Post #271641 by midnite on Mon, Dec 11, 2006 1:45 AM

My O my! A couple of months and there's been no traveling? Sort of.

Some of the places I've been had no Tiki involvement and some of the neat-o Tiki experiences took place while the digital camera stayed at home. Doh! not too sharp there, boy. Hey, all those years of schooling did not entirely "take", if you know what I mean and I think you do. Yeah yeah, sure sure, but were any good Clubs involved?

Short answer: "Uh, The Emancipation Proclamation?" Long answer: "Keep reading!"

Seeing I cannot stay too long in one place, the law is on my back ya know. Further, when that one place is the tiny Midnite casa en la calle esta no curvy de Lombard I got to roam. So, in November I did head out to the Sonora desert and a quick visit to the greatest spot in the Valley of the Sun: The Phoenician. Now, Phoenix for me is a lot of family and golf. Who wants to see that? Not me! Plus, I failed to swing by Trader Vic's, again stupid me. All is not lost, my Tiki amigos, I did fill in the time with a couple of killer-diller clubs, not the 7-iron type. Oh yeah.

Fore! It's the Chicken Club done 19th-Hole style at the Phoenician and it's a spicy concoction of love...the love of a good sandwich. Nothing unnatural about that, no matter what the Bible states. You can say what ya will about Phoenix: it's like yogurt, 'cept yogurt has some culture, something like that. Still, they do got lots to offer there. Someday, I'll even visit the new Vic's, and I'll bring the camera, nudge nudge.

Back home in 'Frisco, ya I call it that, there's been some good times but unfortunately most were photo-free episodes. A special highlight was Thanksgiving at Trader Vic's. They put on a good show Gobble Gobble-wise, but I bypassed the turkey and trimmings and went straight to the New York strip. A nice steak and a Trader Vic Stinker for dessert. Hmm, a good steak, some better cocktails, all dressed-up and in a swanky room. That sounds so vaguely familiar, but something about that isn't quite right, something or someone is missing. What, what would the Ja...? Nope! the Jab was there, the camera was missing. It was a Jab Family Thanksgiving, sort of. Let's just say I gave serious thanks Dean swung by to share a libation (or two) that night. He was like a suave and entertaining Indian to my stranded, in need of assistance, company-wise, Pilgrim.

The final event to chronicle again involved SF Vic's and the Great Quest. Another visit just last night to savor the finest burger on this side of the Bay (Emeryville Vic's is just a bit better). Trudging, in a partial downpour, through the Tenderloin, EEK!, for several blocks we made our way to that friendly destination. Trader Vic's awaited a pair of soggy, hungry, and reasonably cranky "sort of" travelers in need of a good cocktail. Put Lars in charge of the manger and we got a Christmas Story, sort of. A fan-fu%^&#-tabulous cheeseburger done Vic's way, a Stinker, and the night was back on track for the last part of our pseudo-journey. Hey, I know it's a hamburger and not a club sandwich, but Trader Vic's makes a burger that's so good...you know the rest.

Come on, let's go! It's mid-December in San Francisco and that means but one thing for this hombre. The greatest group of musicians in the land: just another band from East L.A. at the Fillmore. Two shows, baby! The ears are still ringing.

Find the midnites in the picture, win a tiki prize!

Peace,
el midnite

ps Christmas is coming, time to get packing.