MUSIC CLUBS & BARS; A NIGHT CRAWLERS NIGHT OUT
“I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead”
Ok, lts get this out on the table right away, there are very few places I’ll drink or hang out on Bourbon street, its the drunken NOLA/Disney version of itself. This is where most of the strip clubs are located, which is a culture i’ll never get, anyway with few exceptions Bourbon street might be worth walking down and checking out but not much more than that. Here are some other options.
The Columns Hotel: 3811 St. Charles Ave. 899 9308 (St. Charles & Gen. Taylor) This massive old home was used as a location for the movie “Pretty Baby”. Sit outside among the columns and enjoy a cocktail as the world rolls by. A great place to start your night out. Lately the hip, young, privileged types are hanging out here. Look up their WWW site: Columns Hotel WWW site (Pike, Stan)
The Mayfair Lounge: 1505 Amelia St. at Prytania. Ring the door bell and Miss. Gertie welcomes you to this cluttered, good little bar. Long time favorite of the well coiffed Tulane Student. (If Daddy only knew where his money was being spent) (Pike)
Markey’s Bar: 604 Louisa Street (at Royal) 504 943 0785, This is a very serviceable, small Bywater bar and a real neighborhood place with lots of colorful character and a solid pool table and shuffle board game along with lots of HD TV sets hung off the walls. Cheap drink and a nice crowd, (Eldon and Kate)
Vaughan’s Lounge: 800 Lesseps St. (504) 947 5562 A very neighborhood place in the Bywater part of town. They often have a band here and the vib is generally very laid back with lot of locals. Note: Kermit ruffins no longer plays here thursday nights.. This place is part of the Bermuda Triangle of Bywater bars (the others being the Yellow Moon and B J’s)
Bud Rip’s Old 9th Ward Bar: 900 Piety St., Bywater. Yes indeed, boys and girls, this is a dive bar in the great NOLA tradition of the dive bar. Good place to watch the Saints play football on Sunday. People often bring in trays of food to share with everyone on Sundays. Cold beer thats priced right, congenial crowd without the usual crusty punks and hipsters often found in Bywateer bars.I saw the Saints win the Superbowl here a few years back, it was awesome. (Stan-Eldon)
Cooter Browns Tavern: 509 S. Carrollton Ave. 866 9104, A recent addition, during the day it’s the blue collar crowd, at night the Tulane types arrive. Over 40 kinds of beer on draft and lots of stuff in bottles. Also a great oyster bar and plenty of pool tables, and to remind you you’re in the future, free wireless internet. (Arthur O, Stan)
Saturn Bar: 3067 St. Claude Ave.; Well East of the Quarter. One of the Weirdest places I’ve ever been in, but one of our favorites. Neon chandeliers, a mummy hanging from the ceiling, in some ways looks like a bad acid trip. Stan’s photo’s adorn the walls with several thousand other artifacts. Local rummy’s populate the place until 11:00 or so when the arty hipsters begin to stop by. Cheap drinks and great T shirts for sale. Nasty part of town, park near the door. 949-7532 (It is with great sadness that I report that on 12/22/05 O’Neill Broyard, the owner of the Saturn Bar, died of a heart attack, in New Orleans but his Nephew Eric and his family reopened the bar, its all been cleaned up but still echos the old place. They recently sold the bar to a couple and they often have live bands on weekends, but they seem to have crazy hours during the week and may only be open for shows on weekends these days. (Stan, Kevin & Pike)
Ernie K-Doe Mother-In-Law Lounge: 1500 N Claiborne Ave. (update, Kermit Ruffin’s reopened the place but all the great Ernie KDoe stuff is gone and its just another bar with very little in the way of character going for it. A congenial crowd and music often way too loud for me.
St. Roch’s Tavern: 1200 St. Roch ave. 504 945 0194 What a pleasant place to have a drink, its really an old school place with a very interesting crowd, you’ll see rummies, crusty punks, hipsters and locals who just wander in. It’s the Bywater slice of life and the beer is cheap enough. You’ll see quite the difference between the day and late night crowd. Just acrosss St. Claude from the Bywater, so if your staying in a B and B there, a good place to drink and free WIFI!. Park near the door-a very questionable neighborhood.
