Look who we found on the way to Zombie Village, the original Tiki Bob at the corner of Post and Taylor. He looks freshly painted and the current building occupant Honey Honey recently embraced Bob’s color scheme by changing from green to brown.
This was the original home of Tiki Bob’s, opened in 1955 when a disgruntled Trader Vic’s bartender opened his own place a block away from his former boss. This location closed in 1983. A second Tiki Bob’s location opened in the building that currently houses Pagan Idol during the 1960s.
Trader Vic’s Emeryville hosted a special showing of a deleted scene from the acclaimed The Donn of Tiki documentary, highlighting archival footage of Trader Vic plus commentary about Vic from luminaries and experts. The showing followed a screening of The Donn of Tiki film nearby, plus the Mai Tai Lounge being open on a Tuesday as part of the Hinky Dinks Speakeasy that Vic’s has been running for a couple months.
Having seen the film before, we skipped the showing of the film and spent time in the lounge (we did buy tickets for the film, though). We enjoyed our past visit to the Hinky Dinks Speakeasy, previously held in the intimate Lanyu Room. This week the Tuesday speakeasy was hosted in the larger Mai Tai Lounge space, featuring a cocktail menu of Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic’s favorites plus some small bites. Music as always was pitch perfect 1940s era music from DJ Speakeasy Ray, who even showed us some rare vintage relics in his collection.
I really enjoyed the Three Dots & a Dash that used Kuleana Hawaiian Rum Agricole in place of the Martinique rhum that is normally used and I also liked the Shark’s Tooth that was light and refreshing, though Mrs. Mai Tai wasn’t a fan. I appreciated the inclusion of the Mai Tai on this special menu (reminder to you know who about who invented it), but we went with the Scorpion instead. The Scorpion can sometimes be too tart, but it was in balance on this visit.
Scorpion
As the filmgoers returned from the movie, the bar filled with people trying to get one final cocktail and then we were ushered into the Lanyu Room to watch the ten-minute deleted scene. If you’ve seen The Donn of Tiki film, you wouldn’t be surprised that the discussion of Trader Vic featured notables such as Eve Bergeron, Marie King, and Tim Glazner. There was also some archival footage of an elderly Trader Vic reminiscing about his career. This was such a treat, informative and entertaining.
We also spoke with Donn of Tiki director Max Well about plans for the VOD home video and Blu-Ray release of this incredible documentary, to be released very soon.
The newish YouTube channel Bamboo & Bitters welcomed me to The Fo’c’sle, the home bar and lounge of Pete and Andrea who serve as the hosts and producers of the channel. The channel covers a wide variety of tiki-related topics including cocktails, events, and spirits.
For the latest episode dropping today, I was the guest and made an Ultimate Mai Tai with Pete. We discussed the background on my version of Vic’s most famous cocktail and Mai Tais in general. Pete’s interest and enthusiasm is infectious and we had a blast hanging out in their fun basement lounge.
After experiencing a blackout during our visit last year, Ray and I tempted fate by returning the McMenamins Anderson School / North Short Lagoon complex in Bothell and having dinner and drinks upstairs in Nui Nui. The restaurant sits above the indoor swimming pool and there are Polynesian touches throughout the grounds. The plethora of Polynesian artwork here is staggering, there’s so much to look at.
Seating was basically open and we were treated to some friendly waitress sass from Natasha who remembered Ray from a visit years ago. Ray went with the “kiddie colada” sans booze, but I went in a different direction with the rum-forward Fashionably Tiki that’s a really nice Rum Old Fashioned style cocktail. Our meal with the Loco Moco and the Mai Thai Steak Salad featured large portions and was well-prepared.
I haven’t loved the Mai Tai at the McMenamins tiki bars, and haven’t really explored the cocktail menu in a lot of depth, so this is my caveat for people who prioritize cocktails with their decisions about whether or not to visit a tiki bar – the drinks may not be 1000% amazing. But given the unique qualities of the placemaking, decor, food, and service, I’d encourage tiki tourists to head north of Seattle to check out Nui Nui on their next trip to the area.
Business took me up north, offering a prime opportunity to visit The Jungle Bird, Sacramento’s leading tiki bar. The mid-town venue also has a $10 cocktail special on Time Travel Tuesdays, which this week was the Last Rites by Mariano Licudine from the Mai Kai. Even better for me was the opportunity to check out the newly revamped cocktail menu.
