SoccerTiki & WooHooWahine in S.F. 6/21

It's WooHoo's birthday and we're heading north! Staying at the Fairmont San Francisco Thur-Sun. We would like to hit everywhere possible in those four days/nights! We will have a car waiting for us at the airport, so transportation is no problem.

Some of the places we'd like to hit are: Forbidden Island, Tonga Room, Trader Vic's (S.F., Palo Alto & Emeryville), Tradr Sam, Bamboo Hut, Hawaii West, Conga Lounge, Kona Club, Trader Vic's final resting spot, others???????

Any suggestions on the above (or not mentioned locations???) I think we are meeting a few TC'rs Thursday night at F.I. We're all about meeting up with fellow TC'ers for drinks, etc.!!!

Mucho Mahaloz!!!!!

S.T.

[ Edited by: SoccerTiki 2007-02-18 16:37 ]

[ Edited by: SoccerTiki 2013-03-13 11:01 ]

[ Edited by: SoccerTiki 2013-06-18 18:01 ]

Visit Alcatraz! Very Exotic! It feels just like a jail in the South Seas!

On 2007-02-08 09:06, little lost tiki wrote:
Visit Alcatraz! Very Exotic! It feels just like a jail in the South Seas!

And how would you know that Ken??? Hmmmm???

Hey NorCal Ohana,
Let's welcome WooHooWahine and SoccerTiki Bay Area style. I'll be meeting up with them at Forbidden Island on Thursday, 2/15, and at the Tonga Room on Friday, 2/16. It would be great to have a few more of the local folks join them for a cocktail.

SoccerTiki,
Will you be posting your tiki itinerary as it gets nailed down, so the gang knows where to find you?

If you are going to the Trader Vic's in Palo Alto, which is in the South Peninsula part of the Bay Area (basically a part of Silicon Valley), then you should also check out Martini Monkey at the San Jose airport, and perhaps Smoke Tiki in downtown San Jose as well, since they won't be too far away from the Palo Alto Trader Vic's. Otherwise, that particular Vic's is kind of removed from all of the rest of the tiki action which is primarily in the East Bay and San Francisco.

The drinks at Martini Monkey are definitely worth checking out. The bartender there, Jay, makes some top notch cocktails - some claim that he may be the best bartender in the whole Bay Area!!! If you go to Smoke Tiki, I would avoid going on Friday or Saturday nights, because it will be absolutely over packed with a fake I.D. yielding teenage to early twenty-something hip-hop crowd. I haven't eaten any of their food yet, but I hear that they make some really awesome bbq.

Other than those two places, your list sounds fairly complete. San Francisco Vic's has a great price fix menu, $25 I believe for a 3 course meal, and $5 mai tais! But remember that that their kitchen can close on the early side, especially on a slow night. Make sure to order a Stinker from Lars, he makes them a special way, and they are not to be missed! Palo Alto Vic's has a special on Mai Tai's, and a couple of other drinks I think, during their happy hour - maybe someone else here in the know can elaborate more. Make sure you post when you are going to be at Forbidden Island and other places, that way us Bay Area folks can hook up.

WoooHoooo! Mahalo JenTiki & Mai Tai for all the information. SoccerTiki and I are really looking forward to our Tiki Trek of The Bay Area. Can't wait to meet everyone from the Northern Californitiki TC Ohana :)

On 2007-02-09 14:04, JenTiki wrote:
Hey NorCal Ohana,
Let's welcome WooHooWahine and SoccerTiki Bay Area style. I'll be meeting up with them at Forbidden Island on Thursday, 2/15, and at the Tonga Room on Friday, 2/16. It would be great to have a few more of the local folks join them for a cocktail.

SoccerTiki,
Will you be posting your tiki itinerary as it gets nailed down, so the gang knows where to find you?

JenTiki & all-
As of today we are planning on the Forbidden Island for happy hour and ?? on Thursday (15th) and the Tonga Room on Friday (WooHoo's B-day) for happy hour and dinner and closing the place down. That leaves trader Vic's SF, Trad'r Sams, Trader Vic's Emeryville, Kona Club, Bamboo Hut and the Conga Room as must sees. Maybe we can hit some for lunch??? Does anyone know a good way to group these (by location or "best hours")???

