Tag: Mike Jones

Posted on

The Hukilau guests to take a Tiki Road Trip; new Shag merchandise in the works

If the idea of a cross-country road trip to five Tiki bars in five different states seems daunting, The Hukilau will make it easy for you during the 15th annual gathering of Polynesian Pop enthusiasts June 8-12 in Fort Lauderdale. During the event’s Friday afternoon festivities, guests will have the opportunity to sip cocktails and chat up the bar staff from five current and upcoming Tiki establishments spread across the Southeast, East and Midwest.
More below: New sponsor rums | Shag glassware, more merch

Tiki Road Trip Pool Party

The Tiki Road Trip Pool Party will include cocktails from four well-known tropical drink destinations: Porco Lounge & Tiki Room (Cleveland), Foundation Tiki Bar (Milwaukee), Aku Aku (Orlando), plus The Happiest Hour and Slowly Shirley (New York City). Also joining the party will be Cooking Channel star Jim Stacy, who will be offering up a sneak preview of his upcoming Tiki bar in Atlanta, the Barnacled Mermaid.

Also on hand will be James Teitelbaum, whose seminal 2003 book, Tiki Road Trip, inspired the party (as well as many actual trips). The book chronicled Teitelbaum’s travels to Tiki bars across the world while he was a touring musician in the early days of the Tiki revival. Updated in 2007, the book also documents many legendary establishments from the past. Teitelbaum will be signing copies of both Tiki Road Trip and his latest book, Destination: Cocktails: The Traveler’s Guide to Superior Libations (2012), at a time to be announced in the Tiki Treasures Bazaar.

The Hukilau: June 8-12, 2016, at the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 and The Mai-Kai restaurant in Fort Lauderdale.
* Buy tickets, passes | Book hotel | Schedule | Locations
* Recent Atomic Grog coverage: Raiders of the Lost Tiki Culture symposium, new sponsors, Pier 66 hotel news

The Pier 66 pool will be transformed into a Route 66 of tropical cocktails during the Tiki Road Trip Pool Party on Friday, June 10, during The Hukilau.
The Pier 66 pool will be transformed into a Route 66 of tropical cocktails during the Tiki Road Trip Pool Party on Friday, June 10, during The Hukilau.

Tickets for the Tiki Road Trip Pool Party are available now for just $20 for weekend passholders, $49 for non-passholders. It will run from noon to 4 p.m. in the courtyard surrounding the main pool at the host hotel, the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 in Fort Lauderdale. It’s a good idea to snag a weekend pass before they sell out. The Aloha Pass ($155) includes Thursday through Sunday, while the Luau Pass ($135) covers Friday through Sunday.

The Hukilau’s co-founder/organizer, Christie “Tiki Kiliki” White, said a pool party has been a top guest request since the event moved to Pier 66 last year. The waterfront hotel includes what it calls a “three-pool tropical oasis” in its center courtyard, and White plans to put it to good use with what she’s calling an “epic pool party” featuring “five bars serving the best in exotic cocktails from around the U.S.”

Continue reading “The Hukilau guests to take a Tiki Road Trip; new Shag merchandise in the works”

Minimalist Tiki
Posted on

The Hukilau photo highlights: Saturday’s cocktail symposium, Tiki Treasures Bazaar, mermaid swimshow, Main Event at The Mai-Kai; Sunday’s Finale

Check out images from the fourth and fifth days of festivities during The Hukilau’s 14th annual Tiki weekender in Fort Lauderdale.
Photos by day: Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday/Sunday

PHOTOS FROM SATURDAY, JUNE 13
Jump below: Tiki Treasures Bazaar | Mermaid show | Main Event | Sunday’s Finale

Brigands, Barons & Beachcombers: The Many Faces of Planter’s Punch

King Kukulele (left) introduces Beachbum Berry and Brian Miller (right) to the sold-out audience in the Panorama Ballroom at the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 hotel. (Photo by Go11Events.com)King Kukulele (left) introduces Jeff “Beachbum” Berry and Brian Miller (right) to the sold-out audience in the Panorama Ballroom at the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 hotel. (Photo by Go11Events.com)

The first sample drinks arrive quickly. (Photo by Go11Events.com)The first sample drinks arrive quickly. (Photo by Go11Events.com)

Jeff “Beachbum” Berry, author of six definitive books on Tiki cocktails and owner of Latitude 29 in New Orleans, kicks off the symposium on one of history’s most iconic drinks. (Atomic Grog photo)Jeff “Beachbum” Berry, author of six definitive books on Tiki cocktails and owner of Latitude 29 in New Orleans, kicks off the symposium on one of history’s most iconic drinks. (Atomic Grog photo)