Last Rites
The menu embraces a variety of contemporary cocktail trends, including No ABV and Low ABV offerings. Some tiki classics like the Mai Tai and Saturn are available and there’s even a flight of boozy Dole Whips to indulge in. The Jungle Bird has always done frozen cocktails and I do love a good Rum Runner so I started out with that cocktail. This delicious drink is made with a special house-made blackberry syrup and it’s really well balanced and not too sweet.
The Jungle Bird is embracing new ingredients and interesting preparation techniques, including a sesame-washed coconut rum and the inclusion of pandan and bourbon in the Spice Trader that’s really great good and is served in a cool mug.
Spice Trader
We did some bar bites during our visit, enjoying the potstickers. In the past we’ve had uneven quality at Jungle Bird, but those days seem like they’re far behind now as this is our second great experience in a row. It’s a credit to the team at Jungle Bird who’ve really ramped up their attention to detail and they provide a variety of cocktail options for tiki purists as well as the party crowd.
Thanks to Correy, Nav, and Alissa for coming out to provide a locals welcome, and to Mariella for great service and a steady hand at helping to make the Jungle Bird a destination location once again.
New Luck Toy is a 21+ Chinese restaurant and bar in West Seattle that isn’t really tiki aside from a couple stools, but does provide excellent cocktails and an immersive space that will appeal to fans of the genre. There’s a main dining room, a back room with the bar, plus a small karaoke lounge / waiting room near the main entrance. There’s also a really nice dragon mural on the back side of the building, too.
Tiki with Ray recommended this venue and once again he chose wisely as the place was busy on a Friday but we were able to find seats at the bar without difficulty. The configuration of seating is chairs on a raised platform, so you sit normally rather than the typical raised barstool arrangement. Our bartender was helpful at walking us through some of the menu items, and made a custom non-alcoholic drink for Ray, with the Chinese menu arrangement showing which ones are frozen and on tap. Several cocktails are served in tiki mugs and prices are very reasonable, around $13 or $14, and there are some beer and wine options including four beers on tap.
I was interested in both the Mai Tai and the frozen Singapore Sling and broke the tie by getting both. The Singapore Sling comes in a fish mug that is nice on the eyes and in the hand, with a very good cherry flavor that I found balanced and tasty. The Mai Tai is on tap and I had low expectations, expecting pineapple juice, but found this be a really good 1944 style Mai Tai. Though served in a large glass, the Mai Tai didn’t taste watered down at all, and there’s plenty of booze in there too.
Hanging out with Tiki with Ray
The vibe inside New Luck Toy was a delight with hanging lanterns and a shelf of tiki style mugs backing the bar. I heard good things about the Chinese-American food and definitely would consider returning in the future.
I’d been to Seattle many times but for various reasons never visited longtime tiki bar Hula Hula, in part due to its karaoke focus and rep for divey cocktails. But this trip I made a point to finally visit, walking up from my hotel to check it out at opening on a Friday.
The exterior of Hula Hula is a technicolor wonder, with nods to Hawai’i and tiki generally, a theme which continues inside. This isn’t a cohesive space designed by a master craftsman, but instead it’s hangout bar with lots of legit tikis and eye candy, some booths, and a couple rooms to relax in. I sat near the bar, overlooking the karaoke stage that gets going later in the evening, and I really enjoyed the vibe inside that include a ton of retro rock that included the B-52s and The Runaways. The restroom had a completely different exotica soundtrack and was so impressive I didn’t dare leave a stick on the wall.
Happy Hour is big here, which is why the bartender made sure I was aware the classic Mai Tai I ordered wasn’t included. I appreciated the effort and this was a pretty decent version of the drink – not a standout but definitely drinkable. During my hour visit the crowd grew and by the time I left it was fairly active inside as well as on the patio outside given that it was a nice warm afternoon.
Classic Mai Tai
Hula Hula is akin to the Alibi in Portland, since both have a dive bar feel inside and a focus on karaoke in the evenings. So, if you’re a tiki bar snob then this isn’t the place to check out in the area, but if you’re looking for a fun place to bar hop on Capitol Hill then Hula Hula is definitely worth checking out.
