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Luau Lounge: Hidden Tiki Bar in San Francisco

Had a sort of impromptu visit to Pier 39’s Luau Lounge on Saturday. Mrs. Mai Tai and I were in the city at the Walt Disney Family Museum and then went downtown to look at the “Let’s Glow SF” lights. In between we had dinner at Fog City and had a little shopping stroll at Pier 39.

Luau Lounge is a “hidden tiki bar” inside the Players Sports Grill and Arcade all the way at the end of the pier. You have to walk through the arcade to get the Lounge, which is a moderately themed tiki bar with Hawaiian leaning food. Some great views of the bay out back, along with tropical/reggae music and staff that’s usually pretty friendly.

Our past experiences with drinks have been hit or miss. Some of our cocktails have been truly terrible, while others were more reasonable. This is a place where you don’t expect “craft” but the sliding scale only goes so far. If I can’t taste the rum or if the only thing I taste is lime, well, then that’s not a good Mai Tai even here. Our hit rate is maybe 40-50%, and most cocktails are made via count-pours, so some variance is expected.

This time the 1944 Mai Tai was actually pretty good. Made with Cruzan and Mount Gay rums, I could taste the lighter style rums along with a balanced cocktail that leaned just slightly sweet. Just like I like it.

Luau Lounge remains an appealing option to get away from the Pier 39 crowds, or just to take a break from walking all around SF like we did.

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Mai Tai Monday: Previous Era Trader Vic’s Rum Blend

I wanted to switch it up a little at Trader Vic’s, so I tried to replicate the old rum blend of aged Jamaican rum and Martinique rum. At various points starting in the late 1950s all the way to the early 2000s, Trader Vic’s called for the use of Rhum St. James to be paired with a long-aged Jamaican rum. 

I didn’t see St. James on the shelf, but Clement VSOP seemed like a great substitute. For the Jamaican I used the old standby, Appleton 12.

Definitely not the standard-issue Vic’s Mai Tai. The agricole made this taste a bit more dry, and a tad lighter on the tongue. Pretty different but still great.

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Happy Instagramiversary to Me

The Search for the Ultimate Mai Tai was relaunched on Instagram on this day in 2017. 1625 posts and counting, chronicling experiences with cocktails, connections with people in the community, and world’s leading feed of Mai Tai minutiae.

There have been some really terrible and shitty things in 2021, which we won’t focus on except to say that there are some really awful people out there and also that I miss my friend every day.

Some nicer things happened in 2021, though. A few are chronicled in the photos including some travels with Mrs Mai Tai to far off places such as Milwaukee, Chicago, Grand Rapids, Phoenix, Vegas, and various locations in California including San Diego, Palm Springs, Disneyland, Morro Bay, and Sacramento.

Parties were back, and we got to enjoy a few and always appreciate the invites. Plenty of shenanigans especially at The Kon-Tikis in Oakland. Rum Fest was back! 29 different tiki bars – many new to me and some just brand new period, with several more coming very soon. I was interviewed on The Rum Cast and had several long articles published in Exotica Moderne. I completed rum lists at Forbidden Island and Smuggler’s Cove. UltimateMaiTai.com was refreshed with a great logo and banner by B-Rex.

So, thanks to so many fellow Mai Tai fans I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with over the last year. I appreciate your follows, likes, and comments here and in real-life, including the discussion of very important topics such as tiki bar rating criteria and what rums are best in a Mai Tai.

Cheers!

 

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The Modernist Mug and Book by Sven Kirsten

Trader Vic’s held a release event for the first in a series of mugs and books from Sven Kirsten in collaboration with Tiki Farm and Eve Bergeron from Trader Vic’s.

The event last night was very well run, with early arrivals given a numbered ticket for their place in line. So, rather than sit in a long line outdoors for over an hour, we got to enjoy the Trader Vic’s lounge. Much better for everyone.

I’ll be honest, when I first saw this mug I was not in love. The primitive and impressionist design for the mug was based on an early tiki that framed the entrance to the San Francisco Trader Vic’s location. The book goes into some detail about this style of artwork, and as always Kirsten puts the artwork in context of the time. Though the book is only 50 pages, there are lots of great photos and it’s a perfect size to learn more about the art that inspired the mug.

The mug was available in two glazes. I chose Sven’s glaze, but the darker Trader Vic’s glaze was very nice as well. In addition to the mug and the book, a drink ticket for a cocktail was provided. Attendees could choose Sven’s recommendation, the Tortuga, or a Mai Tai or Navy Grog. I went with Sven’s recommendation and boy that Tortuga does pack a punch.

My understanding is that Sven will be selling mugs/books at some upcoming events in Southern California. Check his Facebook for updates.

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House without a Key Mai Tai

This was one of my favorites on our previous trips to O’ahu, and sometimes I like to make it at home.

The recipe is notable in the use of different proportions of the 1944 Mai Tai recipe template, but also the use of a dark rum float most commonly seen in Island-style Mai Tais.

House without a Key Mai Tai, Halekulani Hotel in Waikiki
1¼ oz Lime Juice
⅓ oz Orgeat
⅓ oz Rock Candy Syrup
⅓ oz Orange Curacao (Cointreau)
¾ oz Bacardi Select/Black Rum
¾ oz Bacardi Gold Rum
Float ½ oz Lemon Hart 151 Rum

Comparing the two photos, it definitely looked better on the beach in Waikiki than it did in my kitchen. But it tasted just fine at home.

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Barbados Celebrates Tuesday as a Republic

Earlier this year I named Foursquare 2004 as my “Special Occasion” rum in the Five Bottle Rum Challenge. One of my favorite rums, so buttery and flavorful. And just a touch more dainty than the more recent Foursquare ECS releases.

If there’s ever been a special occasion for Barbados in my lifetime, today is the day, as the country has removed the Queen as the head of state and is now officially a republic. There’s certainly been a lot of pain and suffering inflicted on the people of the island, but today is a day to celebrate.

#savebarbadosrum

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Makai Island Groggery Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving lunch at Makai Island Kitchen & Groggery in Santa Cruz. We’d been meaning to check this place out now that indoor dining is available, so this was a perfect opportunity for a little road trip over the hill.

There is a lot that’s great about Makai. The interior is very nicely appointed with a combination of Hawaiian, marine, and tiki elements. The back bar and seating area sit on a rotating platform, which circulates every 30 minutes. So all diners sitting at tables get an ocean view. Staff was friendly and service was great.

We enjoyed the food, including burgers for the kids and a poke bowl for Mrs. Mai Tai. My Mahi was not traditional for Thanksgiving but I loved it, and the Spam Misubi was excellent.

The non-alcoholic drinks Mrs Mai Tai tried were quite good, and priced accordingly ($5). She especially liked the Hibiscus Lei.

Hibiscus Lei and Mai Tai

Unfortunately, the two cocktails I had weren’t as good. The 1944 Mai Tai was not balanced – far far too lime forward (you know I lean sweet but this was not a personal preference – it truly had too much). The limp mint would have been better off being omitted. Better was the Mr. Makai served flaming in the gorgeous skeleton surfer mug that I took home. Still too lime forward, but at least I got a little bit of the rum and the dragonfruit-ginger syrup. They do have a modest but high quality collection of rums on site for cocktails or for sipping.

Overall, we enjoyed our visit. The location at the end of the Santa Cruz pier is picturesque. We always like dining indoors even if windows are a feature, but Makai does have outdoor seating. There’s also a nice private dining room called the Captain’s Table that has more nautical elements and porthole screens. We’ll be back.