As a rule, our friend Bob comes down every December for a
week or so to visit his mom and spend some time in LA. I mean Christmas in
July, how could anyone from Seattle think LA in December is a bad idea…
Last time Bob visited, we took him to one of our favorite
restaurants – Trader Vic’s in Los Angeles. Being a geek for Tiki bars – ever
since I saw the Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland as a kid – I understood that
Don and Vic were competitors in the distant past, each claiming to have created
the Mai Tai. Bob had become a fan of Mai Tais courtesy of Trader Vic, so we
thought we go investigate the libations at Don’s.
I made reservations, but when we arrived, it was pretty
apparent that reservations were not required. In fact, the restaurant was
pretty empty… The bar seemed to being a good business with locals, but I think
this was the first clue as to the disaster that loomed in our future.
Do you ever wonder what would happen if the Tiki Room at
Disneyland was allowed to decay? Well, it would look a lot like Don The
Beachcomber (Huntington Beach).
Sadly, the food did not redeem the night. The kitchen had
already run out of Pork Ribs, so Bob and Lynn could not have their first
choice. Strangely, 20 minutes after being told that the restaurant had run out
of ribs, the table next to us was served two plates of the ribs. Must have
ordered ahead, since they were not seated when we ordered. I had the pulled
pork. Let me be clear, it was not the worst pulled pork I ever had, that award
goes to the BBQ in Julian. But it was underwhelming to say the least.
The Mai Tais kept this from devolving into fiasco territory.
5 of these and you can excuse almost anything.
The night concluded with a “Luau” style show… After 6 Mai
Tais, the show was entertaining, just probably not the way the management
intended.
Go to Vics!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment