Washington Post on Tiki Drinks in Alexandria

In last Friday's Weekend section of the Washington Post was an article on Tiki drinks now being served at the Majestic Cafe in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, along with some lovely photos of them in Tiki mugs -- although the mugs themselves were nothing particularly unique or interesting in terms of their design.

Because we live up the street from there, my wife and I used to patronize the Majestic Cafe regularly before the original owners sold it to the family that owns Restaurant Eve, Eammon's fish & chippery and the PX bar in Old Town Alexandria, and the Evening Star restaurant in the Alexandria neighborhood of Del Ray. We haven't been back to the Majestic in about a year or so. The food was still as good as we remembered it, but the menu is pricey (and everything is a la carte except for the family-style Sunday dinners). We haven't been to Eve because it is one of the most expensive restaurants in Alexandria; the fish and chips at Eammons are excellent but again expensive for what you get; and our one visit to the Evening Star years ago was such a disappointment in terms of the quality of the food and the service that we've never been back (the bar upstairs is retro and fun, however). I haven't been to PX, either. I've heard it's small and the drinks are expensive but you are not supposed to cavil at the prices because of the bartender's claims to high expertise in the art of mixology.

I would be interested in what knowledgeable folks around here think of the bartender's views. Personally, I think he's erred by putting the Zombie in a volcano bowl, which may be why he thought he had to reduce the amount of alcohol.

Here is the link to the Post article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con....1202344_pf.html Here is a link to the restaurant's website, which can give you an idea of the prices they charge for food: http://www.majesticcafe.com/

Here is the text of the article if you aren't registered at the Post website:

Savoring summer cocktails at Alexandria's Majestic, Estadio, the Gibson

By Fritz Hahn
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 13, 2010; WE08

As the lazy, hazy days of summer begin to fade, the drink menus at local bars also begin to change. Before you know it, we'll be tasting Oktoberfest beers and, from there, sipping Irish coffee and hot toddies around a roaring fire.

All the more reason, then, to savor refreshing, warm-weather drinks on sultry nights. Here are a few options I'll be enjoying as often as possible for the next few weeks.

Tiki Time cocktails at the Majestic

911 King St., Alexandria. 703-837-9117. http://www.majesticcafe.com. Tiki Time cocktails: $9.75 each.

On a trip to Hawaii last year, Todd Thrasher, the rum-loving mixologist at Old Town's Restaurant Eve, PX and Majestic Cafe, found himself let down by tiki drinks.

It wasn't that the old-school fog cutter cocktails and mai tais at Don the Beachcomber in Kailua-Kona didn't taste right. "All the flavors were there," Thrasher says. But he and his wife were disappointed that the recipes were "a bastardization" of the originals, especially at a bar named after the man who invented many potent tiki drinks in the 1930s. "They're not using fresh fruit juice. [The drinks] are loaded with high-fructose corn syrup."

Back in Alexandria, Thrasher decided to re-create some favorite tropical drinks for the Majestic's summer drink menu but do them his way, with fresh juices and house-made ingredients. Take his version of a piña colada, which is not strictly a tiki cocktail but is very much of the same era. You won't find overly sugary syrups or mass-produced coconut-flavored liqueur in this breezily refreshing version -- just rum, coconut water, fresh coconut cream and pineapple juice. After one sip, you can practically feel the breeze blowing off the beach.

"It's nice and light instead of being cloying," says Misha Von Elmendorf, the owner of the nearby Misha's Coffeehouse, who stops in frequently for tiki drinks after work and favors the piña colada. "I used to drink this stuff in college. It's cool, it's fun. Let's bring it back, you know?"

The menu, which will be available until the first day of fall, is stocked with Don the Beachcomber originals, including the Missionary's Downfall, a vacation in a glass with rum, pineapple, mint and a shot of apricot brandy. From a different tiki bar-- Los Angeles's Tiki-Ti -- comes the wonderfully Polynesian Ray's Mistake. Passion fruit, guava and pineapple juices, coconut milk and dark rum are suitably tropical. The "mistake" -- a shot of gin -- adds depth to the taste.

But the most iconic of the Majestic drinks is the Zombie, a fruity mix of rums, Cointreau, papaya and lemon juices, grenadine or almond-flavored orgeat syrup served in a bowl big enough for two and topped with a burning well of overproof rum. It's hard to miss the festively colored and flaming ceramic vessels, whether they're on the bar or being carried through the dining room.

