Tiki Cocktail Menu at 1886 Bar – Pasadena, CA

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Before embarking on our recent European fortnight, we had the pleasure of meeting up for drinks with the Gastronomer, G-ma’s Bakery and their respective others. We had already chosen 1886 at The Raymond in Pasadena as our destination, but I was even more psyched when I found out they had launched a tiki-influenced summer cocktail menu at the end of July.

The Los Angeles area was in the midst of a heat wave, so we snagged a table out on the patio of the Craftsman cottage. With all the tree branches tangled overhead like a roof, it felt like our own little hobbit hideout.

Each of the drinks on the menu is introduced with a brief background, such as this preface for the Zombie ($14): “This drink’s first version was created at Don the Beachcomber of Hollywood in 1934 by Donn Beach, creator of the ‘Tiki’ movement. Limit 2 per customer.” (I don’t know if that’s actually enforced or just a reference to Donn’s infamous edict, but it made me smile either way.) Their version, made with a blend of three rums, passion fruit, Demerara syrup, and lemon, lime & pineapple juice, was my favorite of the several libations we sampled that night.

I was also tempted by the Thai Iced Tea ($12), a house original dreamed up by Garrett McKechnie and made with Thai tea-infused cachaca, Demerara syrup and hand-whipped cream. With the Piña Colada ($12, white rum, Coco Lopez, bitters, pineapple & lime) I had expected a sophisticated interpretation of this quintessential boat drink, but the flavors turned out to be quite different.

Also featured is another Don the Beachcomber creation, the QB Cooler ($14), described thusly: “QB stands for Quiet Birdmen, a drinking fraternity of aviators founded by seven WWI pilots in 1921. However, this particular little drink was created by Donn Beach at his Hollywood bar in 1937, and was rumored to be the inspiration for a famous drink created by Tiki legend Trader Vic.” 1886 makes it with a three rum blend, falernum, honey & ginger syrups, lime & orange juice. However, for me the ginger was a bit too overpowering to notice much of a resemblance to the Mai Tai in this case.

These were just a few of their many intriguing cocktails. For more on 1886, check out ThirstyinLA’s recap of more of their summer tipples, plus the Gastronomer’s past post about this craft cocktail bar.

1886 Bar at The Raymond Restaurant
1250 S. Fair Oaks Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91105
626-441-3136

Tiki on TV: Family Feud Edition

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Mr. Baseball and I have a fondness for “Family Feud,” mostly because we think we’d be awesome at it. We’ve spent many a commercial break discussing who from our close kin would make the ideal team. (Sidenote: I love when GSN follows an episode up with “The $25,000 Pyramid”—that theme song makes me dancey!)

This game show was one of the last places I would expect to find anything tiki, but there they were decorating the set in a few Tournament of Champions reruns from when Richard Karn was hosting.

The grand prize was a trip to Hawaii, so they dressed everybody up in Aloha wear and put up some fake palm trees, tikis and surfboards.

There is one thing that always perplexes us about the contestants on “The Feud.” Why would anyone ever pass on a category? Always play! If you ever find yourself on the show, you’ll thank me. Actually, I don’t even know if they’re still filming new episodes…

“The Colors of Mary Blair” Art at The Disney Gallery

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Through November, The Disney Gallery at Disneyland has an exhibition entitled “The Colors of Mary Blair.” During her tenure at Walt Disney Studios, Blair’s concept art served as inspiration to the animators for such movies as “Peter Pan,” “Alice in Wonderland,” and “Cinderella.” She later left to become a freelance illustrator, but was brought back by Walt Disney to work on “It’s a Small World.”

On display are her original art for the iconic abstract exterior of the ride, as well as the tableaux for various countries, including this “New Guinea Scene” (1965). I love the designs on the tribal shields. The plaque next to it included this fun fact: In keeping with the lyrics of the theme song “It’s a Small World” that says “There is just one moon and one golden sun,” Blair incorporated a stylized sun or moon in every scene.

“Pacific Paradise Collage” (1965) is labeled as a suggested treatment for Tahiti or Hawaii. Mary Blair was especially appreciated for her “color styling,” and this piece shows how she could use that to create a romantic and idyllic mood.

Checking out these tiki-esque designs was all well and good, but I was really blown away by the art for Cinderella. One very cool aspect of The Disney Gallery that I just recently discovered is that all the featured images can be bought as prints from the Art on Demand kiosks in the stores.