A Tiki Thirstday Escape August 15, 2019

A surprised added Tiki Thirstday this week, just before Chinese New Year. We were originally going to skip this week due to the Chinese holiday, but Chef Fu had a change of mind and thought it would be a good night to Mai Tai after all. Please join us in a night of Tiki and we'll also welcome the Year of the Rooster!

For more info on this week's Tiki Thirstday, go to the FIRST post of this thread.

Aloha,
Dr. Coruba

Mahalos to the 33+ who made it out to light the torches last week. A great time, and especially because we had so many old friends who had not been by for awhile. The joint was jumpin' and hope we keep it on a roll. Mai Tai '44s, Fog Cutters and Dark 'n' Stormys were excellent and on special that night.

Mahalo to Donald for the pic. Keep the snaps coming!

For more info on this week's Tiki Thirstday, go to the FIRST post of this thread.

Aloha,
Dr. Coruba

Mahalos to the 30+ who made it another great Tiki Thirstday. I have a belated New Year's resolution to try to post more photos. For a long time I did not have a camera or a phone that took a ok photo, but now I do. More to come (I hope).

For more info on this week's Tiki Thirstday, go to the FIRST post of this thread.

Aloha,
Dr. Coruba

Mahalos to all who attended February 9th. Despite the very cold weather, we did manage to fill the lounge once again for a Tiki Hat Trick (3 weeks in a row with more than 25 attendees). It is a great start to our 4th year of Tiki Thirstdays. Mahalos as always to our hosts Chef Fu and Miss Ling.

While our host bar isn't full bore Tiki, the owner has made moves in the right direction - adding thatch to the bar, playing Exotica on the sound system, some midcenturymod lighting effects, and most recently some very nice Tiki torches lit out front on our Tiki Thirstday nights. Our regulars on Tiki Thirstday nights add a lot to the Aloha look and spirit with their Tiki shirts, dresses and jewelry. A bonus is some of the best Chinese food in the DC area.

What really commends House of Foong Lin to any Tikiphile and traveler is a truly superior drink menu. The Chef/owner's brother was once a bartender at the Trader Vic's in Washington, DC and that experience is reflected in the cocktails. The menu features about 20 classic Exotics including 3 great Mai Tais. A house Mai Tai that they have been serving for over 30 years made with their own house made mix (very similar to what the TV bartenders use). A Mai Tai '44 which is a very, very spot on Trader Vic's Mai Tai from scratch featuring Coruba Dark rum. And a Mai Tai 52 which is the Mai Tai '44 made richer by using their best premium rum, Zacapa 23.

There are craft cocktail bars in DC that are on the cutting edge of mixology including some Tiki drinks, and I recommend them for those who enjoy that experience. But for something more "old school" (and affordable) a visit to House of Foong Lin is well rewarded.

If you have travel that brings you to the DC/Baltimore area and are interested in dropping in some Thursday night, please PM me here, or email me at TikiThirstday(at)gmail.com, I'd be happy to help with your visit.

Aloha! Hope to see YOU in 2017,
Dr. Coruba

[ Edited by: Dr. Coruba 2017-02-11 08:00 ]

February 16th recap:

Though our Freaky February in DC has had record temps in the 70s some nights, our Tiki Thirstdays have been seasonably chilly making the seats by the fireplace the best seats in the house by far. Mahalos to those who have been undaunted and still show up in their Aloha shirts and dresses. We were just shy of 30 last week, but any time our attendance in February is anywhere near the outside temp, that's pretty good in my book.

With our mid January start this year, we are well into our 4th year of Tiki Thirstdays, but next month on March 16th we will be celebrating our "official" Anniversary Night. Please save the date and mark your calendar. We will be having special door prizes, including at least three $20 Tiki Thirstday Gift Certificates. Look for more details here shortly.

For more info on this week's Tiki Thirstday, go to the FIRST post of this thread.

From Freaky February's crazy warm weather, to March Madness...

Save the Date: March 16, 2017
It's Tiki Thirstday Anniversary Night. Though we started our 4th year of Tiki Thirstdays in January this year, we will be celebrating the start of it all on March 16. Along with the usual Tiki Drink specials and Exotic music, we will have some special and extra door prize drawings.

For more info on this week's Tiki Thirstday, go to the FIRST post of this thread.

In March 2014, a small group of local Tikiphiles from Maryland, DC, and Virginia who had given up waiting for a "real" Tiki bar to open up in the area (not counting craft cocktail bars which had a small number of Tiki style drinks) decided to have a social weekly meet up at the one restaurant around that had a really decent classic Tiki drink menu. When we started, WE were the Tiki in the bar. We showed up in Tiki shirts, Tiki dresses and accessories. The owner ran $5 Tiki drink specials, let us take over the music for the lounge (we play hours and hours of Exotica), and for some added ambiance, we play DVDs of beautiful Hawaiian and South Pacific island scenes. It also helped that the restaurant, House of Foong Lin, had some of the best Chinese food in the area.