Thanks MaiTai for your suggestions! We may not have time to do Palo Alto this time...We'll be there if at all possible!

Just happens I will be working in SF on Thurs, Feb 15, so I will be swinging by Forbidden Island after work. Will be great to really meet up with you two after all this time (kept missing you at Oasis). After all, we are the First, Second, and Third place winners of Tiki Farm's Treasure Hunt awhile ago!!

Happy Birthday in advance, WooHoo!

• Myke

How old are you if you didn't know how old you are??

[ Edited by: tikiwinebear 2007-02-13 08:06 ]

That leaves trader Vic's SF, Trad'r Sams, Trader Vic's Emeryville, Kona Club, Bamboo Hut and the Conga Room as must sees. Maybe we can hit some for lunch??? Does anyone know a good way to group these (by location or "best hours")???

You could do Oakland Tiki on Saturday. Vics Emeryville opens pretty early (11am?)You could do lunch there, then head to Kona and Vic's final resting place in the late afternoon. Conga Lounge opens at 5pm and there's happy hour from 5 to 7pm, with discounts on Mai Tais and appetizers. Save your appetite. The pizza served at the Conga is awesome!!
After that, end the evening at Forbidden Island and say hi to Martiki (who may not be there Thursday when you guys visit)
Looking forward to seeing you guys!!

ST & WHW, sounds like a great trip! Mai Tai and I will try to hook up with you at FI.

Conga Mike's suggestion is very good. One other item not previously mentioned, Mountain View cemetery (TV's resting place) is literally down the block from the Kona. You'll need to drive though, because the cemetery is expansive.

From Kona it's less than a 10 minute drive to the Conga Lounge. And yes, their food is good!

From the Conga Lounge it's a 10 minute straight shoot to Forbidden Island. At present, Martiki's usually not at FI Thursdays and Fridays.

On 2007-02-10 10:02, Conga Mike wrote:

That leaves trader Vic's SF, Trad'r Sams, Trader Vic's Melville, Kona Club, Bamboo Hut and the Conga Room as must sees. Maybe we can hit some for lunch??? Does anyone know a good way to group these (by location or "best hours")???

You could do Oakland Tiki on Saturday. Vics Emeryville opens pretty early (11am?)You could do lunch there, then head to Kona and Vic's final resting place in the late afternoon. Conga Lounge opens at 5pm and there's happy hour from 5 to 7pm, with discounts on Mai Tais and appetizers. Save your appetite. The pizza served at the Conga is awesome!!
After that, end the evening at Forbidden Island and say hi to Martiki (who may not be there Thursday when you guys visit)
Looking forward to seeing you guys!!

Conga Mike and Coco Loco... Mucho Mahaloz for the suggestions!!! Looking forward to meeting up with you.

http://sanfrancisco.citysearch.com/roundup/39575?brand=smx_roundups

WoooHooo! I can't wait :)

[ Edited by: WooHooWahine 2007-02-11 19:30 ]

Ok, here's our itinerary (for anyone interested)...Thursday around 5 at the Forbidden Island then ???... Friday Tonga Room & Hurricane bar around 5 for Happy Hour and dinner @7pm (need to make reservations I'm told)...Saturday lunch at Trader Vic's Emeryville, then over to the cemetery, then to Kona Club and then over to the Conga Lounge (around 5) and then Forbidden Island. That leaves Trader Vic's S.F., Trad'r Sam's and the Bamboo Hut for Sunday. Oh yeah....We gotta squeeze in Alcatraz, a cable car ride, those funny little talking car tours, Lombard Street, Fisherman's Wharf, Shopping & whatever else sounds fun! We'll sleep when we get back to SoCal!!!

Just a suggestion: TV SF has an awesome Happy Hour. If it were me, I'd hit Vics up for HH on Friday, dinner at Tonga Room and then head to Trader Sams. Bamboo Hut will be a zoo on Friday night, so best left for late afternoon Sunday - a perfect pit stop after touring.

On 2007-02-13 10:55, Conga Mike wrote:
Just a suggestion: TV SF has an awesome Happy Hour. If it were me, I'd hit Vics up for HH on Friday, dinner at Tonga Room and then head to Trader Sams. Bamboo Hut will be a zoo on Friday night, so best left for late afternoon Sunday - a perfect pit stop after touring.

