TIKI CULTURE

Your Weekend Tiki Cocktail: The Shirley Temple

A little late, this week’s Tiki bar drink is for all you kids that can’t/won’t/don’t want to have alcohol in your beverage. There are a lot of swingin’ drinks out there, but none is as easy to make, is as much fun and tastes quite so good as an old fashioned

Shirley Temple Cocktail!

Dreamed up in the 1930s and named after the cutest child movie star to date, the Shirley Temple has been a favorite of mine since I got my first taste at my Aunt & Uncle’s New Year’s Eve party in their swingin’ basement bar in Philly, around 1974. H ere’s the general recipe:

Fill a fancy glass with ice. Pour in Ginger Ale until almost full. Then add grenadine (or the syrup out of Marachino cherries) a teaspoon at a time until it’s nice and cherryish, to your taste. Throw in a couple of cherries and garnish with an orange slice. You can fancy it up as much as you want with umbrellas, swords, everything you’ve got.

Variations on the recipe include 2/3 part Ginger Ale to 1/3 part orange juice, pineapple juice, or lemonade. But the cherry flavor is the best.

For those of you who insist on proofing-up your cocktails, I recommend the same recipe with a jigger of vodka, and a half oz of Kirshwasser or cherry brandy. mmmm.

-Tiki Chris reporting from the kids’ table at Pirate’s Cove Tiki Bar

Looking for a good read to go with your cocktail? Check out Murder Behind the Closet Door, the retro-noir style Wildwood paranormal murder mystery.

San Francisco’s Tonga Room pops up in the headlines again

By the 1960s The Tonga Room was transformed into a full-fledge Tiki Bar complete with mid-pool bandstand, hurricane bar and a real tropical storm

The San Francisco Chronicle has a post online explaining that the Nob Hill hotels, including the Fairmont where the historic Tonga Room is located, are in some deep financial troubles.

I’m posting this for a simple reason: because even though we Tiki lovers want the Tonga Room to remain where it is and live on, we’re not so foolish as to want it to stay in place at the expense of the hotel going out of business. Sure, we want the room to stay put. We want the owners to embrace what it stands for. But we sure as hell don’t want the Fairmont to close.

Here’s the article: http://www.sfgate.com(tonga-room).

Still no definitive word on the fate of the Tonga Room, or the Fairmont and its owners plans to renovate. In a perfect world, the owners, the city, the public and unions would find a compromise that would be acceptable to all. Maybe if they got into the spirit of the historic lounge, sat down together for a pow wow with a couple of Zombies and Mai Tais, they could work it out. Whatever happens, I sincerely hope the Tonga Room, the Fairmont, and all involved survive intact.

-Tiki Chris for Tiki Lounge Talk

The Blue Monkey: A Fast Tiki Drink Recipe for Another Week Gone by FASSST!

The Blue Monkey

Wow, seems like just yesterday I posted our Valentine’s Day movie special, and now it’s already Friday. I had a lot of fun ideas for this week, but life among the coconuts kind of threw me for a loop. Lots of kookie stuff going on…so without any more goofy excuses, here’s a quicky cocktail for the weekend:

The Blue Monkey

1 oz Blue Curacao liqueur
1 oz coconut rum
1 1/2 oz orange juice
1/2 oz pineapple juice

Fill a hurricane glass with ice, pour in the stuff and stir. Drape with orange, pineapple & cherry garnish, plus one of those little plastic monkeys that hangs off the side of the glass. This drink is sweeter than a lot of Tiki drink lovers dig, but you can level it our with a little more pineapple juice and some bitters.

Enjoy the Weekend, kids!

