Author Archives: The Tiki Chick

Trader Vic’s – Scottsdale, AZ

Posted by The Tiki Chick in Bar & Restaurant Reviews and tagged with , , , , , , ,

Last month Mr. Hockey morphed back into Mr. Baseball when he went to Cubs fantasy camp at their spring training grounds in Mesa, AZ. I flew out there to cheer him on…and drag him (and various other members of our families) to a couple tiki spots, like Trader Vic’s in neighboring Scottsdale.

When we first walked in, I was impressed by the huge Japanese fish floats hanging over the reservation stand. (Or as Mr. Baseball might so eloquently put it: Nice balls!)

According to my trusty Tiki Road Trip guide, this branch opened at the Hotel Valley Ho in 2006. The previous Trader Vic’s in Scottsdale operated for almost 40 years (1962-1990) before shuttering.

There are some traditional design elements, like tall tiki columns, tribal masks, and a glass-enclosed Chinese oven, but it also feels very modern with the floor-to-ceiling windows and industrial touches like exposed ducts and cement.

One nitpicky detail I noticed was the shade of the Maori candleholders on the tables was a lot lighter compared to the one I picked up at the Trader Vic’s warehouse sale.

We headed to the bar and took a couple low-slung seats around a drum-inspired table. We were still able to enjoy the perpetually fair weather, though, because the lounge area opens up to the outdoors where there’s a fountain and swank fire pit

At Trader Vic’s Scottsdale, there’s double happy hour: Monday through Saturday from 4 p.m.-6 p.m. and 9 p.m.-11 p.m., and all day on Sundays starting at 4 p.m. Bar bites are $5, beers $3, glasses of wine and six classic Vic’s cocktails (Mai Tai, Bahia, Zombie, etc.) are $6.

The food and drink menus seem to be pretty standard across most Trader Vic’s. However, each of them has a different signature drink. The Cactus Bloom was a bubblegum pink concoction made with tequila, Pisco brandy, lemoncello, fruit juices and prickly pear syrup. My companions opted for the Gun Club Punch and Zombie (middle & right).

Also unique to this location were the happy hour offerings. Unfortunately I wasn’t a big fan of the Char Siu Bao: two giant snowball-sized steamed buns with barbecue pork, chili-garlic sauce and pickled daikon. The shredded meat inside was kind of dry, and there wasn’t enough sauce to overcome it.

I kept stealing bites of what Mr. Baseball ordered: the Chinese Oven Roasted Maui Burger with sweet potato fries. The Hawaiian flatbread (more like ciabatta) and sambal cream cheese were a very tasty twist. I noticed a lot of people ordering it. And of all the $5 “tidbits” available, I think it gives you the most bang for your buck.

It may not be the most tiki of all Trader Vic’s, but I thought the Scottsdale location still had a lot of style. The hosts and servers were super nice, and big bonus points for having such a great weekend happy hour.

Trader Vic’s Scottsdale
Hotel Valley Ho
6850 E. Main St.
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
480-248-2000

(UPDATE: Trader Vic’s Scottsdale closed July 30, 2011)

Trader Vic's on Urbanspoon

Happy (Tiki) Valentine’s Day!

Posted by The Tiki Chick in Other Tiki Topics and tagged with ,

I got these elementary-school-style tiki valentines from Eric October back at the Tiki Luau Night at the Egyptian. Aren’t they adorable? (And this is only half of the super cute set.) Happy Valentine’s Day, folks!

UPDATE: These are available for purchase in his Etsy shop.

Shag’s Disney Cruise Line Art & Merchandise

Posted by The Tiki Chick in Shag and tagged with , , ,

So last weekend I was at Disneyland (again) and discovered to my dismay that the Adventureland glasses were out of stock (hopefully that’s just temporary). However I was delighted to find that Shag’s merch for the Disney Cruise line had made their debut at the Disney Gallery. Above is ‘Island Intermission,’ a limited edition giclee priced at $395.

I’m a bit more frugal than that, so I opted for the postcard set ($18) that included two cards of each of the four designs. There are those pirate kids again—I remembered them from Shag’s Pirates of the Caribbean stuff and from this diptych from his macabre show Autumn’s Come Undone.

Also on display were a coaster set, decanter, four different glasses, and two shirts (girls’ printed tee and an aloha shirt, seen below). I was kind of surprised to find all this there because the Disney blog said it would only be available on the ship.

The selection of items was pretty similar to what Disney and Shag rolled out for the Haunted Mansion’s 40th Anniversary a year and a half ago.

Since there wasn’t anything overtly tiki about all that I’ll also include Shag’s map of Disney World, with a tiki for the Polynesian Resort. This print and more will be released this summer as part of the park’s 40th anniversary celebration.