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Pub Clubbing New Orleans
– French Quarter Bars!
The Best Bloody Mary, Margaritaville & More
One does not have to be on Bourbon Street to get beads and booze in New Orleans.
There is more to partying it up in New Orleans than Bourbon Street.
The rest of the French Quarter is good for quenching one's thirst for fun and a New Orleans-style experience.
This is a look at the bars off Bourbon Street, fun places that are good for mixing not only with visitors but also spots that are favorites of locals.
 Where
the heck is Margaritaville?
In New Orleans, it's at the end of Decatur
Street, just down from Cafe du Monde and across from the Farmer's Market. Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville Cafe heads the list of other French
Quarter bars. It indeed serves up cheeseburgers and cold draft beer,
but mainly what it has is Jimmy Buffett. From tables featuring his album
covers to the non-stop videos to the music, it's a Parrothead's paradise.
The place seems to be modeled after one of Buffett's favorite places,
Captain Tony's Saloon in Key West, because on a hot and muggy day you
just want to go in there to get out of the heat. In the small Storyville
Cafe bar at the back, it's easy to get wasted away to the live music
from the local musicians. At the upstairs bar, life is really just a
tire swing. And yes, Jimmy himself does occasionally stops in and does
the odd show every couple of years. Tons of tourists make Margaritaville
a mandatory stop at least once. And often quite more often.
Across the street is a locals' dive, Coops. A small place with
brick walls, a brick floor and wood tables, it can boast to having New
Orelans' Best Bloody Mary and Best Margarita. The latter is made
by Faye, who works only Thursdays-Saturdays. The former is served by
a skinny bartender who smokes and wears a beret and plays in a band.
He works Sunday-Wednesday. The food is great – big burgers,
tasty red beans and rice with fried chicken and the heartiest gumbo
in the city. Order off the big menu on the wall, not the printed menu.
Oddly, this locals' and part-tourist dive bar has wireless Internet.
Another bar that's one of the Best French Quarter Hangouts Not On Bourbon
Street is a small place called The Alibi. Located on Iberville
just off Bourbon, it is where locals in the lower Quarter go to hang.
It has the city's most extensive international beer selection – Germany,
England, Scotland, Canada, just to name a few represented countries
– and it's casual style attracts waitresses and bartenders from
the nearby restaurants who come in after work. The Alibi is also one
of the few places in the Quarter that serves food past 11 p.m.
The food is meodicre, the service suspect and it's in a total tourist
location – on Decatur right by Jackon Square – but at least
the owner of The Corner Oyster Bar & Grill has had the foresight
to hire the city's Most Outstanding-Looking Staff, outside of Hooter's
anyway. How good-looking: They sell a calendar of the bartenders and
waitresses.
O' Flatery's is a mellow Irish club with music and dancing.
Over on Chartres Street, some of the cheapest drinks in town are served
at The Chart Room. Not to be at all confused with that upscale
American restaurant chain with a similar name, the Chart Room is an
old bar that looks like it will fall down. But it's a popular locals'
spot for Happy Hour and mid-to-late nights. It's a classic local bar
– cold, cheap beer ($2.50 for imports), patrons who look likely
to have their heads on the bar before too long and a bartender who has
probably been there since the place opened.
A couple of blocks up the street (at St. Louis) is one of the most
historic buildings in town. Napoleon House, which was built for
but never lived in by the famous French leader, is both a bar and a
restaurant. Classical music plays in a classical setting. The bar area
is open to the street and the restaurant has the kind of patio one envisions
when thinking of New Orleans. It is a good place for a few drinks or
a meal – the jambalaya is among the best in town and at $4.95 it's
also the cheapest. Be prepared for the very deliberate French service.
Toulouse Street, about halfway down Bourbon, has four good bars (go
toward the Mississippi River).
The Gold Mine is a weekend-only late-night dance club. Try the
Flaming Dr. Pepper.
The Dungeon could almost be The
Bartender's favorite New Orleans bar. It's neat and funky.
The entrance is a narrow hallway that opens up into a small patio with
a tiny waterfall. Upstairs has a bar and dance floor that plays kickass
rock and punk tunes of the patrons' choice. It is black and dark and
has the feel of, well, a dungeon. But it also has this Big Brother thing
to it. You can't do shots with the bartender/music girl, photos are
not allowed and there are Secret Service-style security guys with headsets
watching over everyone as if they are suspected terrorists. At least
there's no trouble in the place, a contrast to its past when the bikers
from the bar across the street used to come in and act like drunken
bikers.
For live music, locals once loved to love the Shim Sham Club. It's
currently The Joker, which has live music, often with a heavty
cover charge. We include it mainly for nostalgia purposes; the original
had awesome local bands, some of which din't even go on until 3 a.m.
Whenever the Shim-Shamettes took the stage, the place went nuts. These
20 girls put on an old-style striptease show.
Business casual people in search of a martini find them in abundance
at Bombay Club. It's a classy piano bar with a menu of smooth
and sensational martinis.
For live music – and people here love to hear live music –
is Tipitina's and the House of Blues. There are two Tipitina's
locations: the one at 233 N. Peters is the original and the one on Decatur
Street is only open when bands are playing. Tipitina's generally hosts
wildly popular local bands such as The Radiators and The Neville Brothers,
all of which have an almost cult following.
The House of Blues books name national rock acts. On Mondays, it's
SIN Night (Service Industry Night) and while there's no band, the place
is packed with locals from other bars and restaurants enjoying a night
off from work.
RELATED ARTICLES:
• More
Bars – Where the Locals Party
• Take
A Pub Crawl Aboard the St. Charles Street Car
 PubClub.com
PubClub.com covers nightlife, bars, festivals and party events around the world. The staff has been to New Orleans – and the French Quarter – many times.
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