy their longtime menu item the Pink Bikini Martini that has pineapple and watermelon infused vodka. I helped Mrs. Mai Tai find something up her alley from the premium cocktail menu where “Pick Yo Self Off La Flor” is a pretty good Espresso Martini riff featuring Flor de Cana rum and coffee liqueur, cold brew, and spices.