Thanks Mike!
Ok, we heard that Tonga Room also has a good happy hour....Hey! 3 good happy hours & 4 nights to hit them!!! I think we can do it! Where's the best Happy Hour Sunday nights? (Gee-It sounds like we're planning WooHoo's birthday trip around the bars!?!)

Hey guys,

TV SF's food is way better than The Tonga Room fare. Seriously. TV SF also has been running a special of a 3 course meal for $25 w/$5 Mai Tai's.

I'd switch it around: Hitting Trader Sam's around 3:00 on Friday...thus avoiding Friday night traffic in the city, then head to TV SF for happy hour and dinner, then spend the remainder of the evening at the Tonga Room.

Alcatraz tour pier and Fisherman's Wharf are in the same area. On Friday morning, you might want to walk down Nobb Hill, or jump on the cable car down to Union Square shopping area. From there you can take a cable car to within 3 blocks of Fisherman's Wharf. http://www.sfcablecar.com/routes.html (double check with the concierge to ensure the routes are still correct).

Take the Alcatraz tour, come back, have lunch at the Wharf (dungenous crab, chowder, and sourdough bread yumm!!!) and walk around. If you're really ambitious, you can probably catch a talkie tour in that area. But probably more fun is http://www.allsanfranciscotours.com/body.asp?tour=SFO-CAR01&page=TourDetails.

It's a 5 hour rental, so might be better done on Thursday or Sunday. Anyhow, hope to see ya tomorrow.

On 2007-02-13 10:55, Conga Mike wrote:
Just a suggestion: TV SF has an awesome Happy Hour. If it were me, I'd hit Vics up for HH on Friday, dinner at Tonga Room and then head to Trader Sams. Bamboo Hut will be a zoo on Friday night, so best left for late afternoon Sunday - a perfect pit stop after touring.

WOOOHOOO! San Francisco here we come :) We'll see everyone tomorrow :)

Ok.....Plane was delayed 2.5 hours! Security breach at Oakland Airport!!! No car (reservation cancelled after 2 hours!)

We made it to the Fairmont @ 4:30....going to hit the Tonga Room for drinks at 5:15-7ish then figure out how to get to Forbidden Island....

Anyone wanting to connect with us, we'll keep an eye out! And probably check our pm's around 7....

Cheers!

Try eating at Nations Burgers...
Good stuff.

You can also go and fly a kite...

Have fun!!!

[ Edited by: MTKahuna 2007-02-15 18:23 ]

Alright! Ready when you are, awaiting your arrival. :)

On 2007-02-15 20:11, Haole'akamai wrote:
Alright! Ready when you are, awaiting your arrival. :)

What a beautiful "hostess with the mostess" At the Forbidden Island!!!

The Tonga Room was awe-inspiring!!!!! Very cool!!!

WooHoo found a cool tiki!

Outriggers on the ceiling

The water ambiance

WooHoo and I sharing a lavabowl...Tasty!

More dining room ambiance

The Forbidden Island is Very Tiki!!!!

TikiWineBear, JenTiki, WooHoo and SoccerTiki

Coco Loco and MaiTai joined us for some libations!

Coco Loco was taking lessons on the "Woooo Hoooo!"

The F.I. Crew is top-notch!!! Thanks for the great service and tasty drinks!!!

And it's only Thursday!?!?!?!?!?

Mucho Mahalo to JenTiki for being a consumate hostess! We wouldn't have made it to F.I. without you!!!!!

WooooHoooooOOOOOOooooooooo

Friday plans..... Trader Vic's for happy hour @ 3:30 (It's only til 5:30) Then to ???? Here's my cell if anyone is interested. 562-500-9800 We are making dinner rezzes for the Tonga Room @ 7:30 for 6+/- (we can add to it I'm sure.) Where ever we end up it'll be a (birthday) party!!!!!!

[ Edited by: SoccerTiki 2007-02-16 10:16 ]

Wow!!! What a fun city!!!! After spending the day riding the cable cars and walking around Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, Ghiradelli Square, the San Francisco Shopping Center, Union Square...We made it to S.F. Trader Vic's for happy hour, then took the muni bus to Trad'r Sam (very fun locals bar with a hint of tiki-great scorpion bowls!!!!) then back to Tonga Room for dinner.... The music was exactly wha you'd expect from a lounge type group that performs on a boat in the middle of a lake inside a restaurant while it rains!!! The food was good and the staff was excellent! Everyone from the waiters to the manager bent over to make sure we had a great time!