Good times are contagious and in a few weeks our weekly Tiki night out was often filling the bar and the lounge. The owner saw that there was good business in our Tiki Thirstday and began to add some additional Tiki decor. He installed thatch over the bar and some '60s lighting fixtures. Some of our group donated some carved Tikis which now adorn the bar. It was far, far from being a high TIPSY Tiki bar, but after a few $5 Mai Tai '44s (they do a great classic Trader Vic Mai Tai) you'd be surprised how close to Bali Hai you can get [[[((8-0))]]]

What started as a lark among a few friends has now been running almost all of 2014, 2015, and 2016. In January we started our 4th year of Tiki Thirstdays. Our nights range from a dozen or so at the bar and nights that are in the 30s and 40s where we fill the bar, the entire lounge and spill in to the adjacent dining room. None of this is to boast, but simply to say if you are in or passing through the Maryland/DC/Northern Virginia area on Thursday nights ** there IS a Tiki night out worth going to** and we'd love to have you.

Although EVERY Tiki Thirstday is pretty much a party, we will be making this week's March 16th gathering a little more special, a little extra Aloha. The classic Tiki drink specials will be: Mai Tai '44, Sneaky Tiki, and Black Magic. We will have at least 4 door prizes over the course of the evening, including $20 Tiki Thirstday Certificates, and a copy of Martin Cate's book "Smuggler's Cove".

Wearing Tiki / Hawaiian / Island wear is not required, but strongly encouraged and rewarded. All first timers and those wearing some kind of Tiki / Hawaiian / Island wear will be entered into our door prize drawing. To keep getting free door prize entries after your first visit, you do need to be wearing some kind of Tiki/Aloha (jewelry, leis, :sheckymug: Tiki mugs and accessories all count). Beside adding to the festive look to our evening, everyone know that Tiki drinks taste when you are wearing something Tiki :wink:

For dates, address, and more details of this weeks Tiki Thirstday, go to the FIRST post of this thread.

Aloha!
Dr. Coruba

Small favor... IF you are local to the DC Metro area (Suburban Maryland, DC, Norther Virginia), AND you are on Facebook, please drop in at https://www.facebook.com/groups/TikiThirstday/

April 13th
The weather has been whipsawing between cold enough for the fireplace and hot enough for the beach lately. But hot or cold, the Mai Tais are always mighty fine. Hope you can make it this week.

For dates, address, and more details of this weeks Tiki Thirstday, go to the FIRST post of this thread.

Aloha!
Dr. Coruba

Save the Date! Saturday, May 13
One of several Tiki Thirstdayers who answered the call for an outdoor venue for us to enjoy DC's altogether too brief Spring weather, has offered up his home and backyard for May 13. So we are all invited by Brian L. to visit the Boom Boom Room, his "pop-up" Tiki bar. Due to what may be a moderately large number of people, this will be a BYOD event (tho he does plan to mix up something special as a "Welcome to the Boom Boom Room" cocktail to kick off the evening). For those inclined, feel free bring something to share or show off. More details to come as they develop.

Date: Saturday, May 13
Time: 6 pm until the neighbors complain
Where: The Boom Boom Room,
Herndon, VA (PM/message me for the address)
RSVP: To help Brian have some sense of how many to plan for, please email [email protected]

Our First "Rum Robin" - June 1 (NOTE: date rescheduled from May 4)
We'd like to do something completely different... Go fish around your home stock of rum. Do you have a overstock of anything, or something you wouldn't mind gifting out? Well, wrap/bag it up and bring it on Tiki Thirstday, June 1. We will use these rum "donations" for a drawing that night.

Usual rules for getting a drawing ticket apply: first timers automatically get a ticket, and anyone else wearing at least some kind of Aloha will get a ticket. As a twist, those who bring a bottle can have two tickets. The drawing for the rum will be from the tickets of those present, and you must be present to win. We'll keep drawing until all the bottles have found good homes.

A few simple rules: 1) Please wrap up/bag/cover up the bottles. Doing something like this is very unusual in a restaurant, so we do need to be discreet. We shouldn't be handing out uncovered bottles. 2) Don't feel like you have to go out and buy something to bring (unless you want to) - you don't have to bring a bottle to participate.

We will start the drawing when the main dining room (next to the bar and lounge) has died down or finished up for the night. Any winner that looks younger than 30 will get the ultimate compliment by being carded!

For dates, address, and more details of this weeks Tiki Thirstday, go to the FIRST post of this thread.

Aloha!
Dr. Coruba

(Keeping up with a weekly post is a bit much at the moment, so for now I am posting the dates for each month.
Weekly updates can still be found on http://www.facebook.com/groups/TikiThirstday/ )

Our first Rum Robin was fun. There were 6 bottles up for grabs as well as a mystery bottle. All found good and appreciative homes.

For dates, address, and more details of this weeks Tiki Thirstday, go to the FIRST post of this thread.

Aloha!
Dr. Coruba

Sorry for going dark for a couple of months. Had some health issues which got the better of me for awhile. I'm back, not ready to run any marathons, but I'm up for an evening at the Lounge any time.

Because the event board is not as busy as some of the other forums, we'll stick with the monthly update for now.
Weekly updates can still be found on http://www.facebook.com/groups/TikiThirstday/

We've had a pretty great Tiki summer here in DC. Last month Martin Cate was in town at the Smithsonian for a cocktail event, and several of the craft cocktail bars had a special Tiki treasure hunt.