The only change from the originals, Thrasher says, is that he dialed down the alcohol because "tiki cocktails were so boozy. I changed them for the sake of not getting people so messed up that they can't enjoy the food and drinks."

Imagine: Tiki drinks so good you'll want to taste every last drop. What would Don the Beachcomber think?

Slushitos at Estadio

1520 14th St. NW. 202-319-1404. http://www.estadio-dc.com. Slushitos: $9.

From beach shacks to chain restaurants, frozen cocktails are standard on hot summer days. But let's be honest: Most of the frozen margaritas and piña coladas spinning in large tanks behind the bar are nothing more than alcohol, fruit concentrate and sugar water. Refreshing, but not very delicious.

That's the opposite of what you'll find at the new Estadio in Logan Circle, where beverage director Adam Bernbach is taking his usual approach to cocktails (fresh fruit, unexpected ingredients, plenty of booze) and serving them out of a frozen margarita machine.

Far from a bland mix of icy alcohol, these slushitos include a full-bodied Spanish-inspired fusion of sherry, lemon, quince, paprika and scotch. The rich flavors and fragrances play off each other wonderfully, especially the quince and citrus. The other option is a summery strawberry-gin mix that gets its edge from bitter Campari liqueur and spicy tarragon. Bernbach says the flavors will change every month. In a few weeks, look for a blend of banana and Irish whiskey. (And the non-slushito drinkers should be happy with the house-made Sangrias and solid selection of Spanish wine and beer.)

Dolcezza gelato floats at the Gibson

2009 14th St. NW. 202-232-2156. http://www.thegibsondc.com. Gelato floats: $12-$13.

Adult versions of children's treats have been all the rage this summer, from the peach-and-vodka snowcones at Art and Soul to the elderflower liqueur popsicles (or "poptails") at Cafe Saint-Ex.

But perhaps my favorite are the Gibson's gelato floats, which pair house-made liqueurs with custom gelato flavors invented for the Gibson by Georgetown's upscale Dolcezza.

The inspiration, says mixologist Jon Harris, came from a vintage cocktail called the Soyer au Champagne, which included cognac, champagne, pineapple and vanilla ice cream. Harris decided to make a variation closer to the classic champagne cocktail, which involves a bitters-soaked sugar cube in a glass of champagne, by using a special Angostura gelato.

Nostalgia runs deep on the menu. The Maltese, made with Irish whiskey, creme de cacao, French cider and honey/brown butter/caramel swirl gelato, tastes like a chocolate malted with sunny apple undertones, while the Virgil was inspired by Virgil's Root Beer. The mix of rum, vermouth, absinthe, mint and bitters -- plus Tahitian Vanilla gelato -- does come pretty close.

Unlike many cocktails, which become more diluted and less tasty over time, the gelato cocktails become more delicious the longer they sit in your glass, as the creamy gelato slowly infuses its flavors into the mix. Nowhere is this more evident than in my favorite of the offerings, the Slightly Odd Duck. Without the gelato, it's a pleasant, martini-ish combination of Old Tom gin, mango syrup, an aromatic balsam fir tincture and Fever Tree's bitter lemon soda. But once you add the rich, spicy beetroot and green peppercorn gelato -- as amazingly weird and wonderful as it sounds -- it becomes the most deliciously savory drink I've enjoyed in ages.

Here's the caveat about the Gibson's gelato drinks: They're only on the menu on the back patio, which is open in good weather and has only 40 seats, which are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. (Unlike the inside rooms, you can't make reservations for the patio.) It might seem like jumping though hoops, but these cocktails are worth the effort -- stop by early in the week, when it's easier to get a table.

And to think...Washington DC used to have its very own Trader Vics. Not any more. Wonder why.

It's interesting that they (think they) know the recipe for a Ray's Mistake. I know that's been debated elsewhere.
Thoughts?

Also, the Zombie doesn't fit any of Donn's recipes that I know of.
http://wiki.webtender.com/wiki/Zombie#Zombie_.281950.29

But these are minor quibbles as it does sound as if they're making a sincere effort and I'm always inclined to encourage that. It's probably better than 95% of the "tiki" drinks offered at most bars I've ever been to.

Kudos to them.

• fm

I had several drinks there this week. WOW ! Best place for exotic drinks in the metro area. Absolutely great. My final exam for a bartender serving exotic drinks is the Test Pilot, a drink I believe is very easy to make poorly. He nailed it. I wish I remembered his name. The recipes are the creation of master mixologist Todd Thrasher, more virtuoso performances from this empresario.