-Tiki Chris P. reporting from the lounge at Pirate’s Cove Tiki Bar, Florida

Happy Valentine’s Day from the Tiki Bar! Here’s An Affair To Remember, from 1957 for Mod Movie Monday

Here’s a special edition of Mod/Noir/Retro/Vintage Movie Monday for Valentine’s Day. Love is in the air, and it’s contageous…so grab your favorite guy or doll and watch

An Affair to Remember

from 1957 starring Carry Grant and Deborah Kerr. Absolutely one of the most romantic movies ever made, even hardened tough guys dig this flick. The plot is simple: Grant and Kerr meet by chance on a cruise ship and fall in love. They know their love is taboo, since they are both engaged to other people. But their love is strong, and they agree to meet six months later at the top of the Empire State Building. If I say one more word on the story I’ll give away the whole thing, so I won’t. I can tell you this is a beautifully made movie, with a fantastic score and lavish settings. Although Grant is in his early 50s (and Kerr in her early 30s) the romance works perfectly as Carry charms his way through the movie. Interesting notes: • The two lovers make their vow to meet at the Empire State Building at exactly the halfway point of the movie, 59-1/2 minutes into the 119-minute flick. • An Affair To Remember is listed as the #5 greatest romance of all-time by the American Film Institute. • This is the flick that was referenced in 1993’s Sleepless in Seattle. After the release of that film, a renewed interest in An Affair To Remember resulted in over two million video tape sales. My Take: I’ve never been one for romance flicks. My mother suggested I watch this movie many moons ago, and I guess she knew me well, because I loved it. I don’t exactly why…but it’s the kind of movie that appeals to everyone, not just chicks. Food & Booze: This is the perfect movie to watch while sharing some fondue and wine. Here’s a quick and easy recipe for perfect fondue: 1 lb shredded cheddar, jack, and/or Swiss cheese 1/4 stick butter 3 cloves minced garlic salt & pepper 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce flour 1-2 cups beer Toss the shredded cheese with some flour, just enough to coat lightly (this helps with the melting). Flatten one cup beer (by swirling) and add to heated fondue pot. Toss in the butter, garlic, and Worcestershire, and stir until butter is melted. Add a pinch or two of salt and a few shakes of pepper. Then add the cheese a little at a time, stirring constantly till you get a nice, smooth, cheesy fondue. Add a little more beer or more cheese as needed. If you put too much beer, you’ll get cheese soup. Too little and your fondue will be glorpy. Serve with toast points, apple slices, or fresh vegetables for dippin’. Mmmm mmm.

For a nice Valentine’s Day drink, try the Lover’s Cocktail here.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Here’s the Trailer…

-Tiki Chris & Colleen reporting from the very romantic lanai at Pirate’s Cove Tiki Bar.

The Lover’s Cocktail: Your Weekend Tiki Bar Drink for Valentine’s Day

With Valentine’s Day on Monday I thought it would be nice to feature

The Lover’s Cocktail

A gin concoction that’s easy to make and fun to drink. I couldn’t find any history on this drink so I’ll make some up.

Back in 1927 there was speakeasy in the basement of the Ritz Hotel in Atlantic City. Since prohibition made it difficult (but not impossible) to acquire good booze, the bartenders often had to make due with what they could get their hands on. An enormous shindig was held on Valentine’s Day that year, but the only liquor they had on hand was some watered-down bourbon and sloe gin…and not the best stuff. So one of the bartenders, a bloke that went by the name of Nickles, came up with this special recipe for the special day:

2 oz sloe gin
1 egg white
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp raspberry juice

Separate the egg white and give it a little whip…just a few seconds. Combine the sloe gin, egg white, lemon juice and raspberry juice in a cocktail shaker half-filled with ice cubes. Shake it up well and strain into a Martini glass. Garnish with cherries on a pick and float a red rose petal on top. If the raspberry juice doesn’t give you a nice color, add a few drops of red food dye.The egg whites give the drink a little fuzzy fizz. If you’re scared of getting salmonella, substitute with a little soda instead, but it won’t be as good (or historically accurate, which I always strive to be.)

-Tiki Chris P. reporting from the speakeasy under the Tiki Bar at Tiki Lounge Talk! Stay tuned for more misinformation and cocktails!