Tiki Thirstday is going strong and we WILL be meeting every Thursday from now until Thanksgiving.

For dates, address, and more details of this weeks Tiki Thirstday, go to the FIRST post of this thread.

Aloha!
Dr. Coruba

Hard to believe we're down to the last Tiki Thirstdays of 2017. Just 6 to go until we take our annual Holiday Hiatus. Not from Tiki, just the Thursday night gatherings during the big holidays of November & December. Our last Tiki Thirstday of 2017 will be November 16th.

Until then Chef Fu and the House of Foong Lin will keep the Tiki torches lit for us, and any night now, he'll get the fireplace in the Lounge roaring for us. If you are in the DC area, or are passing through, our weekly gathering of the local Ohana would love for you to drop by for a great Mai Tai and even better company.

For dates, address, and more details of this weeks Tiki Thirstday, go to the FIRST post of this thread.

Aloha!
Dr. Coruba

Apologies for letting way too much time go by since the last post! Some catching up is in order.

House of Foong Lin, whose cocktail DNA goes back to the long closed DC Trader Vic's, has always been a place to get a decent Mai Tai and a host of other Tiki classics (I like the HoFL Navy Grog better than the Trader Vic's version). And some really good Chinese food. The only thing stopping them from being a first rate Tiki bar was the decor. Until recently.

Earlier this year, Chef Fu green lighted a fairly extensive Tiki makeover of the bar and lounge. Not being able to source a local contractor with bamboo/thatch/matting experience, he tapped into our local Tiki community and found someone who agreed to tackle the makeover. This Tikiphile along with his family and joined by other Tiki friends, worked weekends and spare evenings for over 6 months to do a damn fine job of Tiki-fication.

Before:

And After:

Though obviously and throughly biased, I think this makeover vaults HoFL into being THE best Tiki bar in DC.
To be fair, there ARE spots which are doing the craft cocktail approach to Tiki drinks. And if the pedigree of absolutely everything in your glass right down to the artisanal ice is paramount to you, other bars may be to your more to you liking. But for me Tiki is far more than just what I sip. I want the bamboo, thatch, matting, and Exotica music too. A really good Tiki bar experience is more than a sip, it is escape. Something you can get lost in, if only for a little while.

What also sets House of Foong Lin apart (and imo above the others in DC) are the local Tiki people that support it. Not since the long closed Honolulu has any other DC Tiki bar managed to inspire that feeling of Ohana in its regulars. For many of us it isn't just going out to a restaurant, but a meeting place, our Tiki version of Cheers.

And though HoFL is now fully Tiki 7 days a week, Tiki Thirstday still meets EVERY Thursday night as DC's longest running Tiki social. Drop on in, you'll be glad you did.

For dates, address, and more details of this weeks Tiki Thirstday, go to the FIRST post of this thread.

Aloha!
Dr. Coruba

What a difference a year makes. Last year at this time the bar and lounge got a big Tiki makeover. Two weeks ago the Washington Post named House of Foong Lin as one of The Best Tiki Bars in the DC Area (http://tiny.cc/DCTikiBars). From the article:

On 2019-07-25, The Washington Post wrote:

If bars like Archipelago are the modern version of tiki, then the House of Foong Lin is a reminder of tiki’s recent past, when, after the fad waned in the 1970s, Chinese and Thai restaurants were responsible for keeping sweet, fruity rum drinks and kitschy mugs from disappearing completely. This Bethesda restaurant has enjoyed a loyal following of tiki enthusiasts for years, and last summer, it redecorated its bar and lounge in a riot of tiki style, including masks and “South Pacific” posters, and a shark jaw hanging on the thatched roof over the bar.

Though it’s always tiki time at the House of Foong Lin, Thursday night is the restaurant’s long-standing tiki night. Crowds decked out in Hawaiian shirts and straw hats enjoy drink specials — the Mai Tai 44, modeled on Trader Vic’s original recipe; a potent Painkiller; a sweet and pineappley Dr. Foo — while videos of Bora Bora’s palm trees, beaches and blue lagoons play on a large screen. (If you want to join in the spirit, just borrow a spare Hawaiian shirt from the coat rack.)

The Chinese cuisine includes plenty of dishes that would have been familiar to Trader Vic diners: hoisin-heavy spare ribs, crab rangoon, shrimp toast, spicy shrimp dumplings. The drink menu, which contains more than two dozen options, is a relic, too: The blurb for the bitter-heavy Sneaky Tiki warns that “One too many and you’ll know how this drink got its name!” But spend a couple of happy hours at the House of Foong Lin, and you’ll know why it has so many regulars.

For those local to DC, or Tiki folk passing through, we gather EVERY Thursday for an evening full of Aloha, $6 Trader Vic's style Mai Tais (from scratch!), Exotica and Ohana. For dates, address, and more details of this weeks Tiki Thirstday, go to the FIRST post of this thread.

Aloha!
Dr. Coruba

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[ Edited by 3vab on 2022-09-25 11:21:31 ]