Tag: Oakland

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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.

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Patio Mai Tai at The Kon-Tiki

Quick drive up to Oakland for a Mai Tai on the patio and a peek at the indoor dining situation at The Kon-Tiki. Man, the Mai Tai was really good on the patio, listening to Yacht Rock that the Kon-Tiki is famous for.

Nice to see Chris Day and Chris Parker and of course some of the Oakhana who were doing the indoor thing. After my second shot in a couple weeks, we’ll be indoors too.

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Woody Miller Art

Two of the treasures we picked up at the mini-bazaar at Trader Vic’s yesterday. These are from Woody Miller including a wood piece in his signature style. I really love the Moai-inspired mug with a wood style glaze.

Be sure to check out more of Woody’s art in the forthcoming issue of Exotica Moderne magazine, now available for pre-order at www.houseoftabu.com. Woody is the cover artist and I had the pleasure of interviewing Woody for the article. Some surprises inside.

Looks like we’ll be able to see more of Woody’s work at The Kon-Tiki Room at Palmetto in Oakland, opening very soon. Can’t wait.

With The Kon-Tiki Room opening in the same window as Woody’s cover story, everything is working out as Woody and I planned when we did the interview back in December. Yep, we totally planned this. No luck involved at all.

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Last Photo

This was taken a year ago at The Kon-Tiki at a celebration for Terra Fritch and Alex Fritch completing the Kon-Tiki Expedition Rum list. It was such a great time but that’s where we heard about Tom Hanks and the NBA shutdown, and well, you know the rest of the story.

Perhaps if I had been sitting on the couch when all of this went down I might be taking the one year anniversary less hard. That event was such a memorable gathering and the rapid shutdown thereafter is something I’ve thought about almost daily; heck, I wrote a whole essay about this for Exotica Moderne magazine a few months ago.

Mrs. Mai Tai is getting her second vaccination tomorrow and hopefully our sons and I can get vaccinated soon as well. That will make us feel safe for private gatherings of vaccinated people, and is a step to getting transmission rates so far down that we’ll feel safe doing indoor dining again.

Someday we’ll be able to do this again.

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Chet Baker Cocktail at The Kon-Tiki

It’s nice to see some changing menu items at The Kon-Tiki in Oakland. The new cocktail this week is Chet Baker, a rum-based Manhattan with two overproof Jamaican rums, Punt e Mes Italian Vermouth, Honey, and Bitters. I really liked this, though when you put Jamaican rum forward in a cocktail and I can’t see how you can do wrong. Wikipedia says that Chet Baker was a Jazz musician who died falling from a window in Amsterdam while high on heroin and cocaine, so I’m not sure what that has to do with the this tiki version of a Manhattan.

Also new this weekend was the Steak Sandwich – grilled ribeye, shallots, American cheese, arugula, garlic aioli, and BBQ sauce. The meat was tender and easy to eat in sandwich form and I liked it. Man does not live by the Kon-Tiki Cheeseburger alone!

The Kon-Tiki’s second parklet got an artistic makeover this week, an indication that those will be with us for a while. Quite a nice crowd yesterday at dinnertime when I picked up the meal, and the soundtrack was James Bond themes, an indication that Kon-Tiki’si retro-inspired music program continues to surprise and delight.

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To-Go Cocktail Review: The Kon-Tiki

Another cocktail review, featuring to-go cocktails from The Kon-Tiki in Oakland.



Jet Pilot: leans heavy on the Cinnamon, in a good way. This classic and boozy cocktail is delicious.

Hot Toddy: many winter spices make this a seasonal favorite. I also tried this over ice and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Day’s Next Mistake: this doesn’t taste anything like a Ray’s Mistake but I did enjoy the rum blend and overall flavor. Contained chili spices, so not my favorite, but not so much that I couldn’t drink it. If this came back onto the menu I’d recommend trying it. I do appreciate new cocktails that follow the traditional tropical cocktail template.