This past week my company decided to get into the holiday spirit by having a little holiday luncheon at Tommy Bahama Island Grill in Newport Beach.  I’ve never been to Tommy Bahama before (except to pick out festive Hawaiian shirts in the store next door for family members) so I was excited to check it out.

We started out our holiday feast with some cocktails, because really, no holiday feast is complete without them.  I went with a more traditional route by ordering a glass of champagne, but almost reconsidered my decision when I saw my coworker’s Coconut Cloud Martini.

If you love coconut, you will love this martini.  Made with Cream of Coconut, Cruzan Coconut and Stoli Vanli (college flashbacks to the Stoli) and a sprinkle of coconut on top, this martini was absolutely delicious.  It was almost like a dessert it was so good.

While we were enjoying our drinks we were presented with this soft pillowy bread and whipped butter.  But not any whipped butter, cinnamon almond whipped butter.

The bread with the cinnamon almond butter was amazing.  I wanted to change my order for my entree and just eat bread and butter for lunch.  But alas, I was sitting at a table with coworkers so I attempted to show at least a small bit of self-restraint.

For our appetizer we were served coconut shrimp with papaya mango chutney and some Asian slaw.  The coconut shrimp were light and crispy and I loved the papaya mango chutney.  Must recreate this at home.

We were also served another salad but I was too busy eating (ok drinking champagne) to take a photo.  Whoops.  But I did get a photo of my entree – the Smoked and Grilled Chicken with a Mango-Mustard glaze.

The chicken was juicy and flavorful, and the green beans and mashed potatoes were also quite tasty.  I would’ve liked a little more glaze on the chicken, but otherwise it was quite nice.

For dessert, it was all about the Pina Colada Cake which had layers of coconut cream, pineapple, and toasted coconut.

It was good but very rich.  And after having gorged myself on the cinnamon almond butter and bread, I just had a few bites.  But if you like pina coladas, and getting caught in the rain, then I recommend getting this cake for dessert.

All in all it was a lovely lunch with my lovely coworkers.  Many toasts were held, delicious food was consumed, and it was nice to have lunch during the week at somewhere else besides my desk.  Tommy Bahama must also be the happening spot as the restaurant was PACKED for a random Monday afternoon with everyone from your typical businessman gearing up for a power lunch to your lady of leisure enjoying a cocktail with her friends.  I’m already planning my trip back to Tommy Bahama.

Until then I’ll just continue practicing my lady of leisure look while enjoying champagne and forkfuls of pina colada cake.

Cheers my friends.  And Happy Holidays.