For a holiday party, Grandma’s birthday, or meeting colleagues for drinks, Trader Vic’s at Dinah’s Garden Hotel in Palo Alto is an inspiration. But just so you know, the food falls short of the decor.
Everywhere you look is a gorgeous or fascinating piece of art from the collection of Dinah’s owner Ray Handley, founder of Folk Art International. Wild facemasks and village story boards aren’t just slapped up on walls or protected under glass. They surprise you, right next to your table and in alcoves. Stylish lighting promotes the tropical mood.
Each room has a different personality. The barn-high main dining area features an open kitchen, a Gauguin print, and a Gauguin-like mural of Polynesian Eden. Up a step is a smaller and more elegant room that can hold private parties. A covered wraparound porch beckons outdoor diners, even in winter. The lounge is friendly and comfortable, the deep-red bar itself made of African railroad ties, and the bar menu has depth. Be sure to visit the restroom downstairs.
Longtime Bay Area residents may remember Trader Vic’s as enchanted Tiki rooms. This one has class.
Just keep your culinary expectations set at C-plus, fair to middling. As at Disneyland, you go to Trader Vic’s for a little trip away from the everyday.
Somebody will be there to greet you, and if he’s seating people when you arrive, somebody else will jump into action. Servers tell you their names and make a solemn pledge to be your server that night. That may put your mind at ease, but they are more earnest than efficient, and overeager to sell drinks. On one visit, our server asked twice in 10 minutes if we wanted another Mai Tai.
On the other hand, the drinks are strong and well-blended. One or two Mai Tais and who cares if the pork chop is tough? Even if you’re going to say no, take a tour of the tropical drink menu, including the Scorpion Bowl and other drinks for four people.
The historic Mai Tai ($8.50) has levels of flavor, with Jamaican rum, orange Curacao, Orgeat and fresh lime over a 15-ounce glass of chipped ice. Even though rock candy syrup is added, the Mai Tai doesn’t taste sugary. This drink was invented in 1944 at the original Trader Vic’s in Oakland. The Palo Alto Vic’s opened in late 2001, on the bones of Dinah’s Shack.
After drinking in the tropical breezes, the wise diner sticks to Tidbits & Finger Foods. Trader Vic’s was an early adopter of the communal style of eating now known variously as grazing, small plates, and tapas.
Cosmo Tidbits for Two ($16), if eaten by only two people, could be called dinner. A stout raised stand, kept warm by a flame beneath, presents two juicy barbecued spareribs and three slices of barbecued pork from the Chinese wood-fired oven, three deep-fried prawns butterflied and coated in Japanese breadcrumbs, and three fried wontons filled with crab and cream cheese. The wontons fly under the name Crab Rangoon. A butterfly-shaped dish offers Chinese hot mustard and tomato cocktail sauce, but you don’t really need them. What you do need is the hot towels provided for sticky fingers.
In the Starters section, history buffs will want to get a Cosmo Salad ($9) and Bongo Bongo soup ($8). My companion had gone to Trader Vic’s in Oakland as a child, and was startled to find radicchio rather than limestone lettuce supporting the creamy Cosmo’s artichokes, celery and mushrooms. Bongo Bongo soup features fresh spinach, creamed with oysters.
Entrees were so-so. Trader Vic’s clearly uses quality fish and meat, but sometimes mistreats them. The Chinese wood-fired oven that night was erratic, producing a very smoky and salty pork chop ($26) and thick pieces of duck breast ($26) that ranged from incredibly tender to tasteless.
Seared ahi ($26) was our best choice, but it came with a strange rice cake, mushy in the middle.
The Trader Vic’s menu cruises all over Asia and the Pacific Rim, including Indian and Thai curries, which can be ordered vegetarian, as well as the vegetarian Singapore noodles.
This summer, Trader Vic’s started serving Sunday brunch, an opportunity to enjoy the surroundings in daylight. Banana-coconut-macadamia nut pancakes ($15) were very good, half an inch high with crisp edges. Powdered sugar and toasted coconut make the Maui pineapple syrup almost unnecessary, although at these prices you may want to drink it.
About the Eggs Hawaiian, you have to ask, $18? Two eggs ordered over-medium were a little runny, although fresh and fried in butter. The slab of grilled ham was thick but dry, saved by a topping of grilled pineapple and banana. “Bedspring” potatoes are curly fries, which don’t play well with eggs. Also for your money you get fresh fruit.
Both dishes support Himmel’s Theory of Brunch: In most cases you should have the lunch items.
And Trader Vic’s has a lot of them. Sunday brunch includes Tidbits & Finger Foods, soups and salads, full-blown entrees like Calcutta Curry Lamb ($19), a burger ($9) and sandwiches like the lobster club ($16).
Bottom line: Go to Trader Vic’s for the occasion, not the food. Or go after a visit to the New Guinea Sculpture Garden at Stanford for a blessed day of Oceanic art.
Trader Vic’s
4269 El Camino Real, Palo Alto
(650) 849-9800
www.tradervicspaloalto.com
Hours:
Lunch: Tuesday-Friday 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Brunch: Sunday 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m.
Dinner: Monday-Thursday 5-10 p.m., Friday-Saturday 5-11 p.m., Sunday 4:30-10 p.m.
