Landed in the French Quarter and decide to kick off the evening with this fan favorite.
I decided to go with the “light” version which was on crushed ice rather than frozen. And you that this drink doesn’t really have a great rep among cocktail snobs but for a limeade cocktail this wasn’t bad at all, and not so unbalanced that the booze overpowers. Way better than the Hurricane at Pat O’Brien’s if you’re looking to choose which tourist cocktail to try.
Wasn’t nearly the “most powerful drink” I had. The Navy Grog at Latitude 29 was way boozier.
We enjoyed the ambiance and cocktails at The Cauldron Spirits and Brews, a witch and black cat themed bar and restaurant located across the street from Knott’s Berry Farm. This was a perfect starter before our evening at Knott’s Scary Farm last Saturday, with many of the guests as elaborately dressed as the staff! Wearing black would be a smart choice.
The main room features ornate decor with a few special effects. Not too dark and spooky but plenty nice to get you in the mood. We were seated on the enclosed patio that has conservatory vibes and the music was dark leaning classic modern rock for the most part.
I enjoyed a pumpkin ale and others tried the cocktails with thematically appropriate names. Mrs Mai Tai enjoyed the Knotty Kid Martini that is a lemon drop riff featuring Boysenberry Cotton Candy. The cocktail even featured a ghostly apparition!
Landed in LA and met friends at The Formosa Cafe for some great food and cocktails. We love this place including all the eye candy and historical decorative elements.
I wouldn’t say I’m a huge fan of the Negroni cocktail, but it is Negroni Week so I met it halfway with a Kingston Negroni that subs Jamaica Rum for the Gin. It works pretty well with Vermouth and Campari.
We missed Mothership on our last trip to San Diego so we made sure to snag a reservation when their 30 day window opened. This immersive bar draws from Science Fiction and presents the concept of a crashed space ship on an alien planet. The concept is the space counterpart to “crashed ship” tiki bars: a little bit of metal and glass, plus a little bit of rocks and strange alien plants. All with haunting and electronic music as the background.
None of that immersion would be worth the hype without good food and drink options. Mothership has a few small bites, including some soft-serve ice cream options. Each has an interesting flavor twist, such as Ube, which we thought help reinforce the concept of exotic flavors. There’s also a nice selection of non-alcoholic cocktails.
Heliotropic and Homing Beacon Cocktails
On the cocktail menu, everything is space themed and there is a booziness scale. So, the Saturn is represented in classic form as a lighter option. The Mindkiller takes obvious nods from a Painkiller but includes Tangerine, Amaro, and a Tang cordial. The Heliotropic is the very good Mai Tai riff, including tangy Kumquat, Piloncillo Orgeat, and Mole bitters. We really liked the cocktails here, but our favorite was Star Raider with rums, Crème de Cassis, Crème de Banana, Cynar, and a raspberry grenadine. So fruity with complex flavors.
Reservations are nearly essential for Mothership, though there’s a standing room area across from the bar that might allow for last minute entry. Our service was super friendly and efficient at providing multiple rounds during our 90 minute reservation. They even offered to split the check three ways for our part of five. The outside of Mothership looks like yet another Mission Style building but inside there’s so much more.
Some things remain great at the Trader Vic’s San Jose Airport location, including the continued availability of To-Go Cocktails including the Original Mai Tai. That was a great way to kick off our travels to San Diego for Tiki Oasis. Staff here remain super friendly, though their ability to guess my cocktail choice might have had something to do with the shirt I was wearing and not clairvoyance.
Trader Vic’s Hospitality Group’s corporate site labels this location as a Trader Vic’s Outpost, same as the Oakland Airport location that continues to be confirmed as coming soon. These Outpost locations are intended for airports and lobbies, an obviously less immersive location that nonetheless offers travelers a great option to experience Trader Vic’s culinary and cocktail legacy; it’s a great marketing opportunity as well.
At San Jose, the restaurant and bar sits opposite a grab and go location that sells salads, canned drinks, and Trader Vic’s mugs and merch. In the past, the Trader Vic’s Canned Mai Tai was available here, but I confirmed that unfortunately the product is no longer being produced. A variety of beers and RTD cocktails are available here instead, notably not including a Mai Tai from On the Rocks or Cutwater for obvious reasons.
The Outpost Grab and Go location now includes some pretty nice looking bowls that are on-par with the restaurant across the way, plus some Salmon and Short Rib plates that look delicious. This is a big improvement in terms of the grab and go items.
The New York Café has been in Budapest for over a century and has a reputation for being the most beautiful in the world. We were staying two blocks away and made it over for some drinks and dinner. Indeed the intricate frescoes and glamorous chandeliers do seem more reminiscent of a palace than a restaurant.
It was nice inside and we had pretty reasonable service considering how busy it was, plus the piano player set a great mood. Our food and drinks were … serviceable. Not really bad but not at the level of the decor inside.
The charming Spittelberg neighborhood is the home of Matiki, a modern tiki bar that has truly outstanding cocktails. We visited early on a Friday and passed the outdoor seating to decide to sit inside. There are some sparse tiki displays inside plus windows, so this isn’t a dark tiki bar. Nonetheless we enjoyed our visit thanks to the service and craft cocktails.
Tutti Flirty
Every tiki bar decides to emphasize specific things, and Matiki’s is the cocktails. Some really interesting menu items here, including a section of highballs, and each tiki drink comes in a specific mug or glass. There were a few classics and several more inspired originals including the Tutti Flirty with gin, amaro, port wine, falernum, and juices. That cocktail was garnished with a candy and a little love note where you could add your telephone to give to new friend. Mrs. Mai Tai also liked the Humuhumunukunukuapua’a with gin, orgeat, lemon, and Peychaud’s. She liked the mug so much we even bought one.
Meanwhile, I was totally blown away by Matiki’s amazing Mai Tai. Billed as having rhum agricole and Jamaica rum, I pretty much got the same Appleton 12/Smith & Cross notes I’ve had at other tiki bars – and sure enough that’s what they were using in addition to Saint James aged agricole. One of the best Mai Tais of 2024 so far. I also loved the If You Like, a petite colada variant with cream topping, and also Pu Er Sour with gin, brandy, amaretto, and Pu Er Tea syrup.
Mai Tai
Matiki had some of the highest quality and varied cocktails that we’ve had in a while. Some savory popcorn is also provided when you sit down and overall we really enjoyed the vibe inside and talking to the friendly staff who understood by my Aloha shirt that we were not there by accident. We exited and soon found a wonderful Austrian restaurant to have dinner outside in the square. This one a wonderful evening in Vienna.
