August 23, 2023
There is a certain comfort I feel when my friends and I go to our favorite local bars to imbibe in perfectly balanced, well-executed cocktails. The camaraderie is enjoyable, and we often meet other like-minded folks to chat with and savor the moment and the joie de vivre we celebrate here in New Orleans. There are very few things I enjoy doing more but I have to say that if that bar happens to have excellent food as well, all is right in the world. Sometimes we start at the bar with a specialty cocktail to loosen up from a long work week and then move to a table to commune more intimately with private conversation over our favorite fare. In many cities, it can be challenging to find a restaurant with top-notch cuisine that also serves the perfect cocktail or wine. Fortunately, we have quite a few choices here and I'll share some of our most cherished preferences for the best of both worlds: a superb meal served with well-crafted libations.
The Pelican Club at 312 Exchange Place presents contemporary Creole seafood, and global cuisine in the heart of the French Quarter. Since opening the doors to the renovated 19th-century Creole townhouse in 1990, chef and owner Richard Hughes has offered a diverse menu based in southern Louisiana tradition with French, Italian and Asian influences reflecting the rich culinary culture of the city. Some favorite dishes include Clay Pot “Barbequed” Shrimp, Seafood Martini, Crispy Whole Flounder, Whole Maine Lobster, and Trio of Duck. Over 200 varieties of wine are available, with 22 available by the glass.
Try one of their signature Pelican Club Cocktails! I enjoy the Black Cherry Manhattan with the perfect combination of bourbon, angostura, amaro and Luxardo cherry juice. The Pelican Club “French 75” combines gin, lemon juice and a touch of Herbsaint. And then there’s the delightful Kevin's Resignation with Sambuca (an anise flavored liqueur), cognac, Nocello (a walnut and hazelnut liqueur) and bitters. You can’t go wrong with any of these classics!
Pluck is a wine bar and restaurant for the curious, from casual drinkers to savvy connoisseurs. Their obsessively curated list and complementary food menu is designed to start a conversation, because there’s really no wrong way to drink wine … except in bad company. Located in the heart of Warehouse district at 722 Girod St., Pluck is a modern New Orleans wine bar and restaurant with an Old-World soul. With a focus on small, ethical producers and a commitment to serving great wine at all price points, founder and sommelier Skye LaTorre and her team of experienced sommeliers pour world-class bottles in a welcoming, unpretentious environment. LaTorre matches Chef Heathcliffe Hailey’s passion for cooking with her devotion to the grape. Pluck offers indoor and courtyard dining and the space, like its owner and chef, is unpretentious and welcoming, placing the emphasis on taking a progressive approach to both food and drink.
Hailey’s trademark style is a mash-up of Spanish, Creole and other global flavors, with many ingredients sourced from local growers and makers. Hailey’s menu excellently complements Pluck’s carefully curated wine list. Check out their monthly Burgundy Club with classes and dinners featuring certain producers called Cluster Pluck! Pluck has a Momentous Pluck of the Day, a wine plucked off their bottle list that is available by the glass and changes daily. If you want to sample, just ask for a flight! Not on the menu, but always available.
Boulevard American Bistro, located at 534 St. Louis St. in the French Quarter features upscale classic American and wood-fired grilled dishes, exceptional service and consistent quality from their scratch kitchen. Opens at 11 a.m. daily and closes at 9:30 p.m. on weekdays and 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Don’t miss Happy Hour on weekdays from 3–6 p.m. with weekly specials including $8 select glasses of wine, $8 and $9 premium and specialty cocktails, $4 beers, and $11 small plates such as house-made guacamole, Grade 1 tuna wraps, smoked salmon dip, crispy fried Louisiana oysters, mini house cream spinach dip, and petite ribeye steak sandwich. On Wine & Dine Wednesdays, they offer half off select bottles of wine when dining in. On Martini Thursdays, indulge in $8 Grey Goose, Tito's, Bombay or Beefeater Gin Martinis, Cosmopolitans, Lemon Drops, French 75s, Palomas and Side Cars. They have 50% off all bottles of wine when ordering to-go!
