While I don't have all the reviews completed yet, I wanted at least to get a list up. More details will be forthcoming, as I find the free time to work on the page!
- Arnaud's Bar, 813 Rue Bienville, French Quarter.
- It's a cigar bar, but if this doesn't bother you you can get some great drinks here. Last time we checked they had who some call the best bartender in the city, Bobby Oakes, tending here; his Ramos Gin Fizzes are legendary.
- The Bulldog, Magazine Street between Louisiana and Napoleon, Uptown.
- Excellent selection of beers, including both Louisiana microbreweries Abita and Rikenjaks. Tends to be noisy and overrun with the collegiate crowd, though.
- The Carousel Bar, Monteleone Hotel, 214 Royal St., French Quarter.
- One of my favorite bars in the city. There's a section in the back with booths and a piano, but my favorite place there is on a stool at the bar, which looks like the centerpiece of an actual carousel (or "flyin' horses", as we grew up calling them in N.O.) and the stools actually revolve around the bar. Excellent Sazeracs, and they have a house cocktail called the "Vieux Carré", which was created by their then-head bartender Walter Bergeron in 1938. It's equal parts of rye, cognac and vermouth, a little Benedictine, plus Peychaud's and Angostura bitters, on the rocks. Lovely, lovely drink. As far as I know the original called for sweet vermouth, but these days they seem to be making it with dry, which I rather like.
- The Columns Hotel, St. Charles Avenue, Uptown.
- Another great civilized New Orleans drinking establishment, in a historic St. Charles Avenue hotel.
- Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, 904 Bourbon St., French Quarter.
- Dark and quiet, and located on a section on Bourbon far from most of the racket and the throng of tourists, Lafitte's is a great little romantic place to bring your sweetie, sip a drink and listen to the piano player. I'm not certain, but I believe it's the oldest bar in the country, in terms of the age of the building.
- The Maple Leaf Bar, 8316 Oak Street, Uptown.
- Started back in the Sixties by a few Loyola and Tulane alumni who wanted to have a bar that was cool enough that they'd want to hang out in it themselves. I think they did a pretty good job. There's front bar, a long music room and a nice patio bar in the back. One of my favorite bars anywhere, the Maple Leaf also features live Louisiana roots music practically every night -- Cajun, zydeco, blues, and the Iguanas most Sundays. Abita beer on tap. Nice during the day, packed in the evenings when bands play.
- Napoleon House, Chartres at St. Louis, French Quarter.
- Napoleon House is named for the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. The story behind the place is that a group of New Orleanians, including Nicholas Girod, mayor of New Orleans and the pirate Jean Lafitte planned to mount a rescue mission to the island of St. Helena in 1821, where Napoleon had been imprisoned since his defeat at Waterloo in 1815. They purchased a house on Chartres and St. Louis Streets that was to be the Emperor's home while they figured out how to get him back to France. Unfortunately, Napoleon died on St. Helena before they could execute their plan.
Napoleon never actually lived there, but the house that bears his name is one of the greatest and most civilized drinking establishments anywhere. The background music (and yes, it's in the background, not drowning out conversations) is generally classical or jazz, and this is a perfect place to sit, hang out and talk. It drips atmosphere and history, the drinks are great, and so is the food. You can get one of the better muffulettas in town at Napoleon House, and it's the only place where I can tolerate them being served warm. Try their signature drink, the "Pimm's Cup", served with a cucumber slice. And just sit back, relax, and take it all in. A must.
- Pat O'Brien's, 718 St. Peter, French Quarter.
- No, it's not one of those tourists-only places. Locals actually do drink here on occasion, although if there's a big line of tourists in front, locals will generally skip it until another time ... it'll always be there.
Pat O's serves, among many many others in the extensive menu of specialty drinks, the infamous Hurricane, a sweet, powerful and incredibly stealthy fruit punch that contains about 4 ounces of rum and will knock you right on your butt if you're not careful. Watch for someone who orders the Magnum Hurricane, a 3-gallon sized Hurricane glass big enough to be used as an aquarium (and there is a Magnum Hurricane aquarium behind the courtyard bar) -- it's served with a few dozen straws, and you need at least six or eight people to finish it, all of whom have to drink it standing up. Quite a sight, and it's fun to watch groups of Texas frat boys try this and drop one by one.
My favorite part of Pat O's is the nifty outdoor courtyard bar, featuring the flaming fountain in the center. It's a wonderful palce to sit back, hang out and sip your concoction. The lady who comes around to ask you if she can take a Polaroid of you for six bucks, and comes back at least three times after you've told her no, is delightfully annoying. There's also a piano bar (which I call "Fake Book Hell" ... avoid if you don't like singalongs) and what they call the Main Bar (which is tiny) off the carriageway, but try to get a place in the courtyard if you can. And if you want, you can take all your souvenir crested glasses home, but a warning -- if you walk around the Quarter carrying those little Pat O'Brien's bags, you'll really look like a tourist ...
- The Saturn Bar, 3067 St. Claude Ave., Bywater.
- This is a great bar. This is an extremely strange bar. There's a lot of ... stuff in this bar. I can't quite describe it. All I can say is, go there. It's extremely cool. The crowd picks up at midnight, when the young, hip crowd begins to wander in and then wonder what they've got themselves into when the eccentric Bywater locals start trickling in ...
This is a beer bar. Don't try ordering anything complicated here (like, say, a cocktail) or you'll get a strange look.
It's in an iffy part of town, so be careful.
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