Today (Saturday) we're off to Trader Vic's Emeryville, Vic's final resting spot, the Kona Club, The Conga Lounge and then maybe back to the Forbidden Island...And mix in a little thrift shopping during the day. Again, anyone wanting to meet up, give me a call!

Today (Saturday) we're off to Trader Vic's Emeryville, Vic's final resting spot, the Kona Club, The Conga Lounge and then maybe back to the Forbidden Island...And mix in a little thrift shopping during the day. Again, anyone wanting to meet up, give me a call!

You guys should go to the Kona Club late on Sat. night. Then at closing time head on over to the cemetery! Grab a couple of Ice Blocks, and ride like the wind down the hills! I think Longs down the road is open?

Happy sledding!!

On 2007-02-17 19:26, RevBambooBen wrote:
You guys should go to the Kona Club late on Sat. night. Then at closing time head on over to the cemetery! Grab a couple of Ice Blocks, and ride like the wind down the hills! I think Longs down the road is open?

Happy sledding!!

We didn't have time for sledding this trip! But it sounds like fun!!! We did raise a dry Mai-Tai glass in Trader Vic's honor!

Trader Vic's S.F. pics:

One of Vic's own paintings:

WooHoo and I with one of the few tikis in SF TV's

Trad'r Sam was next on the agenda:

It was more like your neighborhood dive-bar with a hint of tiki:



WooHoo found another person celebrating his birthday

The Scorpion Bowls were very tasty!!!

A fun dive bar that probably had more of a tiki history in the past!

Saturday started at Trader Vic's Emeryville....Very awesome experience! Too many wonderful artifacts to mention so here are some of the highlights:


We found some Tikis out front to welcome us



Let's go in...














Our host Deborah made sure we felt welcomed!



The Mai-Tai made "the old way" was THE BEST!!!!

Everything was perfect!

We hated to leave, but there were other tiki temples to visit!!!!

Our next stop Saturday was the Kona Club (outfitted by the Notorious Bamboo Ben!)


The lovely Donna awaiting our arrival

She getting hitched in July, so guys, don't even try!

Pele blowing her stack!









I came across this Bamboo Ben Original in a hallway!!! I want it!

ok, gotta get this one in there!


The place felt like home....Great job Ben! A must see in Oakland!!!

Then we made it to the Conga Lounge
to meet up with the owner Mike and his charming wife Denise.

We had no idea what awaited us at the top of the stairs...


It was a very inviting and warm tiki tropical paradise




We hated to leave! The Pizza was fantastic and again, the hosts were top-notch!

Mike & Denise...We'll look forward to seeing youat the Forbidden Island Sunday evening??? Mucho Mahaloz again!

It's Sunday afternoon and it looks like it's Forbidden Island this evening and the Tonga Room tonight, then we're outta here! (And we're taking this fabulous weather back with us!!!) LOL!!! It's been great to meet up with some of the NorCal TC Ohana! You all are more than welcome to partake in our hospitality when you venture down south!!!
SoccerTiki & WooHooWahine

How fun....great pictures...certainly inspires me to get my arse over to FI and TV Emeryville. Kona Club looked awesome!!! Thanks for the pictures. :)

FATIMA BLUSH: Oh, how reckless of me. I made you all wet.
JAMES BOND: Yes, but my martini is still dry.

VampTiki

[ Edited by: VampiressRN 2007-02-18 17:39 ]

Welcome Home! Great Pictures as always! Glad you two had so much fun! You guys even visited the grave of Trader Vic! Wow! You two are truly Hardcore Tikiphiles! Thanks for sharing all those cool photos/locations with us! Rest up now! You got a Saturday night Tonga Hut event to attend! WOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOO!

One last WOOOHOOO to Everyone at Forbidden Island :) Mucho Mahalo once again for making our trip up North Tiki-rrific :) Looking forward to seeing you all again
soon.

The proprieters Conga Mike and Martiki

SoccerTiki, Mai-Tai, WooHooWahine and Mrs Conga Mike sharing a very tasty Scorpion Bowl made by the mix-master Martiki

Conga Mike shows us the back of their very cool bowling shirts (which they were out of or SoccerTiki'd own one!)

