Tag Archives: beer

Around Town: The Fresh Market on St. Charles

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I had a very fun opportunity last night to catch a sneak peek at The Fresh Market that is opening on St. Charles. At first glance the store is beautiful, but by actually touring the store with some of their fancy corporate team members yesterday, I gained a new appreciation for all of the care and consideration taken in planning out a store like this one. The Fresh Market focuses on high quality, fresh produce and other perishables, with nice grocery staples and gourmet additions thrown in for good measure. The store is designed to suit both shoppers who are hoping to grab something quick for dinner and those who want to browse for new inspiration.

This location is unique for The Fresh Market team because its the first location with retail on two floors. Lots of people have been wondering how they’d handle that and whether there’d be a Target-style “cart-scalator” to move shoppers between the floors. (Fun fact: those cart-scalators are actually called Vermaports. Oh the things you learn when your dad’s an engineer…)Turns out they opted not to use up space with an escalator and instead will rely on an elevator for that purpose. BUT never fear, although the second floor is predominated by beer, wine and booze, there are also some quick selections of beer and wine downstairs, so you could complete your quick run to the store without ever having to pop upstairs. If you do plan on browsing the selection upstairs, it’s convenient enough that you could just grab a cart and head straight there before you start makin’ groceries downstairs.

This location is also the first to offer gelato by the scoop. Many of the products at The Fresh Market will be sourced locally and the store proudly prepares a multitude of options right on the premises.

I can’t wait to head back to The Fresh Market. After my sneak peek last night I can already tell you its going to be hard to get out of there without a very full basket.

The Fresh Market opened this morning at 9:00 with a ceremonial “cheese cracking” rather than a ribbon cutting. It’s in the old Borders located at 3338 St. Charles Ave.

Brewer’s Paradise: St. Tammany Parish?

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The local beer scene is about to get a bit more crowded (Hooray!). Well maybe in a 6 months to a year. Word on the street is there are two new breweries coming to the Northshore. First is Pelican Brewing Company. Pelican is still waiting on finalization of permits and so forth, but is predicting a 1st Quarter of 2012 entrance on to the scene. They’ve taken the name as a nod to one of the first German breweries in New Orleans. Hopefully they’re beer will also be a nod to German styled suds. You can currently find them on Twitter, Facebook and the World Wide Web.

Possibly the Old Rail menu cover? (Image from RBC Design)

The second brewery underway on the Northshore is Old Rail Brewing Co. From what it looks like this will be a brew pub concept rather than a full on brewery. Initial research on the issue looks like this concept is being put forward by the same guy behind The Barley Oak, which is a pretty kick-ass little beer haven on the lakefront in Mandeville. The chatter I’ve been able to pick up so far indicates that Old Rail is further along in the process than Pelican and will open sooner. From the construction photos I’ve seen, perhaps a holiday opening?

Local Brews get the “can do” spirit

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Wow that title is terrible, and for that I apologize. I do not apologize for bringing this little bit of news to anyone who does not know it quite yet. Our local brewers are bringing us our favorite local beers in street safe cans. No longer will you have to grab a go cup before heading out the door with your beer. Better yet, the cans are recycleable in the City of New Orleans, unlike those pesky bottles (as a side note, how is glass not first on the list of things we can recycle? In this city, how the hell can we not recycle bottles? We might as well not have a program at all!). So in honor of the latest entrant to the canned beer experience we’ll give the full range of options:

First, we’ll go with the true trendsetter, Heiner Brau, who sells cans during special occasions, like Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest and Octoberfest. Story here. Although they were first on the market, they aren’t available year round–yet.

Then came our favorite local brewer, NOLA Brewing, which first announced plans to pursue a bottling line before ditching the glass in favor of cans. In late May, they announced that cans should be out this fall. With the lockout dead and football back on, this means NOLA Brewing for your tailgates and Saints parties.

According to Todd A Price, Baton Rouge brewer Tin Roof will be offering cans in the same timeframe. Tin Roof’s beer is worth a try if you haven’t given it a go.

