Tag: Anaheim

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Halloween Cocktails at Strong Water Anaheim

Many bars are celebrating Halloween with a specialty cocktail menu and decor, but few have as many interesting cocktail options as Strong Water in Anaheim, no surprise since they already have a stellar reputation for consistent quality. The Halloween menu is a series of nicely designed tarot cards that are also available for purchase.

My first cocktail was the Black Magick, a nod to the Mai Kai’s famous Black Magic, made with Jamaican rum, blackstrap rum, cinnamon, honey, grapefruit, lime, espresso, and bitters. Cruzan’s Blackstrap rum is not my favorite due to its weird maple syrup flavor, and you can taste it in this cocktail – but just a hint. This is a pretty good cocktail and not as coffee forward as some drinks, more of a coffee leaning grog.

Even better for me was the Dead to Port, featuring bourbon, Jamaican rum, and spiced cranberry. The wonderful blend of flavors were highlighted by the cranberry, making this seasonally appropriate and really delicious. Mrs. Mai Tai tried the Devil’s Corn, which reads as a Painkiller with candy corn syrup, but somehow manages to not be sickly sweet and is balanced well. Also delicious, with a fun presentation.

The interior of the bar has some spooky elements but this is a restrained overlay. We made a reservation for Saturday with a large group celebrating a birthday, and I had the pleasure of sitting the Beachbum Berry booth. Strong Water’s food and cocktails remain consistently great, and this Halloween menu is no exception.

Black Magick and Dead to Port

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Breakfast at Trader Sam’s at Disneyland Hotel

We always enjoy visiting Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar at the Disneyland Hotel and wanted to check out the breakfast service that’s been running for a few months. Parking at the Disneyland Hotel is easy and you can get valet parking validated at Sam’s for 3 hours, so there’s no cost other than the tip to the valet runner. Breakfast runs from 8:00 am to 11:00 am, then Sam’s transitions to their everyday lunch/dinner menu.

Our entry was super easy as we arrived a little before 9:30 am on Sunday. The inside bar was about a quarter full and we were seated at the bar. Service for dinks and food was so quick we literally could have been seated and finished in about 20 minutes, though of course we lingered to soak up the atmosphere that Trader Sam’s is famous for.

The small-ish menu is fairly standard with a few Polynesian twists on breakfast favorites. I went with some eggs with ham and potatoes, while Mrs. Mai Tai enjoyed a fluffy Mickey Mouse shaped pancake. She wasn’t drinking and had a glass of orange juice that was actually far larger than those little glasses of OJ you usually see at breakfast. There are a couple Halloween cocktails on a special menu but we didn’t try any.

I challenged Skipper Shirley with a Mai Tai with Appleton 12, since I like to upscale the rum in my cocktail from what’s normally served here. I was honestly a bit disappointed that Shirley mentioned that she had put some Planteray 3 Star in the cocktail, because she believed that a Mai Tai should have more than one rum, though I couldn’t really complain with the end result which was a delicious drink that was perfect so early in the morning.

By the time we left the space was filling up, though was still far from capacity. Many folks were enjoying the cool air and nice views outside on the Tangaroa Terrance outside as well, but we always try for inside at Sam’s because we love vibe and things to look at. Breakfast at Trader Sam’s is a really great option for a get-away day or if you’re staying nearby and not rope-dropping the parks. The expanded hours allow even more guests to visit one of the best tiki bars anywhere and my favorite in Southern California.

Breakfast at Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar
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Jedi Mind Tricks at Oga’s Cantina

Disneyland has undergone a procedural change in how guests can enter Oga’s Cantina, the bar inside the Star Wars-themed Galaxy’s Edge. Where previously you could make reservations online or make a day of reservation at the venue and come back when the slot was ready, the new process is completely based off a stand-by line.

The most obvious change in visiting is actually psychological, perhaps some sort of mind trick from the Jedi forces running the cantina. When you make a reservation that’s good for 90 minutes you often would stay for the full 90 minutes. But when it is standby, you have no specific expectation of a time slot and so we saw many guests leave after one round and we ourselves were in and out in less than an hour. All of which means that the line moves fairly quickly, which we think is an overall net-benefit for this venue which is still a lot of fun.

Mrs. Mai Tai and I were on a quick half-day visit to see the Halloween offerings at Disneyland but we took refuge from the muggy conditions. We absolutely loved the Garlic Cheese bread and revisited some favorite cocktails that we thought were pretty good. The Outer Rim with tequila and a puree topping no longer includes the salted rim but is still well done, as is the Coruscant Cooler with bourbon. Julie’s Jet Juice came in a little glass, similar to those little orange juice glasses you get at brunch, and my Jedi Mind Trick featured grapefruit in the best of ways.

The standing table we were at wasn’t too bad, we made friends with the first group but found the second to not able to understand how to fit people into the available space, and our server was right on top of everything. We enjoyed DJ Rex and the music which thankfully wasn’t too loud, so this was a very successful mission.