Brian Miller (Tiki Mondays With Miller), who Beachbum Berrry credits with bringing Tiki back to New York City, mixes up a cocktail. (Atomic Grog photo)Brian Miller (Tiki Mondays With Miller), who Beachbum Berrry credits with bringing Tiki back to New York City, mixes up a cocktail. (Atomic Grog photo)

Continue reading “The Hukilau photo highlights: Saturday’s cocktail symposium, Tiki Treasures Bazaar, mermaid swimshow, Main Event at The Mai-Kai; Sunday’s Finale”

Posted on

Following ‘magical’ 2014, Tiki Kiliki has big plans for The Hukilau in 2015 and beyond

After coming precariously close to saying aloha and goodbye to The Hukilau, the long-running Tiki event she has organized since 2002, Christie “Tiki Kiliki” White is sure glad things turned out differently. “For me, it was the best event in the history of The Hukilau,” she said of the five-day festival in June that not only marked the 13th annual gathering of vintage culture devotees from around the world, but also a new beginning.

The Hukilau's Christie "Tiki Kiliki" White introduces her new partners, Richard Oneslager (left) and Mike Zielinski, during Saturday night's Main Event at The Mai-Kai.
The Hukilau’s Christie “Tiki Kiliki” White introduces her new partners, Richard Oneslager (left) and Mike Zielinski, during Saturday night’s Main Event at The Mai-Kai.

Just months before she planned to close the books on The Hukilau for good, White was approached by two fans of the event who also happened to be experienced businessmen and event organizers who were eager to strike up a partnership. “I consider myself a very lucky person,” she said of the serendipity of the happenstance that led to The Hukilau not only surviving to see 2015, but becoming poised to thrive and reach new audiences across the country.

I sat down with Tiki Kiliki recently at The Mai-Kai, the beloved 57-year-old Polynesian restaurant that serves as the inspiration for the event, to get the lowdown on what she and her new partners, Richard Oneslager and Mike Zielinski, have in the works for The Hukilau and how their mutually beneficial partnership came about. But first, a look back at that memorable event in June that was expanded to five days in anticipation of a last hurrah. Instead, it turned into a celebration of what’s to come.

The Hukilau 2014 was held June 11-15 at the Bahia Mar Beach Resort and The Mai-Kai in Fort Lauderdale.
See below: Gallery of 62 photos from The Atomic Grog. Click on bold links below for galleries by the official photographers at Go11 Media.
Related: The Hukilau offers a deep dive into the history of porthole cocktail lounges
The Hukilau 2015 will be held June 10-14. Get updates at TheHukilau.com and Facebook.

In the waning hours of The Hukilau on Sunday, artist Crazy Al Evans and author Jeff "Beachbum" Berry get one last chance to savor The Mai-Kai, its cocktails and its tropical garden.
In the waning hours of The Hukilau on Sunday, artist Crazy Al Evans and author Jeff “Beachbum” Berry get one last chance to savor The Mai-Kai, its cocktails and its tropical garden.

“This is going to sound really strange, but sort of like Disney, it was kind of like magic this year,” Tiki Kiliki told me. “You can’t really explain it, but everything just fell into place in a magical way. We talked about it afterwards. We don’t really know what the magic formula was, it just happened.”

The magic started on Wednesday, June 11, when what was formerly an informal night at The Mai-Kai became the Unofficial Official Pre-Party. South Florida roots/rockabilly band Slip and the Spinouts jammed in the sold-out Molokai bar while other attendees enjoyed many of the bar’s 47 classic Tiki cocktails and the restaurant’s extensive appetizer and dinner menu in the more sedate dining rooms. Logistical problems at the Sheraton Yankee Clipper forced the cancellation of Marina the Fire Eating Mermaid’s scheduled midnight swim show, but that just gave some attendees the opportunity to begin their room parties early. Disappointed guests were heartened by the fact that there was much more Marina to come.

Continue reading “Following ‘magical’ 2014, Tiki Kiliki has big plans for The Hukilau in 2015 and beyond”

Posted on

Sweetwater Bar & Grill: A shining beacon of light in South Florida’s food and drink wasteland

Update: Sweetwater introduces new cocktails, voluminous spirits menu

Unbeknownst to most of South Florida, a craft cocktail revolution has swept the country over the past decade, elevating mixology to heights not seen since the heady days following the repeal of Prohibition. With rare exceptions, our tourism-driven marketplace has no room for this kind of creativity.

