Tiki Central / General Tiki
Conga Lounge Oakland Mai Tai Campaign in Full Swing!
Pages: 1 25 replies
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AquaZombie
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Thu, May 21, 2009 12:47 PM
NOTE: THE FOLLOWING POST WAS ORIGINALLY STARTED UNDER "TIKI DRINKS" ORIGINAL POST: As we all know the Mai Tai was invented by Vic Bergeron at the original Trader Vic's on San Pablo Ave in Oakland WE know that, but too many citizens of Oakland do not know that. This is why MANO THANOS co-founder of THE CONGA LOUNGE in Oakland http://www.congalounge.com/ has been pestering Oakland officials to officially declare the Mai Tai the official cocktail of Oakland. Face it - Oaktown is a thriving community of colorful and creative people, but its image is marred by the constantly reported violence, which is actually limited to a few rough patches in the city. The press makes too big a deal of this aspect at the expense of all the great things this town has to offer. For too long Oakland has suffered in the shadows of its more glitzy and glamorous sister across the Bay. I'm from Jersey so I'm used to being on the wrong side of a body of water. I also know how to defend my turf (though I live in Alameda, "Oakland's Own Hawaii" and home of Forbidden Island http://www.forbiddenislandalameda.com/fi/ ) My slogan for years has been OAKLAND: HOME OF THE MAI TAI, NOT JUST THE DRIVE-BY! The Mai Tai conjures up images of exotic luxury befitting Oakland's neglected positive traits as a town of pleasant climate and diverse demographics. It's a multi-cultural cocktail of a society, and it deserves its recognition as Birthplace of the Mai Tai. As official PR dude for both FI and Conga, I recently stepped into the official fight and have scheduled a meeting next Wednesday, May 20, with Andre Jones, chief of staff for councilmember Rebecca Kaplan. Mano and his brother Molokai Mike will also be there (at my bayside condo - they'll be mixing the Mai Tais.) This is the first time the city has granted us a face to face to formally discuss this matter. I will keep you posted on its progress. Aloha and here's to OAKLAND and the CONGA LOUNGE, home of the Oakland Mai Tai Campaign. UPDATE!!!! May 21, 2009: The meeting with Andre yesterday went swimmingly. We all sat out on my deck drinking Molokai Mike's perfectly mixed versions of both the original Mai Tai recipe and the popular Conga Lounge variant. Andre himself is a very cool, laid-back dude who totally "got it." Better yet, his boss, Rebecca Kaplan, who represents Oakland as a whole, also "gets it." He characterized this proposal as a relatively easy sale and didn't anticipate any roadblocks (not like we're declaring Meth the official drug of Oakland, or the Uzi the official weapon....) He completely agrees that the dreamy, relaxing images conjured up by the Mai Tai will promote Oakland's deserved image as a diverse, multi-cultural nexus of All Things Cool. It would also counter all the negative press obsessed only with violence, which is an issue in most urban areas. Mano brought up the Sazerac being declared the official cocktail of another cosmopolitan but maligned exotic US city, New Orleans Mano, Molokai Mike and Andre [ Edited by: AquaZombie 2009-05-21 13:11 ] |
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exquisitecorpse
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Thu, May 21, 2009 3:45 PM
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VampiressRN
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Thu, May 21, 2009 6:38 PM
Wonderful update on the progress of this proposal. How exciting...the Mai Tai hits primetime in the big city. Great work everyone!!! |
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Otto
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Wed, May 27, 2009 10:59 PM
Go Mano and Will!!! |
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AquaZombie
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Tue, Jun 9, 2009 6:55 PM
UPDATE Excerpts from email from chief of staff Andre Jones in response to query re update on status of campaign: "Councilmember Kaplan is on board with moving this forward but we need to hold off until the city's budget is resolved at the end of the month....As soon as that is done this will move to the top of my to do list folllowing the 4th of July." Stay tuned, this WILL happen! aloha, Will the Thrill |
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Wayfarer
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Wed, Jun 10, 2009 10:15 AM
This is pretty cool, look forward to seeing this happen! PS- What's the Conga Lounge version of a Mai Tai? |
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Molokai Mike
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Wed, Jun 10, 2009 4:13 PM
Conga builds on the original by adding Trader Vics Amber Rum, cherry brandy, splash of Pineapple and a dark rum float. |
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christiki295
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Thu, Jun 11, 2009 7:46 AM
Can you contact the food service providers at the stadium and the arena to get them on board, too? Members of the Raidernation and Warriorfans need MaiTais at the games considering how poorly their teams perform! |
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Hakalugi
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Thu, Jun 11, 2009 8:25 AM
So if I go to the Conga Lounge and ask for a Mai Tai, would I get a Mai Tai? or the drink described above? |
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Molokai Mike
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Thu, Jun 11, 2009 11:32 AM
Oh no.An error occurred. Site administrators have been notified of the error. |