Monthly Archives: December 2010

Bring on the Bubbly!

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It’s almost time to start the official countdown to the New Year. I gotta admit, 2010 has been pretty wonderful to me and I’m not sure I’m ready to let it go! I’m sort of dragging my feet on planning 2010’s farewell party. And if you’re like $1.25 and me, you’re still looking for something to do on New Year’s Eve and you’re looking for something that won’t break the bank. Well, no question about it, the night has to involve a little bubbly…and those bottles can add up in a hurry!
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What else is going on in there?

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So it’s back to being slammed at work right now, so nothing long or profound, but I did run across something that caught my eye.

Like most guys, I’ve known that women’s rooms are typically bigger, nicer and with more amenities than men’s rooms, no matter where you go. I mean just the other day, the cleaning people left the door to women’s bathroom at work open and I found out they have a sitting room, couch and all!

It’s not that I’ve ever really cared, the bathroom is not a social place. In and out, there’s no need to lounge around on a couch. Besides being clean and having adequate toilets, I think the less a bathroom has the more comforatable I’ll be. I’m just plain weirded out when a bathroom has an attendant. So let the ladies have their bigger bathrooms and couches and attendants, I really don’t care.

Or at least that is how I used to feel. Then I saw this post from Robert Simonson over on Make It Simple But Significant (nee Off the Presses), one of my favorite ways too keep up with the future of booze. If there are couches, a bar and bartender in the bathroom, what’s to send people back out?

Upcoming Restaurant: Geisha Sushi Bistro

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Just off the corner of Tchoupitoulas and Canal is a collection of old buildings that were vacant and falling apart for years. In fact, one of the buildings was open in the back and had part of a brick wall dangling over cars parked in the parking lot below. I was always waiting for the wall to collapse and the cars below to be crushed. Well, that has all changed in the last few months. The back wall has been rebuilt and there has been a buzz of activity for the past few months with contractors all over the place.

Completely unsubstantiated rumors swirled that an ESPN Zone was coming to town, those gave way to rumors that a Dave and Busters or something similar was coming to that corner. Fortunately, all the rumors can be put to rest as a sign was recently hung out front advising us all that the Geisha Sushi Bistro would be coming in the Fall of 2010. However, from the rather heated exchange between a man holding a set of plans and a few of the contractors this past Friday, it does not look like we’ll hit that date. Of course, all of us who have rebuilt in the past few years can certainly understand.

While this is the extent of my knowledge of the Geisha Sushi Bistro, I always look forward to checking out a new place. If anyone has any other information, we’d love to have it in the comments!

Around Town: Holiday Celebrations

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So Chanukah has started and Christmas and New Years are right around the corner. The shopping malls are already packed and will remain so until the end of Christmas, so what can you do to avoid them?

Well, there are the month-long Reveillon dinners taking place across town. Here’s the piece we did for the GoNOLA blog.

Once you’ve finished eating, you can pack the family into the car and head on out to City Park for Celebration in the Oaks. Although the link says they’re closed on Christmas Eve, I’ve seen reports to the contrary on da twitters. Want to burn off some calories from dinner you can hit up a little ice skating for $5.00 for 30 minutes.

Downtown? You can check out The Miracle on Fulton Street. With lots of live entertainment and regular “snow” falls, there will be plenty to see and do. Of course, the “snow” is more like a soap mixture, so don’t go expecting anything close to real.

Anything you love to do for the holidays? Let us Know in the comments!

Tools of the Trade: Where to Drink in New Orleans

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Decisions, decisions.  Those of us who live in New Orleans really are fortunate.  When we get a little thirsty, we’ve got a bar, a pub, a club, or a hole-in-the-wall on almost every corner.  But that can lead to challenges for those of us who just can’t quite make up our minds.  We have so many options, we could waste precious drinking time just trying to figure out where we’re going to drink.  And heaven help the poor tourists who think that Mango Mango is their only option.  Well, a fine gentleman named Ian Hoch has come to our rescue with this handy dandy Where to Drink in New Orleans chart.  Ian, I don’t know you, but I like you.

With questions to help guide you such as “Where are you?” (Mid-City) “Do you like Irish Pubs” (sure, but let’s change it up today) and “Want live music?” (yep) Ian has helped me narrow down the buffet of options city-wide to a manageable 3 choices (Rock N Bowl, Chickie Wah Wah, and the Banks Street Bar). Problem Solved.

If you’re from Metairie, you should answer very carefully, lest you be told to just stay home. But the rest of you will have fun with it. Heck, I even learned that if I’m downtown and in need of a haircut, there’s a bar for that! And if you’re dressed like Elvis, don’t worry, you’re covered too.

The American Sector: Missed Nostalgia

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Pickles!

The other day a group of us from work headed out for lunch over at The American Sector. Of course, none of us quite realized the walk we were getting ourselves into. Having heard decent things about TAS, I was pretty amped about getting to try it out. The two phrases always heard associated with TAS are “comfort food” and “nostalgic.” With a menu of chicken fried steak, bologna sandwich, and grilled cheese and tomato soup, these descriptions seemed quite appropriate. Unfortunately, they also led my expectations astray.

Sloppy Joe and Onion Rings

After our long walk, the jar of pickles before the meal gave us just enough strength to check out the menu. Meatloaf, fried chicken, hot dogs, Sloppy Joe’s were just a sampling of the little bits of growing up that are just standard issue. It was almost like you couldn’t go wrong, pick any dish and get a side of childhood free, The American Sector’s version of the combo meal.

Order in for the hot dog, the Sloppy Joe and the chicken and dumplings. “Oh, and why don’t we take a shot at those onion rings.” As the food arrives, first the foot long hot dog (made in-house), then the mound of a Sloppy Joe, then the chicken and dumplings, closing out with the onion rings. While normally my onion ring tastes lean away from the beer battered rings, these were pretty darn good.

Foot Long Gourmet Chili Cheese Dog

The rest of the food, while good, just didn’t sit quite right with me. It wasn’t nostalgia, it was some fancy take on the classic foods of our youth. While it completely understandable that a talented chef like John Besh would inject his spin on the food, but it just wasn’t what I was looking for. I was looking for my childhood, instead I got a gourmet version of it. The massive hot dog was a hand crafted masterpiece, not a mass-produced jumbo kosher beef frank. When the Sloppy Joe attacked my shirt and tie it was a large chunk of short rib leaving grease stains, not ground beef with Manwich sauce.

All in all, The American Sector served up excellent dishes, but don’t go expecting the same dishes from your childhood. That is unless you grew up with an award-winning chef.