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Sunday in the Park with beer.
Holy inexpensive inebriation Batman!
Is it in Mid City or Bayou St. John or City Park? The debate rages. Until you’ve downed your second pitcher and all debating is moot. Unless you’re debating your capacity to stand up straight and whether you should walk or call United Cab.
Hands down the Parkview Tavern has the best pitcher deal in the city! During their Happy Hour, M-F from 4-7, a pitcher of domestic beer will cost you $4.50. A pitcher of Abita, a local Louisiana beer (Louisiana not counted as part of America therefore not domestic…totally UNdomesticated) will cost you slightly more: $6.50!!! Every Sunday is all-day Happy Hour with domestics at $5.50 and Abita at $7.50. It’s enough to blow your mind! And your liver!
“But darn,” you say, “I work at those hours.” Well, no need to worry, the Tavern has come up with a remarkable solution, probably one of the cleverest “gimmicks” in town: the wooden nickel. When you purchase a pitcher they don’t necessarily pour you a pitcher instead they give you four wooden nickels each good for a pint (the equivalent of 1/4 pitcher)! You may elect to use them right then and there or take them home and save them for a later date. At this point they become rather like “booze stamps.” And tales abound of all those evacuated after Katrina who saved their nickels as proof they intended to return. Return they did and their nickels were honored. It’s just another amazing two-fisted tale of New Orleanian’s and their dedication to their city and their local bar.
But that’s not the only reason to go and hang out there, oh no! Pool, darts, sports on TV, a cool jukebox and one of the last few places to feature the in-house Playmaker video gaming system on which you play against each other and people from around the world in Texas Hold’em and trivia.
They don’t serve food regularly but someone usually cooks up a spread for sporting event…especially the Saints. Just look over the bar and you’ll instantly understand these people’s devotion to their sporting teams.
Located at 910 North Carrolton Ave. they are just a hop, skip and a jump from City Park and Esplanade Ave. You can even take our new streetcar there ( from Canal St. $1.25)!
They have typical New Orleans hours: 12-whenever
Come by, chill with the locals inside or on the patio and contrary to popular wisdom…take some wooden nickels!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Parkview-Tavern/194592673907048?ref=ts&sk=wall
(504) 482-2680
coffe haus
The Orange Couch
Und now mein Sprokets, vee dahnce.
If one considered the last coffee house about which I spoke a bucolic Bohemia The Orange Couch would be quite the opposite. Not in clientele, mind you, but in design and
atmosphere. Hey, this city has something for everybody!
Located at the corner of Mandeville and Royal in the Marigny at first glance this building appears the be the dream of an architectural Modernist. Simple structure, metal tables, the word “coffee” in an unpretentious metal font all give the structure an air of functionality and utility.
Upon entering the decor is exactly what one would expect from the outside perhaps with the exception of one large orange couch. But the place is not bereft of warmth. Many local artists’ work adorn the walls and provide colour and a sense of “flow” within the building.
And now the menu! An eclectic, if not exotic, array of choices far beyond simple coffee, will stun and dazzle the newcomer. Sumptuous cookies and cakes are to be expected but Vietnamese food? Ice Cream? Affogato (vanilla ice cream with espresso and coffee grounds)? Mochi (Japanes “rice-cream”)? Ginger candies? There’s nothing like it to be found anywhere else in the city.
Sit outdoors and watch the city go by or sit indoors and enjoy the wood, white and chrome. You are in for a rare treat!
They open at 7AM and close at 10PM. They have wi-fi with many convenient places to plug in a phone or computer.
Hot coffee and chill surroundings
Few people know that 80% of the coffee in the United States comes through the port of New Orleans. The Big Easy has been and always will be a city that loves its coffee. It has been rumored that New Orleans invented the coffee break! So to do a review of a coffee shop should come as no surprise. Of the dozen from which I could choose I thought I would review the very place in which I am currently sitting: Flora’s.
Flora’s resides in the Marigny on the corner of Royal and Franklin streets. They feature great food, wonderful coffees and a truly bohemian atmosphere. A large Ethiopian or French Roast coffee will run you around $2! There is a shady outdoor porch for those sultry summer days, local art, wi-fi and computers (for those who didn’t bring their own), one of the last working pay-phones in the world and a great selection of noshes.
