Tag: Oakland

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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

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The Kon-Tiki Room Decor

Some additional shots of the newly soft-opened tiki bar in downtown Oakland, next door to Palmetto. The Kon-Tiki Room is a very nice space with plenty of room. You can see the nautical elements from artist Woody Miller, and the displays with nods to tiki bars past and present.

Congrats to the team for building a great space that is great out of the gate. This will evolve of course but has a strong foundation with some great cocktails, impressive decor, and bar bites paired with interesting sauces. Totally worth checking out (one block from 19th Street BART station), and sure to be a popular destination when the Fox Theater opens again across the street.

Noteworthy: The Kon-Tiki Room’s music included exotica when we entered, but transitioned to Yacht Rock. We think this retro-genre works in a tiki bar (famously employed at the sister location The Kon-Tiki), but we know it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.  I personally like that these guys do things a little different and are introducing some variety to the Bay Area’s plethora of tiki bar offerings.

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New Tiki Bar in Oakland: The Kon-Tiki Room

Next door to Palmetto and from the same team behind The Kon-Tiki and Palmetto is The Kon-Tiki Room. The soft-open was last night and once again those of us in the Bay Area are spoiled by yet another awesome tiki bar.

Though it shares a kitchen with Palmetto and there is a door in between the two establishments, The Kon-Tiki Room is really it’s own standalone destination. The nondescript door awaits your entrance and inside there’s a nautical themed bar with bright colors to pair well with Palmetto’s art-deco vibe. But whereas Palmetto is bright and shiny, The Kon-Tiki Room is dark and mysterious. There are several little nooks and a large bar running through the space.

The nautical design from artist Woody Miller is inspired by ports of yore, with dramatic scenes of barrels, cargo, and some skeletons. Not really “pirate themed” per se but definitely a little bit of that. There’s a medium sized tiki in the back of the bar.

Small bar bites are available but cocktails are the focus here. We tried several and they ranged from good (Singapore Sling) to great (frozen Disco Banana, Cou-Cou Comber). The Mai Tai features Agricole rhum and is excellent. Not grassy at all, but the savory elements shine in this cocktail.

Hours will mirror Palmetto’s (closed Sun-Mon).

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New Cocktails Coming to The Kon-Tiki

The Kon-Tiki has transitioned back to making freshly prepared cocktails and the crew last night were working like a well-oiled machine. I had a fab Daiquiri with Worthy Park rum and Mrs. Mai Tai had her go-to Uma Uma.

We got a little preview of the revised cocktail menu, coming soon. Chris Day’s excellent Donnie’s Element is available now (in non-frozen form) and we got to try this most excellent Blush Crush. This dainty cocktail has Rhum Agricole and Campari, two ingredients that are not usually in my wheelhouse. But there is something magical about the one – it is delicious.

It is so strange being inside the bar after so long, but also nice to see Kon-Tiki coming out of lockdown/to-go cocktail mode and thriving.

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Remembering Alex Fritch

We’re all still dealing with the loss of our friend Alex. If you’d like to help the family, a Go Fund Me has been set up: Celebrate the life of Alex Fritch.

Those who met Alex were impressed by his easygoing and friendly manner. But Alex could be quick with a funny comment too. Both of these aspects are on display with the three videos below.

Down the Hatch Game

Recorded in July 2020, the two rounds here are an homage to the classic 1970s game show Match Game but with a focus on tiki, rum, and the bars in the Oakland, CA area. If you’re not a local, you won’t get a few of the “Oakhana” references, but if you know anything about tiki bars or tropical cocktails there will be a lot of familiar subjects.

Alex was one of the “celebrity panelists”, along with his wife Terra. Alex was put into the “Richard Dawson” chair on the second row, and filled the role of the droll but funny man so well.

5 Bottle Rum Challenge

Recorded in January 2021, Alex was the first person I contacted to participate in a fun round-robin discussion of our favorite rums in five and only five categories. Alex joined us online from his home tiki bar, Fred and Ginger’s Exotic Cocktail Bar and Lounge, and you can truly experience his knowledge and passion for rum.

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Donnie’s Element

This is a Chris Day original now being served as a frozen drink at The Kon-Tiki in Oakland . It is lovely in that format and serves as a wonderful counterpart to The Kon-Tiki’s Pina Colada style cocktail The Uma Uma also being served frozen.

Coffee drinks haven’t always been my friend, apart of the Black Magic I had at The Mai-Kai a couple years ago. But after trying this cocktail I knew I had to try and make it at home. So glad I did – it is even better in the original shaken format. I used Tempus Fugit Creme of Banana and I would say that I’m not tasting the banana too much, so you might consider increasing it a bit (or, pulling back on the coffee liqueur). The Spiced Rum I used was a combo of Sailor Jerry and Captain Morgan that I made by combining two half bottles of each.

Donnie’s Element by Chris Day
½ oz Coffee Liqueur (Mr. Black)
½ oz Banana Liqueur (Tempus Fugit)
1½ oz Coconut Creme
1½ oz Spiced Rum
2 Dashes Angostura Bitters

Whip shake and pour over crushed or pebble ice.
Garnish with Grated Cinnamon

Be sure to check out the embedded video from the Educated Barfly where they made this cocktail. I won’t spoil the surprise but if you’re a fan of the drink or of Chris Day’s cocktails (or just Chris as a human being) you should definitely watch the video.