My favorite cocktail at Boulevard is an Old Fashioned, made with Old Forester Bourbon, Tres Agave Nectar, Angostura bitters and Peychaud's bitters, served over one large gentleman's cube with a Luxardo cherry and orange peel. Another cocktail on my short list is the French 75, made with Bombay Dry Gin, orange liqueur, house made sour mix, topped off with crisp champagne and served with a lemon twist. All their cocktails are hand-crafted; all fruit juices used are freshly squeezed by the bartenders.
The French Quarter location is their fourth Boulevard restaurant and features three floors. The first floor includes the kitchen, the bar, bar dining and a "chef's table.” The second floor includes indoor and balcony dining and a mini bar. The third floor features two banquet rooms for private dining. The menu differs from the other three locations as they've added new dishes including a Bone in Ribeye Au Poivre, Grilled Rack of Lamb, Pan Seared Half Duck and Crispy Buttermilk Chicken Bibb Salad. Some of our beloved favorites that remain on the menu are house creamed spinach dip, Boulevard oysters, smoked salmon, cheeseburgers, pan-seared crab cakes, Hawaiian ribeyes and slow-roasted porkchops.
Paladar 511 is a neighborhood restaurant featuring a fresh take on Italian food with house-made pastas, pizza, Gulf seafood, and seasonal local produce. Just a couple blocks off the popular Frenchmen Street at 511 Marigny St., Paladar is open every night for dinner service and takeout from 5:30–9:30. Weekend brunch is offered on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This lofty Italian restaurant is fueled by great cocktails and one of the finest wine lists around. The menu is all about pizza, pastas, and hearty sauces, but make sure the squid ink spaghetti is on your table. With its perfectly cooked shrimp, you’ll end up fighting over who gets the last one swimming in the Calabrian chili butter. For pizza, order the Farm Egg which is topped with bacon and collard greens and is worth every messy bite. Save room for dessert too, because the dark chocolate budino custard is one of the best sweet finishes in the city.
Cocktails, anyone? You will be wowed by their Paladar Martini, a skillful combo of gin, dry vermouth, orange vermouth, gentian, and salt. To immerse yourself in the fall season, I also adore Marigny Mornings, made with aged rum, passionfruit, cinnamon, Aperol, and lime. You can almost hear the rustling leaves and smell the pumpkin pie baking!
Mysterious and bewitching, Foundation Room New Orleans is a clandestine lair tucked above House of Blues at 225 Decatur St. It’s a posh upstairs lounge offering dinner, specialty cocktails and a balcony with stage views of top-tier live music. Take your night to the next level with the finest in mouth-watering culinary excellence, craft cocktails and live entertainment. Whether you’re visiting before or after your show or just looking to have an unforgettable night out, reserve through Open Table to enjoy hand-crafted cocktails, an elevated lounge or dining menu, or order bottle service in style all while enjoying some of the best music in town.
When you go, be sure to try their unique Aged Old Fashioned! This libation mixes 2 ounces from their aged barrel that contains a bottle of Rittenhouse Rye, a bottle of Buffalo Trace, a bottle of Calvados, and a bottle of Hennessey VS. All are aged in the barrel for 30 days prior to service! Add a bar spoon of Demerara rich syrup and three dashes of Angostura bitters and you will sip the very best Old Fashioned you have ever savored! Their Cucumber Zen blends a handful of freshly muddled cucumber, mint-infused Tito’s, cucumber Effen vodka, citrus-infused St. Germain, fresh lemon and lime juice, and a dash of simple syrup topped with a cucumber slice. It’s very refreshing! Last but not least … Olé! Their Good Karma Margarita skillfully combines Patron Reposado, Vida Mezcal, Giffard Pamplemousse Liqueur, lime juice and dark agave syrup topped with a pinch of salt, a lime wheel, and three pomegranate seeds.