Their menu includes an amazing breakfast deal, soups, burritos, hummus, gyros, cake, bagels…a little bit of everything all at very reasonable prices! This is one of those truly New Orleans bastions of creativity and congeniality far far away from the touristy center of town. Here you will meet the true New Orleanians of all ages and walks of life.
Make sure to drop in on Wednesday evenings around 6:30pm for their Backgammon Tournament!
OH Prytania…Prytania rules my faves!
So there I was on one of my random walkabouts uptown when I stumbled through the Touro
medical center and ran across a sign that proclaimed 11-8pm all drinks $2. ALL DRINKS! I was astounded. In disbelief, and possessing great thirst, I went in and inquired of the bartender, “Is this true?” And it was! Recently they have modified their “happy hour” to be all beer $2 and all cocktails $3 but still…Holy forgotten afternoons Batman!
And if that wasn’t good enough why they have a restaurant attached known as the Milk Bar. This place has sandwiches which are reasonably priced and to die for! The Thai Chicken or Lamb sandwich is definitely my favourite but they also have such sandwiches as the Stuck Pig: Ham, Cheese, Asparagus and Hollandaise. They have vegetarian sandwiches, meat-a-tarian sandwiches a thanksgiving based sandwich (with turkey and cranberry sauce) and it all comes on their unbelievable in-house made and baked
bread. Sometime the bread alone is worth the price of the sandwich which floats around $7.00. But when you’re connected to a bar with old fashioned cash registers, couches and $2 drinks who cares how much the sandwiches cost?
Look for them on Prytania street just off Louisiana only a couple blocks from the Border’s Books on St. Charles Avenue
3445 Prytania Street
http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-Orleans-LA/The-Milk-Bar/63957877990?v=wall
Take off…to the great white North.
Where the women are strong, the men good looking and the children above average
It has long been a tradition in New Orleans to abandon the city when the dog days of summer arrive. Something to do with the steamy oppressiveness brought on by the high of 110 and the low of 86. I recently took myself a much deserved trip to visit my girl in Minnesota. So this entry will be about what I found up there…since there isn’t a Minnesota based blog for Hungry?Thirsty?
As soon as I got off the plane I was whisked away to Matt’s on Cedar St. faster than you can say Ya’…sure…you betcha! You might remember this place from Man vs. Food and it is just as delicious as he makes out. Their signature sandwich is the Juicy Lucy which is in essence two patties of meat pinched together around a lump of Velveeta. 
When it comes to the table the cheese oozes out in a molten dairy flow after the first delicious bite. One order of fries is good enough for a table of four. And they, of course, offer some of the finest in local beers such as Leinenkugel’s and Grain Belt. Good deal, yah!
And if you’re there at the right time of year (this time) you simply cannot overlook the festivals for amazing food opportunities. The Minnesota Renaissance Festival is in Shakopee and offers Turkey Legs, Gyros, Scotch Eggs, Mead, Pickles, and so much more.
The Minnesota State Faire is off the hook with “Australian” Potatoes (potatoes sliced long and flat and then deep fried), Big Fat Bacon (honking slice of bacon on a stick), Pickle Dogs (pickle spear slathered in cream cheese wrapped in Pastrami) Hot Dish on a stick (casserole on a stick), Bratwurst Mit Kraut, the ubiquitous Cheese Curds, buckets full of homemade style chocolate chip cookies, buffalo and elk burgers and so much more! So much to eat and drink. I was all over this place like a Mack truck on a near-sighted deer! Most items seem to run around six bucks.
http://www.mnstatefair.org/find/food/
http://www.renaissancefest.com/MRF/
Next time we’ll explore the delights of Chippewa Falls and then back to New Orleans for Absinthe!!
Italian, Seafood and Fried Chicken??
Chicken so good it’ll make you want to slap yo’ mama!
