Tag: SanJose

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Keeping it Cool at Dr. Funk

With temps over 100° we took a risk visiting Dr. Funk, but we’re pleased to report that their air conditioning is working great. It was sooo coooool inside.



Speaking of cool, we tried some of the new cocktails on Dr. Funk’s refreshed cocktail menu. We really enjoyed the Drink of the Gods, with overproof rums, coconut and heavy cream, pineapple, lemon, turbinado, walnut bitters, and cherry liqueur. Such an amazing blend of flavors.

We were less impressed with Thai Chi, with rums, spices, milk syrup, and turbinado. This is Mrs. Mai Tai’s flavor profile but overall it didn’t have the complexity or rich flavors which Dr. Funk is known for.

I had the Sidewinder’s Fang, which uses Lemon Hart Blackpool Spiced Rum to good effect, along with a fine blend of citrus and passionfruit. It was really fantastic.



The outside patio now has a thatch roof of sorts, increasing the appeal of this venue on the weekends when it is used when things get busy. It does add more escapism to the deck as well, to go along with the fine tropical and retro music that is still thankfully being played.

It was really fantastic hanging out at Dr. Funk last night. Cool drinks. Cool music. And cool air, too!

Drink of the Gods
Sidewinder’s Fang
Thai Chi
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The Surfrajettes Live in San Jose

Had a great time at The Surfrajettes show at The Ritz in San Jose last night. The show opened with Frankie and Pool Boys who put on a credible and energetic set.

The Surfrajettes had a long headliner set including many of their past singles as well as tracks from their new album Roller Fink. The band is well-practiced and sounded great, mixing classic surf covers such as “Penetration” along with their spin on classic songs such as “She Loves You” and “Heart of Glass.” I like the covers but prefer their original tracks such as “Party Line” and “Couch Surfing.” 

I was impressed by Sam Maloney’s wild drumming and lead guitarist Nicole Damoff’s bluesy solos. Damoff also served as the M.C., engaging the audience in between songs with song introductions and such.

The Surfrajettes are playing a bunch of shows this week leading to Tiki Oasis, and have additional dates in Texas and in the midwest later in the month. Be sure to check them out if they’re coming to your town.

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Trader Vic Grog in Trader Vic’s San Jose Anniversary Glass

We had the pleasure of flying out of San Jose a couple weeks ago on the 1st anniversary of Trader Vic’s SJC – the world’s best airport bar. The problem was that our flight was at 7:30 in the morning, so our visit to Vic’s was at opening at 6 am (Mai Tais at 6:15 am!). And the 1st anniversary celebration was at Noon that same day, so all the event merch was held under lock and key. The staff graciously tried to get into it, but no luck.

So we have to thank our benefactor for getting us this amazing Trader Vic’s San Jose Airport glass, and the incredible airline wing-style pin. Mahalo, friend.

To celebrate I made a Trader Vic’s Grog. This is one of the cocktails I’ll sometimes go to at the restaurant when I look for something besides the Mai Tai. It’s a pretty good cocktail in this format, and is basically a crushed-ice and double sized version of the Siboney cocktail that’s served up.

For this version, I used two flavorful Jamaican rums. Some Worthy Park 109, a dark Jamaican rum at 54.5% ABV, alongside Hamilton Jamaican Pot Still Gold. I also made a tiny tweak by adding ¼ oz of simple syrup so that the cocktail was slightly less tart.

Trader Vic Grog
1 oz Lemon Juice
1 oz Pineapple Juice
1 oz Passionfruit Syrup (Liber)
2 oz Dark Jamaican Rum
1 dash Angostura Bitters
Add simple syrup to taste
Shake with crushed ice and garnish with mint.

It is not without a great deal of irony that after being a tiki bar wasteland for decades, that we salute San Jose that now has two very good tiki bars with this Trader Vic’s location and Dr. Funk downtown.

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Outdoor Patio at Dr. Funk

Had a nice visit to Dr. Funk last night for the monthly meetup of South Bay Ohana (more info in the South SF Bay Area Tiki Ohana group on Facebook). I went dry since our return from Hawaii, but it seemed like a good time to jump back on the horse.

The outdoor “Bootleggers Bay” section of the patio is getting some additional decor enhancements. This section of the patio is open in the evenings on weekends as an additional bar station to address capacity constraints for the popular San Jose tiki bar. The netting and the bird of paradise treatment on the fencing looks great.

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Happy 1st Birthday Trader Vic’s SJC

The world’s best airport bar is celebrating its first birthday today. It was a long time coming but Trader Vic’s San Jose Airport has been slinging cocktails for one year now. We didn’t plan on being here specially for this but it was a happy accident with our flight to Hawai’i leaving at 7:30 and we still had time for breakfast.

Breakfast Mai Tai? Absolutely. It is 6:15 am somewhere, right?

Mrs Mai Tai had a Shirley Temple and we both had the Island Parfait. So good.

For those scoring at home this does NOT count for the Hawaiian Mai Tai contest.

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Sunday Supper at Dr. Funk

Dr. Funk is now serving food on Sundays and Mondays, which previously were sans-kitchen. So, Mrs. Mai Tai and I had a great meal along with some drinks. I had the burger and Julie had the mushroom curry, both quite good. The cocktail for me was the Planter’s Punch, but I also had a pour of Koloa Gold rum to get me in the mood for our trip to Hawai’i starting on Wednesday (we’ll be in Kauai down the street from Koloa starting on the 14th). Music was mellow and leaning toward exotica, a welcome touch we always like to highlight.

And the venue is now open at Noon on Friday-Sunday, so there’s even more opportunity to try the specialty cocktails and excellent selection of rums and other spirits. If you like the early opportunity to do the tiki thing in the afternoon, I’d suggest patronizing and giving the team the feedback and economic incentive to continue opening early.

We’ve been told a special brunch menu is in the works, which would help for those early openings on the weekends when there is considerably less foot traffic in downtown San Jose.