With Super Bowl XLVII now a wrap, and the Mardi Gras season in full effect, the country’s citadel of good food, good drink, is the South's own City that never sleeps. It's also a City where the bartenders are superstars, a pour is a work of art.
Don’t get us wrong — it’s not that New Orleans’ raison d'être is imbibing, but this port city molded by French, Spanish, Caribbean and American slave cultures, is inextricably intertwined with booze.
Napoleon HouseIf you're headed to N.O.LA be sure to stop by this French Quarter institution on the corner of St. Louis and Charles
streets — it opens at 11 am, the perfect time for a refreshing Pimm’s Cup (although we don’t know if legendary bartender Paul Gustings works that early). The 200-year-old building was the home of Nicholas Girod, New Orleans mayor from 1812 to 1815. We're not exactly sure what Napoleon had to do with this place, but bust is perched atop the cash register, though it’s unlikely he’d approve of being associated with a drinking establishment known for this Anglophile fave mixing a
splash of lemonade with Pimm’s No. 1.
The drinks are reasonably priced and the atmosphere is warm and friendly.