Posted on: Friday, March 9, 2007
THE NIGHT STUFF
Mad about Indigo discount martinis
By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainment Writer
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From left, Natalie Rodrigues, of Kunia, and Barbara Gampon, of Palolo, chilled on a recent Friday evening at Indigo's Garden Bar during Martini Madness.
Photos by REBECCA BREYER | The Honolulu Advertiser
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Brian Waters, of Waikiki, and Amber Maribel, of Huntington Beach, Calif., have a chat over martinis at Indigo Eurasian Cuisine's Garden Bar.
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From left, Wendy Rodriquez, of Kapolei, Allen Rodriquez, of Kapolei, and John MacKay, of Ala Moana, share a conversation and soak up the Garden Bar vibe.
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MARTINI MADNESS
Where: Indigo Eurasian Cuisine, 1121 Nu'uanu Ave.
When: 4-7 p.m. TuesdaysFridays
Phone/Web site: 521-2900 / http://indigo-hawaii.com
Cover: None
The appeal? Three hours of $3.50 martinis at the end of the workday.
The martini menu: A 20-strong collection of traditional (choice of vodka/gin, vermouth) and designer (pomegranate, Mandarin blossom cosmopolitan, En Fuego, Woo Woo, Nattahnam, etc.) martinis, at almost half off the usual $6 price.
Age of crowd: Twentysomething to fiftysomething
I'm under 21: Enjoy anything from the dim-sum and dessert menu ... with a soft drink.
I'm over 40: You won't feel out of place.
What to wear: Look at all the downtown office wear! Otherwise, keep shorts and slippers out of your definition of "casual."
4:15 p.m. crowd: On the non-First Friday I stopped by, Garden Bar and Green Room seats and tables were already claimed by those lucky few souls who actually leave the office before sunset. I hate these people.
Conversation No. 1: In the Green Room, Jacquelyn Nishimura and her companion Paul (adamant about keeping his last name private) ask if my job gets me "lucky" a lot. Investment planners are, like, soooo naive!
Martini No.1: Sangria. A dark-red, warm-day-refreshing mix of zinfandel, Chambord, peach liqueur, orange juice, lime juice and soda. "That's just too much drama for a martini," insisted a chatty woman next to me. That drama kicked in somewhere in the middle of ...
Martini No. 2: Perfect Mary. A bloody decent Bloody Mary martini. Especially good: its pop of fresh lime and the bite of its salt-and-pepper rim. Could've used a bit more tomato juice, though.
Conversation No. 2: "God, that looks awful!" offered another patron, stepping up to the Garden Bar and staring at my Mary in mock horror. Me: "It's actually pretty good." Same patron, five minutes later: "Can I try a sip?"
Martini No. 3: Chinatown. I put a writer friend just off from work back to work for his thoughts on this sweet-and-tangy citrus-infused blend of ginger vodka, Mandarin vodka, orange juice, soda and vanilla syrup. He writes: "While I would've expected a drink named Chinatown to taste like a good, long lick of Hotel Street, it was actually much tastier!"
Martini No. 4: Tony Soprano. The capo di tutti capi would sic Paulie Walnuts on any toadie fool enough to serve him a cocktail this sweet. But "Carm" Soprano might dig its blend of vanilla and citrus infused Italian Tuaca liqueur, amaretto and pineapple juice.
Most popular: I saw lots of lychee martinis, Pearl Harbors (vodka, Midori melon liqueur, pineapple juice) and Woo Woos (vodka, peach liqueur, cranberry juice) being shaken up.
5:30 p.m. crowd: Standing-room-only at all three Indigo bars.
Best seat: In my opinion, at the Garden Bar watching bartenders work furiously to fill orders using an efficient sort-of makeshift martini assembly line.
6:15 p.m. crowd: Even busier than the 5:30 p.m. crowd. Many folks from the 4:15 p.m. crowd remain.
Single and looking? The mack didn't seem to be in full effect. But there was lots of eye candy for both sexes after 5 p.m.
Got parking? Valet available. I parked at Chinatown municipal garage off Beretania Street.
7 p.m. crowd: Still SRO. But if they were anything like our group of four, seriously ready for some dinner.
Reach Derek Paiva at dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com.
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