Tag: SanJose

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Dr. Funk Rum Asylum Meetup with Appleton Rum

We missed the first quarterly meeting that took place shortly after the Rum Asylum rum club launched at Dr. Funk in the winter but we didn’t want to miss out at the recent meetup that featured Appleton and Wray & Nephew rum.

The event featured some literature about the rum expressions plus some guided tastings from a Campari rep who also answered questions about the production process in Jamaica and history of the brands. There was also a fantastic cocktail special using Appleton 8 called Tikitastic that comes from local rum legend Mark Holt who was attendance. Plus plenty of Appleton and Wray & Nephew swag for the well-attended event.

The event also included a couple who finished Level 1 and took the Rum-o-cratic Oath, plus details about the rewards for level 2 (a pith helmet inspired by Dr. Funk himself) and the hints of a limited edition mug made by a well-known local artist for completing level 3.

Tikitastic

The next Rum Asylum meetup is Sunday, September 21st at 3:30 pm – don’t miss it.

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Mrs. Mai Tai Completes Rum Asylum Level I

After all the rum lists I’ve completed over the years I have to applaud my wife Julie for giving the rum list thing a shot with the Level I of the Rum Asylum list at Dr. Funk. This curated list of twenty mainstream rums covers a variety of styles and countries of origin and is a fantastic introduction to rum. Even better for folks like Julie who aren’t used to drinking spirits neat, Dr. Funk allows participants try to the rums in Daiquiri format. Pusser’s was the last rum and Julie said the Xaymaca Daiquiri was her favorite.

After completing the list, Justin walked her through the materials for Level II, she took a little rum pledge, received her completion pin, and then got to ring the bell. A soon-to-be bride sitting nearby was so inspired by the ceremony that she jumped up and threw a flower lei over Julie’s head. Ringing the bell *and* getting lei’d, it was quite a night.

Dr. Funk is hosting a Rum Asylum meetup on June 22, which Julie will be attending. I’m not sure how far she’ll get on the level II, but completing the first level is still a great accomplishment. Congrats.

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Disneyland Trivia and Doc Parks at Dr. Funk

Two visits this week to San Jose’s leading tiki bar, first for trivia night on Monday and then on Traditional Tiki Tuesday for a guest DJ set at Dr. Funk.

Risky Quizness brought their trivia set up on Monday once again, coinciding nicely with Mai Tai Monday where Dr. Funk’s excellent Mai Tai is only $8. The theme this time was Disneyland, a topic close to our hearts. We’d done pretty terribly at Office and Friends trivia, but this time with our sons in tow we did a team up effort and “The Rebel Spies” came in 4th place overall, not too shabby.

Traditional Tiki Tuesday features a rotating set of DJs who play records from 7-11 pm, plus all day Happy Hour which means that the Mai Tai is only $12 (plus, you know, some other cocktails). The “5th Tuesday” DJ this year is Doc Parks, yes the Doc Parks of bartending and tiki bar fame – who used to be a professional DJ before he moved in the hospitality industry. We dug Parks’ set, including a couple songs from Las Vegas surf band The New Waves.

DJ Doc Parks

Our food and drinks this week were pretty much perfect, and Mrs. Mai Tai is now just one rum from finishing Level 1 of the Rum Asylum rum list.

$8 Mai Tai Monday
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Elevated Dining and Drinks at The Pressroom San Jose

Owned by the same restaurant group as Dr. Funk, The Pressroom is located around the corner from San Pedro Square in downtown San Jose and serves elevated California cuisine. The venue spans two buildings at the corner of Santa Clara and N. Almaden Ave, drawing inspiration as being the location for The Mercury News starting at turn of the 20th Century. A main bar is located in the portion of the restaurant adjacent to Almaden featuring greenery and large open windows. A separate dining space called the Editors Room is also available for private parties and the wood-lined Bar Mercury is a bar within a bar.

The bar team from Dr. Funk developed the cocktail menu featuring some newspaper-inspired riffs on classic cocktails. We absolutely loved the New York Sour riff called City Beat that takes inspiration from the Eastern Sour by adding orange oleo saccharum to the Whiskey Sour template and featuring a rich pinot noir float. The Byline Fizz also features wine with a delightful blend of strawberry-infused tequila, lemon, honey, and a sparkling wine float. We thought the cocktails were really great and priced in line with other downtown San Jose venues. All cocktails are half priced during Happy Hour, 3-5 pm weekdays.

