Trader Vic's Tiki Party!: Cocktails and Food to Share with Friends [Hardcover]

Stephen Siegelman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2005

The tiki volcano is erupting all over again, and now Trader Vic’s, the legendary purveyor of Polynesian food, drinks, and fantasy, wants to help us bring it all home. Step behind the bar and into the kitchen at Trader Vic’s and learn how to create the kind of tiki magic that made “the Trader” famous. It’s all here: recipes for 95 of the restaurant’s best-loved tropical cocktails and after-dinner drinks along with more than 35 party-friendly recipes for pupus, tidbits, finger food, entrées, and desserts—all adapted from the past and present menus of Trader Vic’s. Dozens of tips and ideas for inexpensive, easy tiki decorating and entertaining at home are included, as is a guide to the basics of bartending equipment and techniques. Whether it’s a blowout tiki party for friends or a spontaneous occasion to dust off the shaker, this book brings favorite concoctions from Trader Vic’s into your home.

An entertaining guide from Trader Vic’s restaurant including 130 recipes for cocktails, pupus, finger food, entrées, and desserts.

A follow-up to the popular THE GREAT TIKI DRINK BOOK.

Trader Vic’s has 21 company-owned and franchised restaurants around the world—from Emeryville, California; to Berlin, Germany; and Osaka, Japan.

Cocktail recipes include the Samoan Fog Cutter, the Tiki Puka Puka, Scorpion, the Kamaiina, and The Original Mai Tai, invented by Trader Vic himself in 1944.

Appetizer recipes include crowd-pleasing pan-Asian small plates and nibbles, like Crispy Prawns, Cha Siu Pork, Ahi Tuna Poke, and Key Lime Chiffon Tartlets.

Throw a rocking tiki party using the decorating, music-selection, bar-stocking, and menu-planning tips found here.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Everything old is new again in this purposefully tacky cookbook based on the food served at the 67-year-old Polynesian chain restaurant. Siegelman gives a little history of the establishment—Trader Vic (aka Victor Jules Bergeron) began with a tiny beer shack on a dicey corner in Oakland, Calif., and went on to invent the mai tai and build what became a $50-million empire of company-owned and franchised restaurants—and then it's party time. Siegelman (Firehouse Food) covers pretty much everything readers need to know to throw a swingin' shindig in the tropical paradise of their own living rooms. Tips on setting the mood—"dim the lights," "decorate the guests," add "tiki touches" like grass skirting for tables—precede the book's biggest section, which covers food and drink. Every major tropical beverage (alcoholic and non-) is here—daiquiris, mai tais, punches, etc.—and Siegelman gives a snappy introduction to each, interspersing the cocktail recipes with quotes from Vic himself (on the mai tai: "Anybody who says I didn't create this drink is a dirty rotten stinker"). Ninety-five drinks later, a chapter on food appears, with suggestions for 35 pupu platter dishes, finger foods, salads, buffet-style entrees and desserts (some of which call for Trader Vic's bottled sauces). While there are certainly more high-end books on entertaining Polynesian-style available, none beats this one's authentic kitsch.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From the Publisher

*Cocktail recipes include the Samoan Fog Cutter, the Tiki Puka Puka, Scorpion, the Kamaiina, and The Original Mai Tai, invented by Trader Vic himself in 1944. *Appetizer recipes include crowd-pleasing pan-Asian small plates and nibbles, like Crispy Prawns, Cha Siu Pork, Ahi Tuna Poke, and Key Lime Chiffon Tartlets. *Throw a rocking tiki party using the decorating, music-selection, bar-stocking, and menu-planning tips found here

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press (April 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580085563
• ISBN-13: 978-1580085564
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 0.7 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #114,944 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #7 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Regional & International > Asian > Pacific Rim
  • #33 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Meals > Appetizers
  • #71 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Drinks & Beverages > Bartending

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Let's Hula, December 25, 2005

By 

Virginia Allain "(retired librarian)" (Poinciana, FL) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Trader Vic's Tiki Party!: Cocktails and Food to Share with Friends (Hardcover)

The book contains "recipes for 100 of the restaurant's best loved tropical cocktails like the Samoan Fog Cutter, Potted Parrot, and of course, The Original Mai Tai, invented by Trader Vic himself in 1944." (summary from Buch Gourmet)
This has some terrific ideas for outdoor parties. Think of having a luau and how much fun it would be. Besides drink recipes, the book has nibbles. How does Crab Rangoon, Cha Siu Pork or Crispy Prawns sound? With this book, you are ready for Polynesian-style entertaining.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Campy, Kitschy Delight, September 3, 2006

By 

Bill Marsano (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trader Vic's Tiki Party!: Cocktails and Food to Share with Friends (Hardcover)

By Bill Marsano. Trader Vic's Tiki Party!: Cocktails & Food to Share with Friends," by Stephen Siegelman, is perfect for retro theme parties. Trader Vic, with his famous rival Don the Beachcomber, ushered in the Tiki Bar Era of American partying, which centered mainly on the 1950s and 1960s (which of these two men actually invented the Mai Tai, signature drink of the epoch, remains in dispute--both claim it.) Those were days of restaurants blanketed with faux-Polynesian decor, when pupu platters were the rage and drinks came in bowls serving four or more and were decorated with paper umbrellas, which folks later learned to call parasols. Relive that glorious and joyously ridiculous time with this collection of tropical cocktails and food recipes for everything from finger food to entrees. The recipes are interesting, mostly pretty easy to make, and generally fun to eat or drink. The photos are very nice but the main appeal is that the recipes are clearly presented and easy to follow.--Bill Marsano is an award-winning writer on wines and spirits.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Living the Tiki lifestyle, December 26, 2009

By 

N. Hawkins "whereishawkins" (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Trader Vic's Tiki Party!: Cocktails and Food to Share with Friends (Hardcover)

Since it's rather impossible to go to a Trader Vic's and not be hooked on the Tiki lifestyle, I was sort of expecting that this book would be cheesy and have a few recipes and the like to keep fans happy. Boy was I wrong: Pretty much the entire Trader Vic's drink and appetizer menu is spelled out in here, and it'll keep you in the kitchen experimenting with the menu (and the cocktails, of course.)

The menu is simple enough that even inept people in the kitchen like me thinks that they can handle the menu. The drink menu is simple enough, and it's something you'll want to immediately want to tackle with the Trader Vics Mai Tai Mix, 33.8-Ounce Plastic Bottle (Pack of 2). You really can't go wrong with this book, although the amazing accessories and glassware that goes with the drinks are pricy. Still, if you want to host a tropical party in winter weather, start with this book.