Post #687794 by Quince_at_Dannys on Mon, Jul 29, 2013 8:14 AM

If you visit Suzi's, be sure to go on any Friday or Saturday night and sit in the upstairs section--you'll get to check out their fantastic house band, Exotik-a-Go-Go. They have a classic exotica sound and are very accomplished musically. We were there Saturday and watched their whole set (7-11 pm), and one really interesting thing that they are doing lately is that they're taking classic Exotica and surf songs and rewriting them for a new twist. For example, "Girlfriend of the Whirling Dervish" has become "Tasmanian Devil Girl;" "Telstar" becomes "Sputnik." Still slightly recognizable as the originals (same chord changes) but with a completely new melody. Their entire set was these reworked classics with a few completely original compositions.

The other BIG reason to go upstairs is to order drinks from the Forbidden Cove bar (the middle one right behind where the band plays.) This is their "premium mixology" bar, where they offer a Mai Tai with aged top shelf rums and homemade orgeat; a drink called the Exotica which contains Lemon Hart 151, passion fruit syrup, lime and maraschino liqueur; and best of all the delicious Kapu-Lani--dark top shelf rum with pimento dram and lime (similar to Beachbum's Ancient Mariner). There's a couple others on the menu, and I believe the plan is to occasionally rotate some new ones in and out. You can also order a good number of quality rums for sipping. The drinks in Forbidden Cove are $10 or 11 instead of $7 or 8 apiece, but it is well worth it. I think they made this move to better compete with the huge number of craft cocktail bars in Minneapolis.