Post #288110 by BrickHorn on Sun, Feb 25, 2007 4:50 PM

My head is still swimming - partly due to the mai tai and partly due to the fact that my wife and I just took a tour of the Trader Vic's! We're in Dallas this weekend, and decided to swing by the Trader's to see if anyone would be around to let us peek in and have a quick look. To our (pleasant) surprise, the entire staff was there training and prepping for the second mock service tonight. We sweet talked our way into two mai tais and a grand tour. What a nice surprise on an otherwise boring Sunday afternoon!

The space is beautiful. The old A-frame is gone (to make room for retail space), but its absence doesn't detract from the interior experience at all, which is best described as tiki escapism, luxury-style. Because the place was basically sealed up for 20+ years, the new owners were able to salvage most of the decor, including the original Marquesan-style tiki columns and the original bar (the only change is that it was been given a protective coating). Some of the decorations (the masks above some of the booths, for example) were brought in from another closed-down TV's. The owners have named the bar "Hinky Dinks" in honor of the original Vic Bergeron restaurant. I thought that was a nice touch.

Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera with me (stupid, stupid!). I do have a picture on my cell phone of our two mai tais and a coaster, but don't know how to transfer the pic from my phone. The mai tais were exceptional and the service was superb (of course, everyone is in training and is overly enthusiastic now - hopefully it lasts!). The entire staff was very gracious and patient. I absolutely can't wait to go for a full evening in a couple of weeks.