Tag: SanFrancisco

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Shortcut to Cocktails at Pagan Idol

We spent time in the city last Saturday looking at the various Pride light displays and also getting our steps in ahead of our vacation to the British Isles starting next week. We did walk quite a ways, ending at the Ferry Building, but we did stop for a breather on the way back to the car by rolling into Pagan Idol at around 10:30.

We’d been to Pagan Idol a couple times on the weekends over the past two years and it was not crowded, but it was anything but calm on this visit with people two or three deep at the front bar and plenty of people standing around. Seeing only one bartender on shift at the front bar, I guessed correctly there might be two stations in the back room. As I got into the line to order, two young ladies were ahead of me but they couldn’t figure out what to order, so the bartender leaned over and asked me what I wanted and of course I was ready. Otherwise, you shouldn’t be approaching the bartender when it is busy, right everyone?

Our drinks were pretty good, two that we hadn’t tried here before. I ordered the La Linda, featuring charanda, gin, Aperol, and hibiscus – lighter but still with plenty of flavor that I really liked, though I couldn’t taste much gin or charanda. Mrs. Mai Tai tried the Mr. Hanalei, with rums, allspice, orgeat, and lemon. This definitely leaned into that allspice and I dug it a lot, Julie less so.

We were hanging out by the fish tank, sadly only containing two small fish. Wave after wave of people came into the bar, including about a dozen who must have come from a wedding. It was pretty chaotic which is good for Pagan Idol at least, and we were able to take a load off before the final mile back to our car.

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Amazing New Flotsam Fizz Cocktail is a Cocktail / Mug Bargain

One of the new offerings we tried during our recently visits to Smuggler’s Cove is a new cocktail and mug pairing featuring one of the Cove’s signature crate mugs paired with a new cocktail from Dane Barca (of Dr. Barca’s Fluffy Banana fame). The Flotsam Fizz and mug combo is only $25 and you can choose your mug from those still available.

The Flotsam Fizz contains “potent rums,” lemon, coconut, passionfruit, pineapple, and cola. It has a wonderful fruity taste and a nice foamy head, garnished with an orchid and lemon twist. I really loved this cocktail, with some of the spices from the cola working very well with the tangy fruit flavors from the passionfruit. Honestly, I wouldn’t have felt ripped off if the cocktail itself was $25, but to get a mug alongside means this combo is a steal!

Our friend Kristi also ordered one and we both chose Demerara as our mug of choice from those available.

Additionally, the good Dr. Barca also mentioned he has a new drink he’s been working on called Fool Me Once… That’s the one pictured with the Hibiscus Rum Punch and the details of the evening are hazy, thus I’m not certain what’s in it but it sure tastes fantastic, so ask Dane next time you’re at the Cove and you’ll be in for a treat.

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Fluffy Banana More Popular Than Mai Tai

During our staycation weekend we had two late visits to Smuggler’s Cove, finding it full but not overly packed to enjoy the myriad cocktails the venue is famous for. We tried some old favorites including the Hibiscus Punch and a Mai Tai of course.

I don’t exactly take precise attendance but we do take mental notes on what people are drinking when we go out. Often it is the venue’s signature cocktail or it might be the latest cocktail fad (hello, Espresso Martini), and at a tiki bar it’s often the Mai Tai. But during our visits to Smuggler’s Cove it was easy to see which drink it seemed like everyone was drinking, and it wasn’t the Mai Tai.

The memo is out in San Francisco, and sure seems like SC’s most popular drink is Dr. Barca’s Fluffy Banana.

Dane Barca‘s original cocktail featuring cachaca and banana has moved from cult favorite to mainstream awareness because every “normie” we saw seemed to be carrying one of them around. Mrs Mai Tai always gets this and joined the crowd both nights, and it’s easy to see why everyone loves the rich flavors and foamy head, especially when Barca himself makes it for you. It’s fantastic and if you’re one of the few who haven’t tried it, well, you know what you need to do.

Update: Smuggler’s Cove replied to our Instagram post and says that the Mai Tai is the second most popular cocktail and the Fluffy Banana is number six.

Dane Barca at Smuggler’s Cove
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Checking in at Bamboo Hut

Every once in a while we find ourselves in North Beach with maybe some time to kill or looking for a cocktail escape. Such was the case on Saturday after an amazing dumpling and noodle focused dinner at nearby China Live but where I was underwhelmed by the cocktails. So we walked over to Bamboo Hut shortly after opening to see if the cocktail game would get any better.

Bamboo Hut is one of the most unusual tiki bars in San Francisco in that it doesn’t fit in neat boxes. It opened in 1997, so it predates the craft cocktail renaissance, but also doesn’t have the longevity of Trad’r Sam or Tonga Room. The interior has some nice decorative elements, including a large tiki mask that dates from the 1940s, yet also has a lot cheap wall tikis and neon signage that plays up the party bar aspect that’s a focus for the venture. The cocktail program was refreshed in 2019 and there are some craft elements, but the nods of “blow job shots” and frozen drinks again leans in the party vibe. So it is sort of good, sort of not for the average tiki aficionado.

Who Burnt My Banana Bread

There was no issue with our service though, as the bartender was quite personable and even indulged in a called rum Mai Tai, where I asked for Planteray Xaymaca to replace the Planteray 5 Year that I don’t enjoy. The Mai Tai turned out pretty good, way better than the limey one I had at China Live. Even better was Mrs. Mai Tai’s Who Burnt My Banana Bread, which is a sweet old fashioned style drink with walnut bitters and liqueur, banana liqueur, spiced rum, and served smoked. It was actually really great.

