Tag: TraderVics

Posted on

Trader Vic’s SJC

The world’s greatest airport bar is at San Jose International, at least as far as this writer has experienced: Trader Vic’s San Jose Airport.

Mrs Mai Tai and I breezed through security in less than 10 minutes and landed at Gate 22 to have brunch at Trader Vic’s. Staff was super friendly, even suggesting an off-menu San Francisco Mai Tai. The standard issue was just fine for me, and you know what it tastes like? It tastes like a Trader Vic’s Mai Tai.

I also tried the signature cocktail for the location, the Pilo Pilo. Fruity and delicious.

My Salmon Bowl was an unexpected pleasure. Plenty hearty with a gigantic portion of salmon. This was really great, I’d love to see this at other Vic’s locations.

The restaurant and bar are on the gangway side of the Airport, so this is sort of like the Vic’s in Emeryville except it is a different kind of vessel that you’re looking at. The Outpost across the way has merch and some grab and go items.

It’s always great to see a new Trader Vic’s, especially stateside. The place is well positioned in the terminal and was busy the entire time we were there. Check it out and try to fly SJC on your next trip.

Posted on

Trader Vic’s Mai Tai Rum

There’s a nice case of vintage Trader Vic’s bottles in the Cook Room at the Emeryville location.

This shot is of the Mai Tai Rum, which combined rums from Jamaica (70%), Martinique (20%), and Virgin Islands (10%), and coming in at a very nice 43% ABV. Likely a great rum to put in your Mai Tai (or your “Mai-Tai” according to the label, sigh). Man, I’d love to try some of this.

Posted on

New Cocktails at Trader Vic’s Emeryville

The new cocktail menu at Trader Vic’s Emeryville leans heavily on Trader Vic’s favorites, including “the Original Mai Tai” which is a Mai Tai made from scratch and not from their Mai Tai Concentrate mix. But there are a few new cocktails that were developed with Vic’s alum Brent Harris. I was able to sample three of this on a recent visit.

Vic’s Itch
This is a Tropical Itch riff that includes Dark and 151 rums, bourbon, passion fruit, fresh lemon, and fassionola. This was quite tasty and most definitely boozy.

Vic & Dotty
Supposedly a There Dots and a Dash riff, though without Rhum Agricole in my opinion it has strayed pretty far off. Contains Royal Amber and Appleton rums, falernum, grog mix, citrus, and honey. Very flavorful and totally felt like a classic Trader Vic’s cocktail, including orange and lemon. So it fits in nicely alongside favorites such as the Eastern Sour or Fogcutter.

Trader Vic’s Painkiller – not pictured
Features dark and gold rums, orange and pineapple, and Vic’s “coco-nutty house made Mandalay mix” with a dash of cream. Painkiller fans will feel right at home, but there’s definitely something different here – and I like it. Just a bit more complex than your typical Painkiller. Curious if our friends in Emeryville are playing with fire legally, though.

I wasn’t able to sample the other new cocktails:

Banana Dreams: rum, pineapple, grapefruit, lime, banana, fassionola. Also available without rum as the Dreamless Banana.

Drunken Monkey: blanco tequila, cachaca, citrus, banana, and orgeat, topped with lime zesty banana whipped cream.

For lunch I had all-time favorites Crab Rangoon and the Trader Vic’s Salad. It was nice to see the restaurant pretty full, too.

Posted on

Shag Menu at Trader Vic’s Emeryville

Quite the event on Thursday to celebrate the release of a refreshed cocktail menu at Trader Vic’s Emeryville. Don’t worry, Mai Tai and Navy Grog fans, those are still on the menu along with nearly all of your Trader Vic’s favorites. There are several new items developed in conjunction with Vic’s alum Brent Harris. Some of these are riffs on classic cocktails, and we’ll have more about that in tomorrow’s post.

The event Thursday featured Shag who did the cover for the new menu. The design is inspired by Trader Vic’s classic cocktail menu cover, done in Shag’s style and including a bunch of Trader Vic’s icons. Notably, this design omits the sexualized elements – but also women entirely. This is the first of a series of cocktail menu covers designed by contemporary artists.

Shag was also available from 6-9 pm to sign menus ($20 with donation to Easter Island Foundation) and any other Shag items. I arrived at around 7:40 and got the last menu available for sale. There were Aloha Shirts available in the same design but those were sold out well before I got there. True Trader Vic’s fans will have an opportunity for an additional batch of shirts.

The restaurant and lounge were totally packed, with DJ Otto spinning tunes. If future events come up again, be sure to plan ahead and make reservations.

Posted on

Trader Vic’s Canned Mai Tai Available in 38 States

RTD is A-OK

Up an hour early today to take the dog in for surgery. Shitty week at work seeing how many colleagues are vax deniers. Then an hour wait to pick up the dog (she’s fine, but surgery wasn’t cheap). So it was a heck of a day.

So this tasty canned Mai Tai seemed like a great idea.

I purchased my canned Mai Tai at BevMo locally, but these are now available to order online and shipping to 38 states!

Order Now: drinktradervics.com

Posted on

Custom Lamps based Trader Vic’s Mug

Our friend Greg Smith aka @tikiloungelights did some amazing work on a pair of matching lamps for our bedroom.

Trader Vic’s Maori Haka mugs were inspired by a tiki at Trader Vic’s in Emeryville. Mugs are mounted on a wood base and bamboo pedestal with a wood carving above. Matching Shades made of real Tahitian Tapa cloth in shades built from scratch complete this custom design. Bulbs are 3-way LED.

Great is easy to work with on custom jobs like ours. You can see more on the Tiki Lounge Lights account, and locals can check out lamps in person at the Holiday Bazaar at Trader Vic’s on November 7th.