Zombie(fied) in San Francisco || Compliments of Mr. Santos || 2011 Summer Drink Series

The Summer Drink Series continues on as I headed up last Friday to visit a "Brethren in Rums" at the Bernal Tiki Refuge lodged deep within the San Francisco underground.  Christian Santos has been a fan of the "Tiki" and all it inspires ever since the little kid discovered his family roots were firmly footed on the isle Guam.  His passion really took off during his early twenties when his kitschy American roots took control and combined the two that make one, Mr. Santos.

Christian and I get together every so often to share thrift store adventures as well as to trade new concoction ideas at one of our bars.  He has been known for serving up quite a delectable drink from time to time.  He has the classic Mai Tai down as well as the Polihale Punch that he came up with.  However, this summer Christian has really been working on his Zombie skill.  See, the Zombie was invented by Don the Beachcomber as one of the original slew of tiki drinks, but also turned out to be one of the most potent.  If you ever want to perform a test on someone to see if they truly understand Tiki bars & Rum drinks, a simple question to ask is "(by overall majority) what is the most potent Tropical Drink?"  You guessed it, The Zombie.  Let's enjoy the true strategic alliance of liquids while making this drink...

SPECIAL NOTE: This recipe really is one of its own and only real connection to the original is rum and the ass-kicking potential this potent beast will pack.  Warning:  Please do not drink more than two of these drinks.  I have no liability, responsibility, inquiry, contrary and illusionary dreams that you people will be able to party all night with these drinks.  This drink is a perfect "Starters" drink to a "big night out".  Stick to beer or a pepsi after you slurp down a Zombie.  Now let's get to the creation part....

Fill a Pint Glass 2/3 to the top with cubed ice.  Fill a Shaker with the other third

 3/4 shot of Fresh Lime Juice

Put One shot of barcadi

One shot of Trader Vic's Dark Rum

One shot of Pineapple Juice (the fresher the better!)

One shot of Passion Fruit Mix

One shot of Orange Juice (the fresh rule applies here too)

Half a shot of Apricot Brandy

2 dashes of Bitters

Shake rigorously for 15 seconds

Then take the top off the shaker and strain into Pint glass.  Now add one more dash of bitters on the top (for olfactory effect).  Now, if you only have one of these drinks, treat yourself to a called for floater of Barcadi 151 on the top.  We were opted to not add it due to trial process during filming.

Garnish with A fresh mint sprig and skewered chunks of Pineapple and enjoy!

I would personally like to thank the purveyours of The Bernal Tiki Refuge for their kind hospitality.  Thank you Christian and Kristy!

Heather David || Passion Among the Decay || Mid-Century by the Bay

I first met Heather David while perusing the world wide web looking for artistic inspiration for the first Booty Chesterfield album, Sellin’ Cookies. I wanted to have something local. Being a fan of mid-century architecture and advertising, I googled (via images) the Western Motel on El Camino. Up pops a beautifully taken picture of the sign half lit as dusk begins to claim the day. Following the picture I came upon the modest site SV Modern. Someone was documenting all the untold beauty of Silicon Valley’s past? On the spot I wrote this person an email passionately thanking them for documenting our past. And if you know Heather, I received an even-more-impassioned email back thanking me for having interest in something close to her heart as well as an invite to lunch at the former Bob’s Big Boy (now flames) on Winchester Blvd. I had to meet this person.

Heather is an intense individual who knows what she likes and the things she likes are becoming rarer and rarer. During that first lunch at the Flames and she went on about local mid-century architects & designers most who's names I had never heard.  I had always considered myself “educated” in the realm of mid-century design. I was dead wrong, especially when it came to local knowledge. “Geez, Heather, you should write a book.” Her retort, “I am.”

After several years of research and a big chunk of her retirement savings spun into hardcopy, she self-released, Mid-Century by the Bay. This is the reference book for Bay Area mid-century. It  goes beyond just "cool" pictures.  The author has done her homework and tells a tale of mass growth, prosperity & expansion during this Bay Area time period.  I was privileged enough to see several drafts of the book while she was in the process. Let me tell you, when I received my hardback copy I was literally blown away by the final results. Heather is very particular. Initially she struggled getting her vision to conform to a hard copy. Pushing her dream along of publishing an undocumented history of Mid-Century Design she has fully achieved success with this book. I believe this book is going to a wonderful reference guide for the future bay area architects whom have yet to become established.  And, no doubt, this book will be sitting on the shelves of many future designers too.

One of the key ingredients in this book is the work of Arnold Del Carlo. Mr. Del Carlo was a San Jose based professional commercial photographer for nearly 40 years. And as Heather states it, “who successfully captured the evolution of the Santa Clara Valley from the ‘Valley of Hearts Delight’ to ‘Silicon Valley’.” There is an even better story behind this commercial lens. He basically was an “unknown” in the eyes of the preservationists of the Bay Area. His eye-catching visuals of shopping center grand openings and new bowling alleys sat in a box in his garage for 30+ years collecting dust. He just happened to have the luck of having Heather move into his neighborhood. After a chance discovery of his vintage portfolio, she went nuts with determination to make sure that the world had a chance to see this man’s work.  Mid-Century by the Bay is besieged with beautiful, full page Del Carlo images. These are my personal favorites. An important footnote that in this process Heather had an integral part in making sure these photos were preserved. The Sourisseau Academy at SJSU acquired the entire portfolio. 

Even though this book is about Bay Area architecture & design in the mid-century, it is south bay centric.  This is in part due to the massive transformation of growth through out the valley making it become the technology center of the world.  If you think that Silicon Valley started with the micro chip, semiconductor, and internet I encourage you to find out a little bit more about the roots behind this developing valley and never forget the past. In regards to cutting edge architecture and design for the times, Heather David’s book is a really good starting point.

For more information about the book, go here: Calmodbooks.com

And if you want more, she has a wonderful Flickr website!