And finally, the big news announced yesterday which prompted this post is that Abita Beer will be canning three of its beers, Amber, Jockamo and Purple Haze. Their cans will be last to the market–they aren’t arriving until early 2012. Hopefully just in time for your Saints Super Bowl party. Below is the art for the new cans. What do you think?

Abita's New Cans

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.

Around Town: NOLA Brewing Irish Channel Stout Release Party

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Pic from NOLA Brewing's Facebook page

Well we’ve survived another prime time Saints game. I think I might be running at about 75% by tonight, but I think that is all I’m going to need for the premier of the latest addition to the NOLA Brewing collection, Irish Channel Stout. The premier will kick off at Le Bon Temp at 6:00 pm and unlike the regular Thursday Soul Rebels show it will (probably) start on time.

NOLA Brewing tells us that the Irish Channel Stout is

an American style stout that has sweet malt flavors of caramel and chocolate, complimented by a crisp bitterness produced by roasted barley and American Hops. The complex malt bill of pale and roasted malts result in this well balanced stout that is smooth, rich, dark and delicious!
ABV 6.8%

As a fan of stouts and everything that Peter Caddoo and Kirk Coco have brewed up, I am really looking forward to getting my hands on the ICS at this premier. I hope to see you out there!

Irish Channel Stout Release Party
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
6 – 9 pm
Le Bon Temps
4801 Magazine Street
New Orleans, LA

Still recovering from the Saints game and can’t make it? You can always try to hit up the free Friday brew tours at the Brewery starting at 2:00 for your taste of the ICS or pick it up at most any quality grocery store or bar.

Around Town: Red Fish Grill Abita Beer Dinner

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So six months we told you about the Abita Beer dinner at Galatoire’s. We had a pretty fantastic time. So when the invite to the latest beer dinner popped into my inbox, I was pretty excited. The Red Fish dinner is happening this Thursday at 6:30 (beer-tails hour). Going for $75 (inclusive of tax and gratuity), the Red Fish Grill dinner features five Abita paired courses, including an alligator crusted redfish corndog. If that doesn’t at least pique your curiosity you may be dead.

To see the full menu and the other nitty gritty details, click here.

Ready to sign up already? Reserve your spot at 598-1200.

Yo Mama’s: The French Quarter’s Great Equalizer

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There are few things in this life that are great equalizers. You know, things where people of all races, genders and socio-economic status can come together as one and put all their differences aside for one common purpose. Athletic competition is probably the most widely recognized great equalizer. Second and third to sports, is likely a great burger and yo (or ya) mama jokes, but not necessarily in that order.
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Green Goddess: A Hidden Gem

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New Orleans is a truly magical city. I’m not talking about the way of life or culture (that’s a whole other post book), but the city itself. Nothing makes this clearer than turning down a random alley and finding a fantastic restaurant tucked away in an often overlooked alleyway. The Green Goddess (307 Exchange Place, 504.301.3347) is one such place, easily missed if you aren’t seeking it out.
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Spot at the Bar: Fridge Pig

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It’s summer in New Orleans, which means two things: It’s hot as hell and, as a result, anywhere with access to water is going to be the place to be. Of course, it is New Orleans so when you hit the pool, river, lake or other body of water you’ll be looking to bring some beer. Bottles aren’t safe with all the bare feet around and cans, while convenient, don’t really give you all that great of a selection of beer to choose from. So how do you cool off on a hot summer day and not have to sacrifice beer quality? Why with a Fridge Pig, of course!

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NOLA Brewing Brewery Tour

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When I found out that NOLA Brewing gave free tours at 2:00 p.m. on Fridays I was very excited. I happen to love beer, I always almost always have. (I wasn’t that big a fan back when I took a swig when I was 8 or so out of my Dad’s Bud when he wasn’t looking at Frankie and Jonny’s). Beer is big enough passion of mine that I’ve visited different breweries all over the world. Whenever I go anywhere, for work or vacation, I try to hook up with a local brewery and check it out. So when I showed up early for the Friday brewery tour I was sure of two things: 1. I wasn’t going to learn a damn thing on the brewery tour and 2. I was going to try the Hurricane Saison. I was wrong about both.

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