City: North Palm Beach, FL

Category: Nightlife

Telephone: (561) 627-1545

Address: 11511 Ellison Wilson Rd.

Description: Waterfront dining, rum bar, Tiki torches, big-screen TVs. It doesn’t get any better than this. Every Thurs night at sundown, there’s a drum circle at Panama Hattie’s, and drummers and belly dancers gather around the fire pits. Drummers beat their drums with the intent of becoming one community, and becoming more heart-, body-, and mind-centered. It’s really fun!Legend has it that during World War II, transport ships would ferry servicemen along the Eastern seaboard via the Intracoastal, to avoid enemy ships at sea. At that time, it took weeks for a ship to get from Maine to Florida. The seamen often had raging “cabin-fever” after being holed up with a few hundred of their malodorous shipmates in the bottom of a boat. The story goes that every now and then the captain of a certain ship would allow for a night of reckless abandon, and would pull over at local watering holes. Thus, according to the legend, the birth of South Florida’s Tiki Bars. Panama Hattie’s has been around for a while. And locals consider it one of the best tiki bars.The hit-drink here is the Voodoo, five different rums in a bucket big enough for two. There’s a long wine list. Mon night is poker night, and happy hour is every night from Mon through Fri.