Tag: Oakland

Posted on

Cocktails at The Kon-Tiki Room

After dinner at Palmetto, we walked around over to The Kon-Tiki Room for more cocktails. It was a fun vibe and the bartenders were so helpful at working with us on our orders.

I had a fantastic Fogcutter and then asked for Mai Tai made with the aged rum Clairin from Saint Benevolence. While the spirits selection at The Kon-Tiki Room is not as vast as the original Kon-Tiki location at 14th and Webster, they do have some interesting expressions and the bartenders were accommodating to use an alternative spirit in one of their standard cocktails. A little extra orgeat and the Clairin Mai Tai was very good and a nice change of pace.

We were bummed the frozen Disco Banana wasn’t quite ready when we got there around 6:30. That was the only glitch during our Kon-Tiki Room visit. The checking of vaccination status and the requirements for masks when not drinking was not problem during our visit.

Posted on

Palmetto Dinner and Cocktails

We had a great dinner at Palmetto last night, along with some classic cocktails. The fine dining is most certainly that with some upper mid-priced dishes with some inventive ingredients. I had the pork chop with frisee, spiced carrots, refried black beans, grain mustard mojo, and shaved onions. So flavorful and a quite large cut of meat, too. Mrs. Mai Tai enjoyed her Halibut and especially liked the lavender orange ice cream.

Flight Path cocktail

We tried several of the cocktails, which include some riffs on classics and also some Palmetto originals. From the classic side, I had a delightful Manhattan with Rum (Real McCoy 5) that was served up. Julie had the Brandy Old Fashioned that was also a great twist on an old favorite.  From the House side, I had the Flight Path with Rye, Falernum, Honey, Lemon, and Absinthe. Also served up, the Flight Path was truly excellent.

Manhattan with Rum

Service at Palmetto was outstanding and all the patrons were adjusting no problem to showing vaccination cards and masking when not eating/drinking. If you’re in Uptown (Oakland) and looking for something a little Upscale, be sure to seek out Palmetto.

Posted on

DIY Kon-Tiki Cocktail List Completion

Thanks to Chris Day for making me a Virgin’s Downfall at The Kon-Tiki the other night. This Missionary’s Downfall riff features Mezcal, which is why I always avoided it. But, as a matter of fact, it was delicious! Minty and fresh with some complex flavors that truly worked together.

Which means I’ve now sampled all the cocktails on Kon-Tiki’s third menu revision (first introduced in fall 2019), as tracked by the handmade checklist card I printed out over a year ago. I’m looking forward to the new menu that surely is coming soon.

The Kon-Tiki and their sister properties Palmetto and The Kon-Tiki Room announced yesterday that they are going to require patrons to be vaccinated (or have a negative test) starting in August. As of this week you have be vaxxed to sit at the bar, which is what I did and had a great time talking to Jeff Hall and some other barflies. And you can bet that this policy is going to make me more comfortable patronizing these places, as well as being safer for the staff.

It is going to need to start to get a lot more difficult for non-vaxxed folks to have access to nice things, or we’re going to have to do another round of shutdown and business closures.

Posted on

Mai Tai Appears on Oakland Athletics Cap

A very curious design for this new City Sky Blue Undervisor 59FIFTY hat from New Era and available at Lids.

Firstly, this is an OAKLAND cap, but the bridge is the Golden Gate Bridge located in San Francisco. Not exactly the best way to win over the Oaktown locals.

But turn the cap around and there’s a tropical drink. Not exactly the first thing you typically connect to baseball. But, apparently, this is exactly what you think it is – it’s a tribute to Oakland by featuring the Mai Tai that was invented there in 1944.

The rainbow of colors won’t win over craft cocktail fans, but I’m willing to give New Era a break on this point, if only to make the cocktail design more interesting to look at. At least it features an actual old fashioned glass rather than a hurricane glass.

Thanks to Carlos for the tip on this curious new baseball cap.

Posted on

Cocktails at Kon-Tiki

Another fabulous night of cocktails at The Kon-Tiki.

I’m still working on my DIY checklist of all the cocktails on their third published menu, and thanks to Chris Day for going off the current menu and making a Sunken Tugboat. I really enjoyed this Daiquiri style cocktail with a hint of cinnamon. Meanwhile, Mrs. Mai Tai had her favorite, the Uma Uma. I also sampled a freshly prepared Kon-Tiki Mai Tai that was quite delightful and had a rich mouthfeel that I very much enjoyed.

Posted on

Just Like Old Times: Ohana Night at The Kon-Tiki

Pretty much like it was in the old days during our visit last night to The Kon-Tiki.

Bar seating is back! Lounge seating in the palapa is back. Indoors was filled. Rum lists were being worked on again. Burgers were consumed. Plenty of discussions amongst old and new friends. And for Ohana night, the music was classic exotica.

The cocktails were Donnie’s Element and Mrs. Mai Tai’s favorite, the Uma Uma. And then I had a Mai Tai with the Transcontinental Guadeloupe rum. Delicious!

Posted on

Dinner at Palmetto

Mrs. Mai Tai and I finally made it to Palmetto in Oakland, after some drinks next door at The Kon-Tiki Room. The neon and art-deco style of Palmetto is best experienced indoors, and the fine food seems like the stuff that might not travel so well for a 30 minute drive back home. We’re finally doing indoor dining, so it was time.

The food here is fantastic. Truly savory, and we both loved the scallops that were available as a starter. The shrimp cocktail was also very good. For the main course, I had the chicken and Julie had the yellowtail, both were excellent. Note that the menu changes frequently, so some things may be different on your visit. The quality of the flavors were truly gourmet, justifying the mid-tier pricing. There is a focus on steaks here too, if that’s your thing, including Prime Rib on Wednesdays.

Look at the presentation of the Scallops and Shrimp

Palmetto also has an active cocktail program (and wine and beer). Julie had the Girl Goes Walking, featuring Cachaca as the main spirit, paired with Armaretto, Tamarind, Grapefruit, Lemon, and Bitters. Quite delightful.

Located across the street from the Fox Theater in Uptown, Palmetto is a great Oakland destination and an upscale treat to pair with drinks next door at the Kon-Tiki Room.

Girl Goes Walking