Madeline Malmo
Hula’s Island Grill
622 Lighthouse Ave., Monterey (831) 655-4852, hulastiki.com
There are lots of reasons to be extra-happy at this happy hour, including $6 tiki drinks and $6 pupus like seared ahi and crispy coconut shrimp rolls. But the real reason is the master behind some of those decadent drinks (which, by the way, are in happy hour mode until closing time on Tiki Tuesdays). That master is Madeline Malmo, who’s known by her colleagues as “the octopus” because she’s so efficient. “She’s fast as lightning,” says Lynnette Griffin Ting, Hula’s owner/creative director. “She can be making so many complicated drinks at any one time, we’re like, ‘How many arms do you have?’” When it comes to reputation, she’s not only the octopus, but the singing bartender as well, known for belting out a lyric or quoting movie lines with ease. After all, it takes a good memory to get all of those tiki drinks right, and Malmo applies the skill to movies too. “It takes a lot to be a good bartender at Hula’s,” Griffin Ting adds. “We have a rigorous training program, and most of them don’t make the cut.”