Down on lower Decatur street lies a true conundrum, an Italian restaurant that features seafood but whose claim to fame is Fried Chicken? Well that would be Fiorella’s! And I must say…is it ever finger lickin’ good. The Colonel should bow down to the General of chicken. First…I had long ago heard of the legend of Fiorella’s fried chicken…the name is legendary in the Quarter and surrounding environs. But…there are just so many places and I am a creature of habit and of little pay. I don’t go “out” to eat often. But a friend was in town, we were at the French Market and I suggested Fiorella’s. We perused the menu which served up a panoply of options from Cajun to seafood to traditional Italian and fried chicken. She had the fried shrimp platter which was quite yummy. I ordered the Combo Chicken plate (two pieces white, two pieces dark) which came with a choice of sides. I chose the mashed potatoes with an amazing, savory dark brown gravy, of which I am still dreaming.
Then the chicken! I picked up one chicken breast and it was slightly larger than my fist. But I quickly put it down because I realized the other breast was one-and-a-half times larger! When I bit in to it it was hot, juicy, and the breading used was indescribably delicious. Whatever their “secret recipe” consists of is just that kind of taste that makes you want to take another bite before you’ve swallowed the first. To top it off, the piece I ate was so big I could only finish that one. The other three and half of the potatoes went into a box and were greedily consumed the next day.
The prices there are totally reasonable floating around French Quarter standards. The seating and decor are nautically themed and they also have seating on the sidewalk where you can sit, eat, drink and watch the Quarter go by. They’re on 1136 Decatur Street right on the “front-side” of the French Market. They are currently closed Tuesday and Wednesday but that may only be for summer hours.
If you got a hankerin’ for some amazing down-home fried chicken, beat feet to Fiorella’s.
Fun and Games
It’s all fun and games… until someone loses an eye. Then it’s entertainment!
Directly across from the world famous Pat O’Brien’s lies the Big Easy version of the Finnegan’s family of bars: Finnegan’s Easy. This small narrow bar is the favourite watering hole for those awaiting the nightly Haunted History Ghost tour. Between the hours of seven and eight it fills up and empties out with people grabbing a frosty beverage to accompany their thrills and chills.
At all other hours they cater to service industry, locals and tourists alike. Good beers range from Guinness and Harp to PBR and High Life. They also have a menu of delicious bar snacks such as fish and chips, and chicken tenders but their more local delicacies include fried mac-n-cheese bites, fried bananas Foster bites and calamari. This is the place to get your deep fried munchy monster pacified!
While hanging out and enjoying your eat and drink, enjoy sports on one of three TVs, check your email on their free wi-fi connection, or get a buddy and enjoy one those great games you remember from your youth. Such games as Operation!, Connect Four, Fact-or-Crap, Battleship and more.
Every Sunday from 3pm-6pm Finnegan’s invites you to come and kick back, enjoy the courtyard and listen to the soothing tunes of the band Laissez Faire.
They operate under the traditional New Orleans hours: weekdays 3pm-whenever and weekends noon until the party stops!
For more info on this bar and their other locations check out: www.finneganseasy.com
Finnegan’s resides at 717 St. Peter St between Royal and Bourbon.
Futbol Fever! and Finn McCool’s
We’re having a party and the whole world is invited!
Well… World Cup mania has arrived in the Big Easy with a hurricane force!
Where might we go to down a cup while watching the cup? Although many bars around town are playing USA v England such as the (aforementioned) Crown and Anchor, the American Sector (soon to be mentioned), Finnegan’s Easy, Storyville, The Three Legged Dog and many many more from what I understand the biggest party atmosphere surrounding Futbol Fever is smack dab in the center of it all: Mid-city’s Finn McCool’s!!!
Now there are many reasons to go to Finn’s. Not only to enjoy the traditional Irish heritage of this wonderful city but because there is always something happening at Finn’s. The bar not only serves up beer and liquor in the traditional pub fashion but entertainment as well. In previous a blog I spoke of their St. Patrick’s Day blow out but on a regular day you can find something going on: sports, trivia, writing contest, head-shaving you name it! Where else can you be served the holy trinity of beers (Guinness, Bass, Harp) by a luscious roller-girl bar maid? If they’re not cooking up a special feast they have amazing toasted sandwiches (ham, turkey, roast beast) and Taytos: Irish potato chips that come in such flavours as pickled-onion and roasted chicken (it really tastes like chicken…freaky!).