City Beat and Byline Fizz

We enjoyed our dinner early on Friday, featuring fresh and inspired ingredients. I loved the Thai Steak Salad including the fresh and toasted coconut, while Mrs. Mai Tai loved the Lemon Ricotta Agnolotti topped with parmesan cream. The menu has some vegan dishes, but leans into some beef and steak options – though we’d have liked to see more appetizers to choose from. The Pressroom is also open for lunch including sandwich options with their brunch featuring a fun tabloid-style menu. We did find the venue and music to be fairly loud and very bass-heavy even during a relatively slow portion of service.

The Pressroom is a great addition to downtown San Jose’s restaurant scene, combining visual and cultural nods to the past with a menu that propels diners into the future.

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Dr. Funk Rum Asylum Level II: Deleri-rum

Popped into Dr. Funk to drink some rum from the Rum Asylum Level II list, a curated list of 60+ rums from the doctor’s collection.

Mrs Mai Tai is still working level I and she had a Wray & Nephew Overproof rum as a Daiquiri, so I did a little compare and contrast by having The Funk has a daiquiri, a similar unaged Jamaican rum that is a little less boozy (“only 100 proof”) and quite lovely in that format.

Then I tried a delicious AK Zanj 10 year rum from Haiti, made from sugar cane juice. Very approachable and full flavored.

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Completing Dr. Funk’s Rum Asylum Level I

I finally completed the first level of Dr. Funk’s rum club list, the Rum Asylum. I’d have finished back on March 11 had they not run out of my last rum, Real McCoy 12 year from Barbados, and finally returned after a couple weeks of heavy travel.

Level I is a very good overview of the various styles of rum, including unaged expressions all the way to heavily aged ones, plus distillate from more than a dozen different countries and regions. There’s a little bit for everyone, from those who like it sweet and light to those who like boozy funk bombs. I love Jamaica rum above all others, but best of all there’s not a dud in the bunch.

Dr. Funk Rum Asylum: Level I

1-3. Rum Flight (incl. Planteray Pineapple, Paranubes, Appleton 12)
4. Bacardi 8 Ocho
5. Barbancourt 8 yr
6. Planteray Xaymaca
7. Rhum JM VSOP
8. Santa Teresa 1796
9. Myers’s Single Barrel Select
10. Privateer Queen’s Share
11. Real McCoy 12 Yr
12. Lemon Hart 151
13. Wray & Nephew Overproof
14. Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva
15. Kō Hana Kea
16. Chairman’s Reserve Spiced
17. Appleton 21
18. Denizen White 5 yr
19. Pusser’s British Navy
20. Worthy Park 109

When you complete level I there’s a small pin awarded, plus the list for Level II and the goal of future rewards. Thanks to Justin for initiating me and letting me ring the bell.

The best way to celebrate the completion of the list? A fantastic Dr. Funk Mai Tai, of course.

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Double Tais at Trader Vic’s SJC

Mrs. Mai Tai is joining me in Tacoma for the weekend and we got things started over dinner and drinks at Trader Vic’s San Jose Airport. In our case we went with the standard Original Mai Tai for me and the Guava Tai for Mrs. Mai Tai, both wonderful.

I was intrigued by the Angry Bastard cocktail which is described as being “A spiced concoction with coconut, orange and pineapple” which sounds like a Painkiller. Our server Maria said it wasn’t a Painkiller and indeed it was anything but with some very pleasant and sweet fruity flavors (guava, likely) to go along with that coconut. Really great, nicely served in the classic Suffering Bastard mug.

Trader Vic’s was really busy at dinner, so the extra seating they added last year really came in handy. The Spam Musubi and the Vic’s Chicken Salad were prepared very well and we enjoyed some exotica music playing in the bar too. I looked at the back bar and spotted a Mount Gay 1703 but sadly SJC is unable to make an alternate rum Mai Tai.

TV SJC remains the greatest airport bar in this writer’s opinion, and we are so looking forward to the Vic’s location at the Oakland Airport supposedly coming later this year.