Mai-Tai, Coco Loco, Conga Mike and the Mrs & Martiki join us for one last photo op!

Some great decor!

[ Edited by: WooHooWahine 2007-02-19 16:51 ]

I'm tired! One last thanks to everyone who showed us soooo much hospitality!!! And Martiki...very tasty drinks!(Especially the mystery concoction!)

We look forward to returning the hospitality to all!

Anyone wanting to do the Bay area tiki experience, use this thread or PM us for ideas!

WoooooHoooOOOOooooooo!
SoccerTiki

WooHoo and Soccer Tiki,
Thanks for taking and posting so many pictures. It looks like WooHoo had a great birthday. You two are the best!

It was an absolute pleasure getting to know you both over the weekend.
Pity we couldn't do any of the SF Tiki with you. Oh well, next time.

Happy Birthday once again, Woohoo!!
We feel honored that you chose to spend it amongst us.

Looking forward to drinking with you guys in the near future!!

Mahalo!!

On 2007-02-19 17:05, SoccerTiki wrote:
I'm tired!

I bet! You guys really did up the Bay Area the right way - and most of it without a car!

It was great to meet you two. Glad you got to experience some Ohana Nor Cal style. I'm still full from that Philly Cheese steak sandwich! Cheers!

Mahalo Soccertiki & Woohoowahine: Wonderful photos, looks like you guys hit them all. My Wahine and I are starting our Bay Area crawl on St. Patrick's Day. Great tip on the happy hour at the Tonga Room. I'm a little sad that the new Trader Vic in SF has so little Tiki, because we are staying just blocks away from it. But, it looks like Emeryville more than make up for it. Thanks again! Tiki Leki

By all means check out the T.V. in S.F.! We just weren't impressed with the food and drinks... And we were expecting more. There is definitely some decor worth seeing and there may be better bartenders when you go. Just so you know, the happy hour is only from 3:30 to 5pm... The Tonga room is definitely the place for HH!!!! And Conga Mike is right about the pizza (and munchies) at The Conga Room are a must try. It's always the right time to stop by the Forbidden Island! Friendly staff, great decor and tasty drinks!

I have to say, the thought of a "tropical drink" is not appealing after 4 days lava bowls, scorpion bowls, tonga punches, mai-tai's, fog cutters and "mystery drinks"!!!

On second thought...Gimme an old school Trader Vic Mai-Tai!!!

Great pictures Soccer/WooHoo mahalo for posting. Haven't seen you guys since Catalina last year. See you at the Tonga Hut in a couple of days. Aloha

After seeing the thread near the top of the hot topics. I thought I'd run through it again and relive our (WooHooWahine's and my) awesome San Francisco tiki experience! Ah... what fun! (And it only took about 4 days to recover when we got home!) Again, it was very cool to meet so many fun freaky tikis and make some new friends!

Coco Loco and Mai-Tai, we'll see you this week here in SoCal. Conga Mike and Denise, are we still on for dinner this Sunday?

Here are some pics of our recent Tiki Trek to The Bay Area for the Forbidden Island Anniversary Party:

Our First Stop: Trader Vic's Emeryville along with our Partner in Crime: Cheekygirl


Brad Our Favorite TV's Bartender

Our Favorite TV's Hostess who knows the True Spirit of Aloha

TV's Manager, Claudette, greeted us with a Great Big Smile

Next Stop: The Kona Club:

This would look great in The SoccerTiki Grotto LOL



Saturday Night Pre-Partying at Forbidden Island

Mai Tai & SoccerTiki taste-testing the drinks :)

[ Edited by: WooHooWahine 2007-04-26 09:28 ]

WooHooo! It's been Quite a While, SoccerTiki and I will be Celebrating SoccerTiki's Big 50 in the Bay Area March 20-March 23. We plan on hitting The Tonga Room Wednesday Night, Smuggler's Cove for The 1st Time Thursday Night, & Forbidden Island Friday Night. If you have any suggestions of places to go, things to do, places to eat & drink, etc. etc. let us know. We can't wait to see The Nor Cal Tiki Central Ohana :)

[ Edited by: WooHooWahine 2013-03-13 11:00 ]