Coruscant Cooler / Jet Juice
Jedi Mind Trick / Outer Rim
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Captains Quarters at Strong Water Anaheim

It has been a while since our last experience in the back room at Strong Water Anaheim that is called the Captains Quarters and features a separate bartender and a more intimate environment. The section is themed to the inside of a marooned ship, including faux night sky above and Victorian era decor, though the music in this section varied from this strict theme. We included dinner in our experience including some shell-on garlic shrimp, sweet chili salmon, and grilled chicken, all wonderful and a good value given the quality and quantity.

I started the cocktail experience with a Bitter Mai Tai, a riff featuring Campari but still really great. Next, I challenged the bartender with an off-menu order for a Planter’s Punch, a drink that can vary depending on where you get it and how they make in. In this case, it leaned fruity and featured Hamilton 86 Demerara rum and even though it didn’t lean spicy or with Jamaican rum I still loved it.

Tales from the Black Lagoon

Meanwhile Mrs. Mai Tai revisited the complex flavors of the Tales from the Black Lagoon, an outstanding Strong Water original that includes butterscotch and banana notes. Next she tried Velvet Banana that is an inspired riff on the Espresso Martini. Since we were seated at the bar we got to see the cocktail preparation including the smokey Cannon Fire that inspired us to order it ourselves. This Old Fashioned style cocktail has bourbon and allspice, wonderful in this format.

Cannon Fire

We continue to be impressed by the quality of the food and drinks at Strong Water, along with high quality service as well. The Captains Quarters concept is available in other venues but few are executed as completely as it is at Strong Water.

Bitter Mai Tai
Planters Punch
Velvet Banana
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New Menu at Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar is a Mixed Bag

One of the highlights of any trip to the Disneyland Resort is a visit to Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar at the Disneyland Hotel, one of the best tiki bars anywhere in this writer’s opinion. We love the vibe inside and more often than not do also truly enjoy the cocktails as well, though I will usually request a change from the tourist-friendly rums in the Mai Tai and choose something that’s bolder. Called rum Mai Tais have been deep in the Top 5 of our yearly Mai Tai rankings in several years, thanks to the skills of the bartenders. With fairly high temperatures, having lunch at Trader Sam’s was a welcome place to cool off and we were able to get bar seats indoors after just a short wait.

The menu at Trader Sam’s was recently updated and expanded, keeping most of the longtime favorites and adding several new cocktails that previously were only available on some of the bartender’s original “secret menu” options. The Temple of the Forbidden Rye by Melissa Nickoloff finally moves from cult classic to the spotlight, a twist on the template by pairing traditional tiki spice elements such as ginger and allspice with rye whiskey – and it’s fantastic. I also thought that Kelly Merrell’s Notes of Adventure really elevated the Saturn template through the use of fruit juices and made for a wonderful refresher.

Notes of Adventure

Of most note to me was the change in rums for the HippopatoMai-Tai. Previously this used Bacardi Superior and Coruba, and the new blend continues the light/dark rum combo with Flor de Caña Extra Seco and Planteray Original Dark. I was immediately suspect of this new blend since I have gripes with Original Dark generally since it isn’t actually dark, for one, and also has added sugar – different from the richer flavors of the Coruba it is replacing. The bartender free pouring all the ingredients didn’t do anything for my expectations and the balance for this Mai Tai was off – too sweet and without enough rummy flavors.

HippopatoMai-Tai

I appreciate that the combo of a light rum and a dark Jamaican rum goes back to the Mai Tai that Trader Vic introduced to Waikiki in 1953 – and that as a tourist destination that Disney might want to choose something that is more “approachable” for those tourists. I just wish they’d use a better dark rum and made sure to measure in exact portions.

Still, even a so-so Mai Tai ain’t bad at Trader Sam’s where new guests are amazed as the interior decor, exotic music, and special effects and shenanigans from certain drink orders. It’s always a great time for us and this was no exception.

Other rum options
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Visit to Disneyland Club 33

We were treated to a visit to the Club 33 Lounge during our recent visit to Disneyland, thanks to an invite of friends who know members. We had a delightful time keeping cool and enjoying the ambiance and the high quality cocktails. We are grateful to our friends and the members for the invite and hospitality.

A highlight for me was the two Mai Tais I ordered, the first of which was their standard off-menu option. It was a really good Mai Tai and our bartender was up to the challenge to make it a little more “punchy” for a second one that was even better featuring Jamaican and Martinique rhums.

In celebration of Disneyland’s 70th anniversary, there are some special cocktails with glassware themed to one of the original lands. Mrs. Mai Tai loved the Fantasyland cocktail and the glass designed by Mookie Sato.

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The Wooden Pearl

The Wooden Pearl is a new restaurant and cocktail bar now open in the Anaheim Packing House, with an enclosed space that’s fairly immersive considering its location in a food hall. We went in for cocktails and enjoyed the vibe and shells placed as decor.

My cocktail was That Koko is So Hot Right Now, described as “Blue Steel? Le Tigre? No. KOKO” and contains Mijanta Blanco Tequila, Yuzu, Lactose, Guava, and Strange Water Sparkling Coconut. It’s served on fire, though without the extravagant display common at tiki bars, and I sure love a good Zoolander reference. Even better was the taste, tropical and refreshing.