NEW ORLEANS FEATURES - Restaurants With Fun Bars
Raising The Bar - Restaurants With Fun Bars
In August, cooling down might be more on your mind than dining. New Orleans is a great place to find places that combine fun bars and excellent kitchens. Many of these restaurants keep their kitchens open to later hours. And they'll send food to the bar as well.
Bourbon House (144 Bourbon St., 504-522-0111) Situated on Bourbon Street at the beginning of the strip, Bourbon House has a bar and oyster bar with huge picture windows looking out on the party outside. Bourbon House is equipped with the city's best selection of Bourbons, including small batches and aged bourbons like Basil Hayden's, Knob Creek, Woodford Reserve, Buffalo Trace and many more. Seating in the bar area is café style and more relaxed than the dining rooms. The menu features classic New Orleans dishes and contemporary twists by chef Jared Tees.
House of Blues (225 Decatur St., 504-529-BLUE) The House of Blues décor is a shrine to the blues with a back roads, juke joint feel. The menu heavily favors Southern cooking and New Orleans dishes like crawfish cakes, chicken and andouille gumbo, jambalaya, etouffée and po' boys with fried seafood. Southern dishes include slow smoked baby back ribs, blues burgers, tuna steaks and brick oven pizzas. The desserts are super sweet and include white chocolate banana bread pudding and pecan pie.
Snug Harbor (626 Frenchmen St., 504-949-0696) The premier club in the city for modern jazz is Snug Harbor located in a strip of funky bars and clubs in the Marigny. So it's easy to overlook that the full name is actually Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro. The restaurant serves New Orleans seafood dishes and steaks. Snug also has an active bar scene and music is generally piped in from the club room to the bar and front of the restaurant. It's open late with the second show starting at 11pm nightly.
Crescent City Brewhouse (527 Decatur St., 504-522-0571) The Brewhouse is a good place to start by cooling off with a homemade beer. Bavarian brewmaster Wulfram Koehler brews a pilsner, an ale, a dark beer and other seasonal beers. The menu features an eclectic selection of New Orleans and creative dishes. There is everything from Mississippi quail to lamb chops and Gulf fish. There's also an oyster bar and live jazz trios entertain in the bar area.
Smith & Wollensky (1009 Poydras St., 504-561-0770) Smith & Wollensky is known for serious steaks. Among the twists in the local Smith and Wollensky is the richly seasoned Cajun filet. There is also plenty of local seafood on the surf side of the menu and a two-pound "angry" lobster. Local chef Robert Bruce keeps a local touch in the kitchen. Doc Smith's bar has a happening scene and is a good place for a carnivore to work up an appetite.