Newsletter 50 - December 21 to 27

NOLAlicious #50, December 21 to 27, 2010

If you’re alive and you live in New Orleans, you’ve got a favorite bar, a favorite drink and a favorite bartender. If you REALLY live in New Orleans that number of favorites is probably more like two or five, and it includes a favorite for every occasion, holiday, parade and cast of visitors that one could possibly imagine. As New Orleanians, we love sharing favorites with our friends.

Although I’m not sitting sharing a drink right now (right now we’re righting an introduction to this week’s enewsletter), in the spirit of the holidays, here’s what I would be drinking with you right now:

Sazerac: My first sazerac in New Orleans was at The Sazerac Bar in the Roosevelt Hotel. When I first moved to New Orleans, I had no idea how different the drink could be at different bars, so I began building up a list of how the sazeracs compared, and throughout my explorations in New Orleans, it’s still my favorite. It might be the uncontroversial choice, but sometimes the easy choices are the right ones.

Pimm’s Cup at Napoleon House, French 75 at French 75 Bar, and Old Fashioned at The Columns: Although these aren’t New Orleans specialities, they are classic drinks made for the right moments: morning, afternoon and evening. Each drink has its own deep, rich history, and part of enjoying them is indulging yourself in visions of what it would be like to drink each of these drinks a hundred years ago.

A NOLA Blonde, anywhere (but I prefer The Avenue Pub). My go-to beer in New Orleans, available throughout the city. Drinks best on a bar stool shooting the breeze with a friend or 10.

Any whiskey or bourbon-based cocktail. So many bars, so many bartenders, so many drinks undiscovered. If it’s based on whiskey or bourbon, I’m ready to try it.

What’s your favorite New Orleans cocktail?

Cheers and Bottoms Up,

P.S. Give the gift of NOLAlicious this holiday season with the NOLAlicious 2011 calendar! Packed with your favorite photos from past issues of NOLAlicious this makes the perfect holiday gift for that special someone, family, friends & coworkers. Order online now!

NOLAlicious Picks

EAT   Feelings Cafe is truly local in every way - their obscure, hole-in-the-wall location keeps their gorgeous dining room and garden courtyard tourist-free, so that those who can truly appreciate such New Orleans specialties as the mirliton and roasted corn salad, mushroom boudin, and fish Nicholas can indulge in peace. Vegetarians and meat-eaters alike can find spectacular dishes, from the roasted vegetable terrine to the orange-glazed duck with pecan rice. The relative secrecy and intimate space makes this dining experience really exceptional and the adjacent piano bar, once the slave quarters of the D'Aunoy plantation, provides incredible ambience. Dinner Thursday-Sunday at 6pm and brunch on Sundays. 2600 Chartres Street.

GO  Looking for a bar with big screens, loads of sports channels, craft beers on tap in the front and a shuffle board in the back? If this sounds like your kind of place, you’ best be heading to the Bywater to Markey’s Bar, a neighborhood favorite that boasts all the above, plus burgers and a juke box. Markey’s is a solid dive with decades of character under its belt, and the perfect unpretentious spot to grab a cold one with good friends. 640 Louisa St. Facebook

DO  Celebrate Christmas Harrah’s-style at Miracle on Fulton Street, an annual celebration established in 2007 to lift holiday spirits following Hurricane Katrina. Fulton Street, the pedestrian plaza adjacent to Harrah’s Hotel between Lafayette and Poydras streets, will be all-out Christmas-palooza with thousands of twinkle lights, giant fleur de lis ornaments, faux snow, a 30-foot-tree, and a visit from Santa Claus. Thursday, 6:30PM to 8:30PM. Facebook/Twitter

GO  We love our Saints! But we love our Hornets too! Never count out the Hornets for a fun time with friends and family. Head on down to the New Orleans Arena this Wednesday night where the Hornets are playing the New Jersey Nets. We’ll be the ones with nachos and beers, see you there. Wednesday, 7pm at The New Orleans Arena. Tickets as low as $13. Facebook/Twitter

SEE  We have found the number one reason to venture to the Quarter on Christmas Eve, Preservation Hall for a Creole Christmas featuring Lars Edegran, Big Al Carson, Topsy Chapman, and the St. Peter Allstars. A perfect excuse to enjoy the gorgeous decorations all around the French Quarter one more time this holiday season. Friday, December 24th. 1st Concert 2:30 pm - 3:45 pm; 2nd Concert 4:15 pm - 5:30. Admission $12. 726 St. Peter Street. Facebook/Twitter

LAGNIAPPE  Looking to jazz up your Christmas Day festivities a bit? Look no further! Howlin’ Wolf - Christmas with Rebirth Brass Band & Kermit Ruffins and the Barbecue Swingers is in full swing with brass bands, delicious food, crazy people and dat music you know you love. That sounds like Christmas Day in NOLA to us! December 25th at 10pm. Tickets are $15. 907 South Peters. Facebook/Twitter

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