Post #770202 by mikehooker on Sat, Nov 12, 2016 2:20 PM

DAY 5

Time to check out the big city. We started off at a vintage shop in the Mission district called Stuff that was enormous and had many pretty things. Wife found a somewhat rare promotional Pyrex bowl to add to her collection.

(For those in the know, or those who want to know, the "Balloon" pattern was only manufactured in 1958 as part of a chip and dip set. We now have the chip. Need the dip.)

Shot over to Haight St and stopped at the first food place we saw: The Lodge. $42 later we had breakfast in us.

Realized we were close to Painted Ladies so went over there and admired the old digs. Then made our way to Amoeba. Found some Arthur Lyman, Jerry Byrd and Billy Mure LP's I needed. Went over to the coast, popped into Cliff House, stared at waves and examined the remains of Sutro Baths. Went in a beach cave.

Then drove up to Sonoma to have dinner and stay with friends up there. People have surprisingly bad driving manners up that way.

DAY 6

The plan was to hit Muir Woods on the way back but dear god there were lots of people there. We drove two miles past the parking lots looking for a street spot before giving up hope. Made our way to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and stopped to look at a bridge.

Popped into the Marine Mammal Center to say hi to some rescued seals. Considered adopting one but then remembered we recently spent $42 on breakfast.

Then went up to Point Bonita to scope out the old lighthouse and get another view of the bridge. We had to go through a cave. And apparently I really like cave photos. What of it?

I believe at this point we went back to the Phoenix to check in for the third time. For what it's worth, that hotel is awesome. The front desk staff was the most courteous I've ever encountered. Orlando greeted us by name with a huge smile and open arms every time we came through the lobby. And we didn't find the tenderloin to be scary at all. Lots of people warned us how bad it was but there's a lot more aggressive homeless in downtown Austin. Only two people approached us for money (one in a very friendly way) and another person just said to us with a huge smile and great sincerity as we were walking by "You all have a wonderful night!" It was charming. Sure there was fecal matter of unknown origin all over the place, and people sleeping in front of businesses that had closed for the night and there was an alarming amount of emergency vehicles abound but it didn't seem dangerous or any worse than any other grossly populated city I've been to.

We rested a bit then Lyfted to Tonga Room. We got there just after 6 and got a table by the water. Our waiter addressed me as Mr. Hooker and demonstrated that old school hospitality that is so lacking in this age. He thanked us constantly and took amazing care of us. According to their Instagram, they launched a new drink menu the week before so I was excited to see if they were any good as I'd heard the drinks there left a bit to be desired. I began with the Planter's Punch which was served in a tiki mug and had falernum, allspice and grenadine in it. It was sweet, spicy and delicious. Wife had a Tonga Kong which had nice flavors and was really nicely balanced.

For starters, we ordered the pupu platter with chicken wings, crab rangoon, spring rolls and pork rib. It was all very good.

Prices were pretty hefty there so we decided to order one more drink, the Rainmaker bowl for two. It wasn't as good as either of our previous drinks but was certainly passable as a nice tiki drink. No complaints at all with the drinks here.

For our entrees we both went with pork, my wife had the smoked Kalua pork and I had the red curry pork loin. We both enjoyed our meals and the service there. Decided we couldn't pass up trying their Mai Tai creme bruele and so glad we got it. Heavenly.

After our meal we walked around and scoped out the decor. They had some nice pieces but the walls and ceilings are definitely more scarce than say the Mai Kai, Trader Vic's or some of the modern day revival bars. But overall I give this place a solid A.

The rain seemed to go off every 20-30 minutes. Not sure if it's automated or goes off whenever someone orders the Rainmaker bowl.

This guy was in the actual hotel near the bathrooms

We got out of there at a quarter to 8 so didn't have to pay the cover or be tormented by the house band.

We were kind of far from the hotel but needed to walk off the giant meal we had so we headed in the direction of Tiki Bob. Boy that poor green bastard sure made my day.

Someone seriously needs to go in the middle of the night and paint him back to normal. I doubt the crepery that's presently there would even care. Does anyone know if they are even the ones who painted him green? I imagine it happened a couple tenants ago and the current owners may not even know the history of him. Original colors might even draw more attention to their business. As it is, most people probably don't even realize there's a face on the pillar and just walk by unfazed.

By now we were only a mile or so from the hotel so we decided to just continue walking rather than hitching a ride. When we got back it was still early. My wife wanted to call it a night but I was craving a return to White Chapel. I told her I'd go for one... just like we planned the first time...

So I go by my lonesome, again figuring if it's packed I'll just call it a night and head back to the hotel. I walk in and it's nearly empty. I think there were only six people in the entire place so I grabbed a seat at the bar and the bartender, who I wish I remembered his name, was super friendly. I ordered a Saturn as Jentiki and I had discussed this being a favorite drink of ours in another thread and I wanted to taste it the Cate way. It was yummy, pretty much the same as when I make it at home.

The bartender and I chatted a lot since he didn't have many people to take care of. He said it was unusually slow for a Sunday and he even cut one bartender. Of course he got slammed a few minutes later but only for a short while. He was simultaneously making five drinks while carrying on a conversation about his favorite hiking spots and working with lightning speed. I gotta say, I was damn impressed. We were talking about tiki and how I was much more smitten with the gin bar than Smuggler's Cove when he started pushing the Modern Prometheus on me.

It was basically the gin cousin of a Zombie with I believe the equivalent of 4 ounces of booze. I wasn't planning to have a second drink, no less the most powerful one on the menu. But he said no one ever orders it and he really wanted to make one so he'd buy my first drink if I have one. OK, fine, twist my arm.

Holy crap that's a powerful but well balanced drink. I was feeling pretty tipsy maybe a quarter of the way through it so I took it reeeeaaaal slow from there with a chug of water between every sip.

Again, I wanted to stay for more but knew better of it. Had to get some rest cuz there was one more action packed day and our last tiki stop ahead of us before we were to hop a plane back home.

Tomorrow, the dramatic conclusion of our Bay Area tiki tour...