Friday, October 19, 2019
Can I just say I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this place.
Dale and I are in Phoenix visiting family and decided to give the Bikini Lounge a try. Last year we visited Under Tow, and on Spring Break of this year we hit Hula's Modern Tiki.
Tiki snobs need to check their attitudes at the door. Comfortable, kitschy, unpretentious, fun, and friendly are all words that come to mind as I try to sum up the place.
Yep, it's a dive and that adds to the charm. If you can't appreciate that then you really don't belong. We arrived shortly after it opened at 3 p.m. so it wasn't anywhere near crowded which allowed our bartender, Michelle, to give us lots of attention and tell us stories about the history of the place.
The place has been open since 1947. It's been mostly a beer joint for most of that time but more recently since the tiki revival actual tiki drinks have been added to the menu.
I started with the Mr. Howell which, according to the menu, contains coconut rum, spiced rum, mango puree, pineapple juice, and sweet and sour.
Michelle told me I could make it a Mrs. Howell by drinking it half down and adding champagne to top it off. I tried it. That was pretty awesome too.
The place was ready for Halloween. Spider webs had been put up all over the place. Michelle told us the place was laid out pretty much the way it originally was when it opened and that a lot of the decor is original too.
I believe some of the paintings are newer.
For my second round I went with the Blue Hawaiian. Dale stuck with beer. The menu describes it as light rum, blue Curacao, pineapple juice and cream of coconut. I remember one of my first if not the first tropical drink I had was the Blue Hawaiian. I ordered it back in college when it was legal for me to drink. Not sure what prompted me to order that particular drink and it was the 80s and I not sure where I heard of it. Any way I loved it. I don't remember it having cream. However, I think that's was made it especially good. Michelle told me they mix coconut milk and coconut cream. It made it hearty and rich.
The place had a pool table toward the back.
And a vintage condom machine in the bathroom.
Michelle told us the story about the ledge to rest your feet on while sitting at the bar. It used to be a urinal trough so men could drink and pee and never have to leave the bar. The grating that used to be over the trough was replaced with a floor covering so now it just looks like a foot rest. Go figure.
I loved the place and as did Dale so I'm almost positive we'll be making a return trip!
So much more to see.
And so many more drinks to try.