Snug Harbor: 626 Frenchman Street, East and a little North of the Quarter. Excellent traditional New Orleans Jazz and Blues acts, $20.00 cover on weekends. Call 949 0696 or look up your WWW site! Snug Harbor WWW site
The Maple Leaf: 8316 Oak, West of Carrollton Ave. One of Pikes Favorite places for music, everyone dances, water cooler next to dance floor. Be sure to try the Abita beer, expect a $10.00-$5.00 cover. (Pike)
Tipitina’s: 501 Napoleon, at Tchoupitoulas; A very famous local venue, big touring acts, home of the Neville Brothers, good any day of the week. This used to be a very nasty neighborhood, but there has been a lot of revitalization in the area recently and its better, but not perfect. Park across the street in the well lit Sav-A-Center or take a cab. Usually a $5.00-10.00 cover. You can find out who’s playing, tickets etc at their WWW site! Tipitinas WWW site (Pike, Stan, Kevin, Jennifer)
The Club: Corner of Napoleon and Magazine, Recently recommended, down the street from Tip’s, also known as Miss Mae’s, is friendly and cheap- $1.00 drinks that can’t be beat anywhere in New Orleans. This is your basic NOLA bar atmosphere, the people are nice inside and its a very diverse crowd, open 24 hours. (Jennifer F.)
Pal’s Lounge: 949 N. Rendon St., This is your basic NOLA neighborhood dive bar that you need to ring the buzzer to be let in, yes, its that kind of dive bar (but don’t be put off by that). Its in Bayou St. John part of town and off the tourist track so you’ll find and interesting and colorful local crowd here. The interior design is a work in progress with layers of the bars past all over the place like an archeological dig. The booze is cheap enough and the bartender was attentive without being a pain. If you’re looking for a genuine NOLA dive bar experience without having to worry too much about getting hit on the head, this is a good choice. BTW the Gingerita was excellent. (Olivia, Stan)
Igor’s Budda Belly Bar-Grill: 4437 Magazine St., another uptown dive bar, nice crowd and oddly enough, washing machine in the back. Drinks are cheap enough, don’t look at the floor too closely. (Ester)
Milan Lounge: 1312 Milan Street (Uptown) In the great tradition of New Orleans dive bars, I present to you, the Milan Lounge. Its small, like 3 or 4 tables and a long bar, but that seems to be the point. No wait staff, just a bartender who often has a dazed look about him. Its run by a refugee from the South Side of Chicago and there are ancient Cubs stuff on the walls. The bathrooms are not for the faint hearted, but really, its a dive bar with cheap booze and lots of local characters. I like it as it was low on the drunken frat boys meter and more a local place for people in the area. the local ordinances related to no smoking seems to be ignored here so if thats an issue, steer clear of this place. Food options seem to be limited to Zapps chips and tobacco products, but if your looking for a typical NOLA dive bar with lots of character, this is a place to check out. Located in a neighborhood that is not so bad, so street parking is a safe option. (Aimee & Stan)
Molly’s On The Market: 1107 Decatur St. 504 525 5169 There are not many places I’m interested in hanging out and drinking in the French Quarter, but this is one of them, decorated in a faux Euro-English pub style, its the hang out for literary types, BOBO’s, Drunken Philospher Kings, hipsters and of course rummies. It was one of the few places to stay open all during Katrina and is the starting point for the French Quarter Halloween Parade. It’s a nice place to toss back a few and the beer is always cold. (Stan)
Palm Jazz Court: 1204 Decatur, features many of the same acts as Preservation jazz hall, but with far less crowds and better creature comforts.
Fritzels: on Bourbon Street, down a ways from the action, a small place with live jazz on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Usually full of Europeans listening to very traditional NOLA Jazz. Very quite the rest of the week, one of the few bars I’ll go to on Bourbon, Bar Maids don’t take any crap, so mind your manners. (Stan)
Pat O’Brien’s: 718 St. Peter Street (in the French Quarter) 524 4823, This is one of those places that is so famous and tourist filled, that it should be in the bar section for “famous but overrated”. I will admit to having downed a few here, I prefer the patio for the fire in the fountain. The house drink made famous here is the Hurricane, no visit here is complete without one. During Jazz Fest and Mardi Gras long lines to get in (and its not worth the wait). (Stan)
Mid-City Lanes and Sports Palace: 3000 S. Carrollton Ave.( they moved to Carrollton & Earhart) Live music (R.N.R., Rockabilly, Blues) and bowling, Thursday-Sunday, 10 p.m.-3 a.m. Bar with full service kitchen. No cover charge, but $10.00 an hour to bowl on week ends after 8 p.m. (Pike)
The Saint: 961 St. Mary Street, lower garden district, 504 523 0050, In the tradition of smoky, dimly lit New Orleans bars, no question, it’s a New Orleans dive bar with the usual characters and drunken hipsters. This is the place to end the evenings entertainment. Don’t even open until 8 pm and stays open until “whenever”. I like the photo booth here and the booze is cheap enough but has been described as a shit-hole bar and that’s not far from the reality of it. Part of my NOLA Dive Bar Crawl.
F & M: 4841 Tchoupitoulas, 895 6784 Famous for their dancing on the pool tables, F&M is a hopping place after about Midnight. Lots of Tulane and Loyola students. If you’re looking for a pick-up joint with a little spice they say this is your place. In the grand tradition of laid back New Orleans dive bars. The Cheese fries are a great late night snack. Don’t go too early!