You won’t go hungry at Foundation Room; there are so many excellent choices. Crab cakes, seared scallops, prime steak skewers, tamarind and chili-garlic wings, oysters, blue crab and artichoke arancini, and Gulf Fish Meunière are among my favorites on their uniquely varied menu.
So many choices here in the Crescent City—it’s challenging to just name a few! As Louis Armstrong said, “You're gonna find heaven right here on earth … Way down yonder in New Orleans.”
The Pelican Club at 312 Exchange Place presents contemporary Creole seafood, and global cuisine in the heart of the French Quarter. Since opening the doors to the renovated 19th-century Creole townhouse in 1990, chef and owner Richard Hughes has offered a diverse menu based in southern Louisiana tradition with French, Italian and Asian influences reflecting the rich culinary culture of the city. Some favorite dishes include Clay Pot “Barbequed” Shrimp, Seafood Martini, Crispy Whole Flounder, Whole Maine Lobster, and Trio of Duck. Over 200 varieties of wine are available, with 22 available by the glass.
Try one of their signature Pelican Club Cocktails! I enjoy the Black Cherry Manhattan with the perfect combination of bourbon, angostura, amaro and Luxardo cherry juice. The Pelican Club “French 75” combines gin, lemon juice and a touch of Herbsaint. And then there’s the delightful Kevin's Resignation with Sambuca (an anise flavored liqueur), cognac, Nocello (a walnut and hazelnut liqueur) and bitters. You can’t go wrong with any of these classics!
Pluck is a wine bar and restaurant for the curious, from casual drinkers to savvy connoisseurs. Their obsessively curated list and complementary food menu is designed to start a conversation, because there’s really no wrong way to drink wine … except in bad company. Located in the heart of Warehouse district at 722 Girod St., Pluck is a modern New Orleans wine bar and restaurant with an Old-World soul. With a focus on small, ethical producers and a commitment to serving great wine at all price points, founder and sommelier Skye LaTorre and her team of experienced sommeliers pour world-class bottles in a welcoming, unpretentious environment. LaTorre matches Chef Heathcliffe Hailey’s passion for cooking with her devotion to the grape. Pluck offers indoor and courtyard dining and the space, like its owner and chef, is unpretentious and welcoming, placing the emphasis on taking a progressive approach to both food and drink.
Hailey’s trademark style is a mash-up of Spanish, Creole and other global flavors, with many ingredients sourced from local growers and makers. Hailey’s menu excellently complements Pluck’s carefully curated wine list. Check out their monthly Burgundy Club with classes and dinners featuring certain producers called Cluster Pluck! Pluck has a Momentous Pluck of the Day, a wine plucked off their bottle list that is available by the glass and changes daily. If you want to sample, just ask for a flight! Not on the menu, but always available.
Boulevard American Bistro, located at 534 St. Louis St. in the French Quarter features upscale classic American and wood-fired grilled dishes, exceptional service and consistent quality from their scratch kitchen. Opens at 11 a.m. daily and closes at 9:30 p.m. on weekdays and 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Don’t miss Happy Hour on weekdays from 3–6 p.m. with weekly specials including $8 select glasses of wine, $8 and $9 premium and specialty cocktails, $4 beers, and $11 small plates such as house-made guacamole, Grade 1 tuna wraps, smoked salmon dip, crispy fried Louisiana oysters, mini house cream spinach dip, and petite ribeye steak sandwich. On Wine & Dine Wednesdays, they offer half off select bottles of wine when dining in. On Martini Thursdays, indulge in $8 Grey Goose, Tito's, Bombay or Beefeater Gin Martinis, Cosmopolitans, Lemon Drops, French 75s, Palomas and Side Cars. They have 50% off all bottles of wine when ordering to-go!
My favorite cocktail at Boulevard is an Old Fashioned, made with Old Forester Bourbon, Tres Agave Nectar, Angostura bitters and Peychaud's bitters, served over one large gentleman's cube with a Luxardo cherry and orange peel. Another cocktail on my short list is the French 75, made with Bombay Dry Gin, orange liqueur, house made sour mix, topped off with crisp champagne and served with a lemon twist. All their cocktails are hand-crafted; all fruit juices used are freshly squeezed by the bartenders.
