Puffer Fish Friday

Friday, August 17, 2018

Since we're going for Happy Aloha Friday we'll go for Pufferfish Friday too. Pictured above is my favorite pufferfish of all, Puff Daddy from Pagan Idol.

Puffer Fish Friday

From Pagan Idol's Doc Park's Instagram account. My favorite puffer fish, Puff Daddy, when he was a wee fish.

Personalized Critiki Maps

The Critiki website now displays on your profile a map of all the tiki bars you say you've been to. Rather cool if you ask me. 

Upon first glance it looks as though I've only been to two, if you zoom in you can see more locations.

For Minneapolis, the tiki icon marks the current Psycho Suzi's Motor Lodge. The "pin" above the tiki icon shows the location of the original Psycho Suzi's which closed in 2004. I made it to the original location only once but have been to the current location multiple times.

For San Francisco, the tiki icon on the left marks The Tonga Room and the one on the right marks Pagan Idol. I'll soon be able to add Adrift in Denver to the map.

Tiki Bob's/Pagan Idol

Found this posting recently on Instagram by hummus, who runs the critic.com website. Interesting because I just recently visited Pagan Idol in San Francisco.

"Did you hear this jaw-dropping discovery??? @paganidolsf used to be a Tiki Bob's, back in the '50s. Even the Pagan Idol crew didn't know! HopeChest on Tiki Central made the discovery. I've updated Critiki with the info, and there's an article up on Critic News about it, with a lin to the TC thread: news.critiki.com."

- humusf, on Instagram

Tiki Mug

With the tiki mug Scott bought for me at the Pagan Idol.

Pagan Idol - First Contact

Saturday, February 18, 2017

We ubered from Smuggler's Cove to Pagan Idol in the Financial District where we arrived 10 minutes before opening and were met by a line of only two people. A few more folks lined up after we did but it ended up being no where near as long a line as at Smuggler's Cove which is, I imagine, quite the tourist destination due to the book published within the last year. 

Pagan Idol - Fish Tank

Saturday, February 18, 2017

Upon entering the bar we passed a beautiful fish tank full of tropical fish.

This not so little guy was quite the spirited fish. He moved quite quickly.

Turns out he's a puffer fish named Puff Daddy.

Once in we bellied up to the bar.

Pagan Idol - Stained Glass Window

Saturday, February 18, 2017

From a photo I took of the stained glass window above the front bar. I touched it up a bit with a photo painting app I use.

Pagan Idol - Quite the Place

Saturday, February 18, 2017

Pagan Idol was smaller than I pictured it and the decor was not over the top. The walls were paneled wood with video portholes along them which showed fish and other saline going by. The whole experience mimicked being in the hull of a moving ship.

Top photo, mine.

Bottom photo from Instagram (ccharrington1)

Pagan Idol - One Year Anniversary

Saturday, February 25, 2017

Happy one year anniversary to Pagan Idol and I love the seahorse tiki mug to commemorate the occasion. Wish I could have joined you.

Pagan Idol - Nicki

Saturday, February 18, 2017

The drinks in the foreground weren't for us. That's Nicki in the background and we were fortunate enough to have front row seats to watch her make incredible looking tiki drinks.

We sat at the bar right where the bartender, Nicki, was making the tiki drinks. We commented to her about how the bar filled up quickly over the first 15 minutes of opening and how crowded it became. Nicky told us that at 7:00 we'd be docking at Pagan Island which meant the back part of the part of the bar would open up creating a lot more room for people to spread out. She told us there was another bar in the back and that there was a volcano, a waterfall , and some custom made tikis as well (custom made for the bar itself). We told her she better not be messin' with us cuz all that sounded just to cool to be true. As it turned out, Nicki don't mess.

Pagan Idol - Sparkle and Froth

Saturday, February 18, 2017

For cocktails I started out with the Sparkle and Froth. You could order the drink with a mug that was custom designed for Pagan Idol by the same guy who carved the larger than life size version they house in the back. 

Photo from Instagram as posted by doc_parks.

The drink menu describes the cocktail as follows:

"Rhum Martinique, Jamaican & Trinidadian rum, falernum, pineapple, lime, fassionola, spices and 
absinthe. Served in our limited first edition mug!!"

It was quite expensive to order the Sparkle & Froth cocktail with the mug, but, hey, how often do I travel halfway across the country on a pilgrimage to visit a tiki bar that has its own limited first edition custom made tiki mug? You could order it without the mug at a lower cost, but what the hell.

Warren and Scott ordered mai tais  which are pictured on either side of my cocktail.

Pagan Idol - Second Round

Saturday, February 18, 2017

I'm not sure what Warren and Scott started with cuz I was so giddy about getting a limited edition custom made tiki mug.

For the second round Scott ordered a Hemingway Is Dead which came in a skull tiki mug, which he let me have cuz he is awesome. You could also order most drinks to come in a coconut rather than a regular glass which is what Warren did for his second cocktail.

Better shot of the skull mug from Instagram (doc_parks)

Pagan Idol/Pagan Island - Docking

Saturday, February 18, 2017

Video Porthole

Well, just as Nicki said, at 7:00 a big loud bell was rung and an announcement came on that we were docking at Pagan Island. Half of the front of the bar emptied out and it quieted down quite a bit. We stayed put at first to hold on to our bar seats.

My photo of the front of bar.

Better photo of front of bar from Instagram (by mr_erictomlinson)

Pagan Idol - The Pineapple Express

Saturday, February 18, 2017

For my second round at the Pagan Idol I ordered the Pineapple Express which consisted of demerara and pineapple rum, lemon, passion fruit, egg whites, and bitters. The egg whites gave it a frothy top onto which they sprinkled cinnamon or nutmeg over the stencil of a pineapple. It was most awesome.

Pagan Idol/Pagan Island - Tikis

Saturday, February 18, 2017

We each took turns going to the Pagan Island part of the bar in the back so we could hold on to our bar seats. The decor was splendidly authentic.

Pagan Idol/Pagan Island - Mask and Canoe

Saturday, February 18, 2017

We each took turns going to the Pagan Island part of the bar in the back so we could hold on to our bar seats. The decor was splendidly authentic.

Pagan Idol/Pagan Island - Tiki Mask and Wallpaper

Saturday, February 18, 2017

We each took turns going to the Pagan Island part of the bar in the back so we could hold on to our bar seats. The decor was splendidly authentic.

Tiki Bar Tour

Sunday, February 5, 2017

In a couple weeks I'll be making a California trip to visit my friend Warren who winters there. I'll be staying with him and his friend Scott who lives in Half Moon Bay. We plan to take a trip into San Francisco to visit a few tiki bars. I texted this graphic I made to Warren a few days ago to let him know which bars are at the top of my list.