Now to get there takes work but is relatively easy: grab the Canal Street Streetcar, pay your $1.25, go to Jefferson Davis, jump off (tuck and roll) and head to the left of the direction you were just going until you reach Banks Street, take a right an in a few blocks BAM! you’re at 3701: Finn McCool’s.
Definitely a neighborhood bar, but their neighborhood spans the city, the parish (we have parishes not counties), hell…whole parts of the world. And if there is an event within the purview of the current zeitgeist you can bet they’ll be doing something about it.
From what I”ve heard they’re playing all world cup games and every day has turned into a version of St. Patricks Day. For the cup they start early, we’re talking groundhog-day-early and go late. There is really so much going on I just can’t post it here. Check out their amazing website for what’s up next: www.finnmccols.com
Sláinte mhaith!
The Best Kept Jazz Brunch secret
On the border of the Quarter— Residing at the corner of Esplanade and Burgundy (that’s: buhr-GUN-dee) Buffa’s Lounge has served the hungry and thirsty alike since the 1930′s. Technically in the Marigny, Buffa’s has seen ‘em come and seen ‘em go: tourists, locals, musicians, artists, the world famous and the barely known. It has been a personal favourite of mine for more than ten years and it seems to just keep getting better and better.
I could speak of their famously delicious Buffa burger. I could speak of the fun characters in front of and behind the bar. But what I really want to emphasize is their amazing Jazz Brunch! Buffa’s back room comes alive 11am-2pm Sunday’s with a Jazz brunch that will have you licking your lips and swinging to the beat without putting a dent in your budget (most items are priced around $10 or less). Each week the menu changes slightly but will always features the classics: omelettes, eggs Benedict, mimosas and bloody Marys. The band is so close you could reach out and touch them. All those classic jazz greats you remember will come alive again as enjoy the good food, great drink and fun atmosphere.
And if you miss it? Don’t worry. Buffa’s is now open 24 hours a day. So remember Esplanade is a street in the Quarter not a drunken list of reasons you missed work. Head on down and check it out as soon as you get a chance and you’ll easily have a new favourite as well.
Check them out at www.buffaslounge.com
Duck you, you duckin’ duck!
The Avenue Pub and J’anita’s Sammiches should probably be placed into two blogs but since they both reside in the same building I’m doing the old two-birds-one-stone thing. Pay your $1.25 and catch the streetcar Uptown to the corner of St. Charles and Polymnia and there you will find The Avenue, a local Uptown bar with one of the most amazing and mercurial selections of import and craft beers in the city. You won’t know what to choose when you see stouts, lagers, weiss, IPA’s and bocks all either domestic craft beers or imported from countries few Americans can locate on a map. But don’t worry, if something
sounds good but you’re not convinced you want the full pint they do offer 4oz. samples (if they’re not too busy). Thursdays through Sundays the upstairs balcony bar is open so you can kick back and watch the world go by from a birds eye view. For those who suffer from acrophobia they also offer a quaint courtyard! Always make sure to check their beer menu as they seem to get a new beer in every week.
And then there’s the food: J’anita’s Sammiches. Now, unfortunately I am going to have to place them in the high-middle range of prices for food considering that their sammiches range from $8-$11.25. But believe me when I tell you you that the food is so delicious expense is entirely justified. Ringing in at $11.25 I ordered the St. Chuck Duck. I had never heard of a duck sandwich and I believe it is unique to this place. I thought, “An eleven dollar sandwich? It had better be damned good.” And was I wrong! It was better than damned good! It was the best thing I’ve put in my mouth second only to something I am not legally allowed to mention. It consists of Cabernet sautéed duck and Granny Smith apples smothered in Cheddar and Bleu cheeses with a currant tapenade served on Sourdough bread. It was heaven. I had mine with a side of curly fries. I cannot recommend this sandwich enough. I am drooling just writing about it. Other items like The Best Fish Sammich Ever, The Sweet Spot, The “not quite” Cuban all sound so tasty you’ll have trouble making up your mind. And all come garnished with an Animal Cracker. 
They have plenty of appetizers and salads as well. I have to mention the Buddha’s Temptation: Bleu cheese stuffed, bacon wrapped, deep fried apricots. You just won’t find food like this anywhere else in the Big Easy…even in restaurants!
Look for them on Facebook and at www.avenuepub.com