The French Quarter location is their fourth Boulevard restaurant and features three floors. The first floor includes the kitchen, the bar, bar dining and a "chef's table.” The second floor includes indoor and balcony dining and a mini bar. The third floor features two banquet rooms for private dining. The menu differs from the other three locations as they've added new dishes including a Bone in Ribeye Au Poivre, Grilled Rack of Lamb, Pan Seared Half Duck and Crispy Buttermilk Chicken Bibb Salad. Some of our beloved favorites that remain on the menu are house creamed spinach dip, Boulevard oysters, smoked salmon, cheeseburgers, pan-seared crab cakes, Hawaiian ribeyes and slow-roasted porkchops.
Paladar 511 is a neighborhood restaurant featuring a fresh take on Italian food with house-made pastas, pizza, Gulf seafood, and seasonal local produce. Just a couple blocks off the popular Frenchmen Street at 511 Marigny St., Paladar is open every night for dinner service and takeout from 5:30–9:30. Weekend brunch is offered on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This lofty Italian restaurant is fueled by great cocktails and one of the finest wine lists around. The menu is all about pizza, pastas, and hearty sauces, but make sure the squid ink spaghetti is on your table. With its perfectly cooked shrimp, you’ll end up fighting over who gets the last one swimming in the Calabrian chili butter. For pizza, order the Farm Egg which is topped with bacon and collard greens and is worth every messy bite. Save room for dessert too, because the dark chocolate budino custard is one of the best sweet finishes in the city.
Cocktails, anyone? You will be wowed by their Paladar Martini, a skillful combo of gin, dry vermouth, orange vermouth, gentian, and salt. To immerse yourself in the fall season, I also adore Marigny Mornings, made with aged rum, passionfruit, cinnamon, Aperol, and lime. You can almost hear the rustling leaves and smell the pumpkin pie baking!
Mysterious and bewitching, Foundation Room New Orleans is a clandestine lair tucked above House of Blues at 225 Decatur St. It’s a posh upstairs lounge offering dinner, specialty cocktails and a balcony with stage views of top-tier live music. Take your night to the next level with the finest in mouth-watering culinary excellence, craft cocktails and live entertainment. Whether you’re visiting before or after your show or just looking to have an unforgettable night out, reserve through Open Table to enjoy hand-crafted cocktails, an elevated lounge or dining menu, or order bottle service in style all while enjoying some of the best music in town.
When you go, be sure to try their unique Aged Old Fashioned! This libation mixes 2 ounces from their aged barrel that contains a bottle of Rittenhouse Rye, a bottle of Buffalo Trace, a bottle of Calvados, and a bottle of Hennessey VS. All are aged in the barrel for 30 days prior to service! Add a bar spoon of Demerara rich syrup and three dashes of Angostura bitters and you will sip the very best Old Fashioned you have ever savored! Their Cucumber Zen blends a handful of freshly muddled cucumber, mint-infused Tito’s, cucumber Effen vodka, citrus-infused St. Germain, fresh lemon and lime juice, and a dash of simple syrup topped with a cucumber slice. It’s very refreshing! Last but not least … Olé! Their Good Karma Margarita skillfully combines Patron Reposado, Vida Mezcal, Giffard Pamplemousse Liqueur, lime juice and dark agave syrup topped with a pinch of salt, a lime wheel, and three pomegranate seeds.
You won’t go hungry at Foundation Room; there are so many excellent choices. Crab cakes, seared scallops, prime steak skewers, tamarind and chili-garlic wings, oysters, blue crab and artichoke arancini, and Gulf Fish Meunière are among my favorites on their uniquely varied menu.
So many choices here in the Crescent City—it’s challenging to just name a few! As Louis Armstrong said, “You're gonna find heaven right here on earth … Way down yonder in New Orleans.”