This place has a party vibe later in the evenings including DJs playing anything but tropical, but the island vibes and music during our visit were very nice. All of which means that Bamboo Hut isn’t bad at all and I’d be more than willing to pre-game here anytime.

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Tweaks at The Tonga Room

Mrs. Mai Tai and I had a couple weekend events in San Francisco so made it a staycation weekend. We started with dinner at The Tonga Room on Friday, arriving for our reservation right at opening and seated along the water with our friends Kristi and Jessie.

There are still a lot of things going well here, including our server Ahmad who was on top of everything during our visit. I was interested in checking the Mai Tai, but knowing that they batch some of the drinks I thought I’d take Ahmad on his prompt that the bartenders can make anything by asking for a Mai Tai with Jamaican rum rather than the Bacardi rums it normally comes with. I figured they would use Appleton Signature which is exactly what they used, with the overall result being just okay but at least they didn’t charge me anything extra.

I had better luck with the full-flavored Fair Fashioned, featuring rye and amaro. Mrs. Mai Tai’s Seafoam Espresso Martini was also pretty good as was the vodka-based Divine Dragon. The Tropical Itch was also quite good, the kind of complex tiki drink that Tonga sometimes had trouble with in the past. The revised cocktail menu sadly drops the Tiki Hunter which was our favorite, though the prices are a little lower than last time. A little.

We did enjoy the food as well, though my Ahi Tuna came in sort of a weird format with little chips. The side of fried rice was a good addition and the tiki noodles and veggie duo featured large portions.

The fine for jumping into the pool remains $1000, though more notably the cover charge for when the band plays is now $20 per person, which we feel is far too much and hence why we come early before they start at 7:00. We felt the overall value was a little better than our last visit, and though it is still very expensive here for dinner and drinks we do enjoy visiting for the vibe, decor, and frequent thunderstorms.

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Fresh Cocktails at Cavaña Near Oracle Park

Our trip to see the Giants play at Oracle Park started early with a visit to nearby Cavaña, a rooftop bar and restaurant that’s across McCovey Cove and part of the LUMA Hotel. The day was cold and breezy so we spent most of our time inside at the bar, but the rooftop views of the ballpark and Mission Bay are spectacular.

Cavaña leans into Central and South American flavors for both the cocktails and their food offerings, so the drinks have Agave spirits, Cane spirits, or Pisco. Many cocktails include floral and herbal elements, such as my Papaya which combined Pisco and Elderflower liqueur. Mrs. Mai Tai was immediately drawn to the coffee-forward Banano that included Santa Teresa rum as well as banana milk. Perhaps the best of the standard menu items was the Guayaba that included tequila, guava, and rose petals. All of these were outstanding and offered unique flavors you don’t experience at most places, and there a number of interesting non-alcoholic options as well.

Guayaba

There’s a very nice spirits list at Cavaña, and I spotted a bottle Rivers Royale rum from Grenda, a potent flavor bomb that’s wild and pungent. Seeing a Caipirinha on the menu, I asked for a spirit sub with the Rivers. The bartender cogently informed me that this was really high proof, which I said was okay, and then when he presented the drink, the bartender chuckled and said “that’ll get the job done.” This was a really good format for this powerful spirit, just enough lime and sugar to support the amazing flavors.

This was our second stellar visit to Cavaña, which is a great option for drinks and food before or after events at Oracle Park or nearby Chase Center. The authentic flavors drive a stellar lineup of offerings that offer something for everyone.

Papaya, Banano, Guayaba, and Caipirinha

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DJ Ship Rex at Zombie Village

We’re sending healing thoughts to our buddy DJ Ship Rex who is recovering from hip surgery. Rex’s latest gig was at Zombie Village last week, so a few of us went up to San Francisco on a weeknight to listen to some amazing music and wish our friend a speedy recovery. We arrived a bit before Rex’s set started and were seated in one of Zombie Village’s huts but we knew when we heard energetic retro music that Rex’s set had started. So many great tunes, including “Found a Child” by Ballin’ Jack which features the guitar riff sampled in Young MC’s “Bust a Move,” and Rex’s sets always mix up various genres and styles but still feels cohesive.

Our cocktails at Zombie Village were pretty good, meeting our high expectations. Brian and crew really did a great job, including a really great individually-sized Scorpion that was orange-forward with some flavorful spirits. Mrs Mai Tai’s Disco Banana was outstanding, and I really enjoyed the Jungle Bird Milk Punch (J.B.M.P.) once again. Our son Quinn has dug a few Grog cocktails, so Zombie’s still-excellent Doc’s Grog was very well received. Quinn and I both felt the Mai Tai was lacking a certain rummyness, but Mrs. Mai Tai really loved the curry spices in the Curry’d Favor. Overall a very good hit rate during our visit.

Sorbet shooters have been a thing at Zombie Village for a while and the Lava Flow Sorbet Shooter continues the tradition with aplomb. The strawberry flavors of the shooter were an excellent pair for the delicious sorbet. These are great and a unique option for this venue, so look for it on your next visit. We also have to provide a hearty mahalo to Brian and the team who handled a drink mishap really well.

Zombie Village was hopping on Thursday, thanks to some great cocktails, an energetic crowd, and DJ Ship Rex’s toe-tapping tunes. We hope that Rex is on the road to recovery and that he will be back behind the deck in the near future.

Disco Banana
Curry’d Favor
Scorpion