Can You Guess Which Famous Thai Dish Inspired This Tiki Bar's Cocktails?
Creamy, sweet, savory and acidic, this famous tiki bar's cocktails have us thirsting for seconds...and thirds.
The Palm Springs bar Bootlegger Tiki's best-selling cocktail, known as the Pod Thai (pictured below), resembles the famous Pad Thai dish not just because of its name. Take a sip of the creamy, refreshing drink and you'll feel instantly transported to Thailand, thanks to the fragrant Thai basil and the complex flavors of the house-made cardamom-lemongrass syrup, coconut cream, lime juice, Thai basil and white rum. Still, you won't want to be anywhere else except in Palm Springs, sitting at that dark and sexy bar, which opened recently in the space that housed the legendary Don the Beachcomber tiki bar of the 1950s-1980s. As you sit and sip your umbrella drink, you'll have a hard time resisting the urge to steal the beautiful basil garnish right off the bar—as Top Chef host Gail Simmons does (oops!) in episode 2 of Gail's Culinary Adventure. Head bartender Guillaume Galataud lets her know that's, um, not ok.
Want to discover some more cool drinks and fabulous foods around California? Follow along with Gail as she eats and drinks her way around the state, taking detours from this season's Top Chefroad trip around California. The only danger is, once you've snagged a seat at Bootlegger and the other incredible spots Gail takes you to, you'll never want to leave. Tune in next Wednesday, February 3, for Episode 3.
