Archipelago: Washington D.C. - November 24, 2017

Friday, November 24, 2017

As part of the trip to visit my brother and his family I had the chance to visit Washington D.C.'s only tiki bar, Archipelago. Special thanks to Dale for being the designated driver and for his willingness to navigate the city. Dale and I had a blast visiting this place and spending time with my brother, mom, sister-in-law, nephew, and nieces. I think it would be safe to say that they all had a fantastic time as well.

We got there just as they opened at 5 p.m. We were only one of two parties to help open the place up for the evening. This was perfect for the kids as it wasn't crowded or noisy yet and allowed us to get them back home again before bedtime. Although the bar didn't offer entrees there were enough appetizer options to make a light meal for everyone. We got the nachos, ham and cheese sliders, chicken wings, and egg rolls. 

Archipelago: Washington D.C. - November 24, 2017

Friday, November 24, 2017

Stephanie started out with the Puka Puka Punch which is a tiki drink that goes back to 1937. I went with the Joey's Banana Hammock. Why? Because my name in it and, well, just because. Both were incredibly tasty. Stephanie's second drink was called The Jungle Room Experience. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of that one. My second drink was the Jet Pilot.

Jet Pilot

The Jet Pilot was particularly intriguing to me because I didn't know this was a real cocktail.  Back in April when Dale and I visited John and Dianne in Denver we all headed to the city's tiki bar, Adrift. We met a colorful character at the bar who was 3 sheets to the wind and kept asking the bartenders to make a Jet Pilot. They wouldn't. I figured the reason was because it wasn't a real drink. I now think the real reason was because they may have cut him off as the drink is quite POTENT! The version at Archipelago  was even more awesome because it comes in a shark tiki mug. The kids all thought that was pretty cool. So did I.

Menu

Menu

Puka Puka Punch & Joey's Banana Hammock

Joey's Banana Hammock

Archipelago: Washington D.C. - November 24, 2017

Friday, November 24, 2017

I lightened the above picture quite a bit to show the bar area more clearly. The light fixtures above the bar in that photo are much more visible in the bar's natural light (see images below).

Archipelago: Washington D.C. - November 24, 2017

Friday, November 24, 2017

Every review I read of Archipelago before walking in the door made mention of their shrine to Tom Sellback's iconic television character, Magnum P.I. You have to ask to see it as it is behind a cupboard door. Our server opened it up for us. The kids were clueless as to what the show was but all the adults thought it was pretty cool - especially Mom!

Archipelago: Washington D.C. - November 24, 2017

Friday, November 24, 2017

As the Archipelago adventure started to wind down, it was time to start thinking about souvenirs. The shark mug the Jet Pilot came in was a must (see above photo). I also went with a mermaid mug (see photo below) which is much more light blue than it appears in the picture.  I discovered when we got home that she has a chip on her nose. No worries - built in character! I bought the 3 kids a mug of their choice as an early Xmas present. Which one did each one go with? The shark. I think we cleaned the bar's gift store out!