From left: The freshly made Bacon Old Fashion, Skinny Dip and Airdrop cocktails. To the right is a 22-ounce Yeti Imperial Stout. Sweetwater offers something for all tastes.
From left: The freshly made Bacon Old Fashion, Skinny Dip and Airdrop cocktails. To the right is a 22-ounce Yeti Imperial Stout. Sweetwater offers something for all tastes.

But since opening in April 2011, Sweetwater Bar & Grill has with little fanfare become the area’s preeminent hidden gem for inventive adult beverages, plus gastropub-style food that’s just as decadent and delicious. The cocktails are indeed outstanding, but Sweetwater’s true triumph may be this perfectly timed head-on collision of the craft food and drink movements.

In 2012, being under-the-radar doesn’t necessarily mean a dingy back-alley location in the wrong part of town. Sweetwater is located in plain sight on South Federal Highway in Boynton Beach, but it might as well be a secret unmarked speakeasy. While foodies flocked to Delray Beach’s Atlantic Avenue and West Palm Beach’s Clematis Street, locals in south-central Palm Beach County probably thought they had Sweetwater to themselves.

But despite no advertising and little traditional media attention, word has slowly but surely circulated about the unique dining and imbibing experience awaiting at Sweetwater. We joined the chorus, raving after our initial visits in June and July. But teasing you with just a taste is quite unfair. To truly enjoy this establishment, you have to go for the gusto and sample items from across the menu, as we had the pleasure of doing on multiple occasions this summer.

Continue reading “Sweetwater Bar & Grill: A shining beacon of light in South Florida’s food and drink wasteland”

Posted on

Craft cocktail bar goes ‘swankadelic’ this Saturday

Sweetwater Goes Swankadelic
Click on the image for the Facebook event

Boynton Beach’s Sweetwater Bar and Grill, one of the cool off-the-beaten-path treasures of the South Florida cocktail scene, will vastly expand its scope of entertainment this Saturday when DJ Mike “Jetsetter” Jones spins some out-of-this-world “retro-active” tunes.

“Sweetwater Goes Swankadelic” starts around 9 p.m. and will likely continue into the wee hours at the small, year-old speakeasy on Federal Highway, just south of Woolbright Road. Sweetwater’s classic and inventive cocktails and decadent small-bites menu have garnered rave reviews from many critics, including The Palm Beach Post and New Times.

Liz Balmaseda wrote in The Post in early June that Sweetwater “exalts its boozy identity, wraps itself up in a speakeasy aesthetic, and defies its unexpected location in a Boynton Beach plaza. Yes, rarely thrilling Boynton Beach is home to Sweetwater Bar & Grill, one of the county’s funkiest bars.” She praised the “fresh and wild infusions, barrel-aged rum, mad assortment of bitters and homemade syrups, extensive craft beer menu and nicely curated wine list.”

Continue reading “Craft cocktail bar goes ‘swankadelic’ this Saturday”

Posted on

‘Mai-Kai Mixer’ on June 9 serves up cocktail flights, live music and DJ dance party

Recaps and photos – Updated June 16, 2012
* ‘Mai-Kai Mixer’ shakes up South Florida with rockin’ retro cocktail party
* Cocktail flights soar at Mai-Kai Mixer, reveal revolutionary use of rums

Event preview:

Join The Atomic Grog on Saturday, June 9, for a special party featuring exclusive flights of Mai-Kai cocktails, live surf music, and a DJ spinning retro tunes all night long. The event runs from 6 to 11 p.m. in The Molokai bar.

Skinny Jimmy & The Stingrays
Skinny Jimmy & The Stingrays (Facebook photo).

This first “Atomic Grog Mai-Kai Mixer” will mark the completion of 52 weeks of cocktail reviews, covering the entire menu of renowned tropical drinks at the legendary Polynesian palace in Fort Lauderdale. The flights, featuring three sample versions of these classic cocktails, will spotlight the recently reintroduced Lemon Hart Demerara rum. Click here for the full story.

But that’s not all. There’s a full evening of entertainment on tap. The party gets into high gear after happy hour with DJ Mike “Jetsetter” Jones and two sets of live surf music from South Florida’s Skinny Jimmy & The Stingrays. If you caught this authentic instrumental surf band opening recently for Dick Dale in West Palm Beach and Miami, you’ll know you’re in for a treat. And the Jetsetter will mix things up with his eclectic blend of surf, lounge, exotica, reggae, ska, classic punk and more.

Continue reading “‘Mai-Kai Mixer’ on June 9 serves up cocktail flights, live music and DJ dance party”