September 8
...serving up your daily dish.
Warren Levinson's latest picture from Nawlins happens to coincide with Baristanet reader Daniella's homage to that city's great bar scene.
Every city in every state has neighborhoods. And every city in every state has bars in those neighborhoods (lest of course you live in a soulless suburb, or even worse a gated community, in which case I feel sorry for you and you really should venture out to see the world that isn't homegenized and pasteurized and watered down--really).
New Orleans, however, has Neighborhoods. People are defined by their neighborhoods in a way that perhaps doesn't exist elsewhere in America. Well, maybe in New York City, but it's different. If you tell me what neighborhood you grew up in, I can tell you a hell of a lot about you even if I don't know you from a hole in the ground. For example, I grew up in Broadmoor, but lived in most of my twenties in the LGD (Lower Garden District). My New Orleans readers could probably tell a lot about me from that sentence.
New Orleans also has Neighborhood Bars. Yup, with capitals. Ain't no city that has bars like these. Not even my second love, NYC, can even come close to matching the weirdness and the incredible joy of a New Orleans Neighborhood Bar.
The picture, from Daniella's Misadventures, is from her honeymoon in California. As it happens Warren did have his own bar story from New Orleans yesterday.
The afternoon was spent trying to ascertain whether police were actually carrying out an order to force the holdouts to evacuate their homes. They were not, though the only case I saw was a woman who was reluctantly abandoning the St. Claude Ave. pub (Kajun's) that she had managed to keep open throughout the hurricane and its aftermath, despite a foot of water on the floor. Her quote got to me: They're getting the good people out, but the looters are staying. They'll be the last to leave. The photo is from her neighborhood. You can see the waters recede (which they are doing very slowly; the pumps mostly aren't working), and the visible junk they are leaving behind.
September 8, 2005 in Seen in Cyberspace | Permalink
Daniella,
Did ha see that bars all over the country are having New Orleans night next Monday? The bars who are involved in the promotion are preparing authentic 'Nawlins libations and charging $10/drink. All of the proceeds are going to displaced restaurant workers from the Big Easy
Posted by: John L. Farrell | Sep 8, 2005 3:56:08 PM
Hey, Daniella: I am not a real denizen of New Orleans - only been there a couple of times - but good bars are good bars and there are damn few of them left. I am glad that your Misadventures Blog has been of some comfort for you. I can hear you smiling when you write about some of those places. And even if they don't come back as they were they will come back as something else or even somewhere else, because good bars have a dimension all their own; they are not bounded by place or time, only by the critters in them. Hang in there.
Posted by: conan the grammarian | Sep 8, 2005 4:07:25 PM
John, if you find out what bars in the area are participating please let us all know.
Posted by: State Street Pete | Sep 8, 2005 4:10:41 PM
John, please let me know where, I'll be there.
Conan, thanks alot.
Posted by: daniella | Sep 8, 2005 4:38:28 PM
i'm drunk right now, does that help?
Posted by: Left Of Center, like Suzanne Vega | Sep 8, 2005 4:52:08 PM
John, Can you send some more info on where to get the proceeds sent. I will pass this along to Egans.Thanks.
Posted by: Linda Ippolito | Sep 8, 2005 4:56:58 PM
Daniella,
I didn't realize that you are from New Orleans. My thoughts go out to you and I can't begin to know how you must feel. Ugh.
I am endeavoring to try and find the website where I saw the info on the Sept 12 bar benefits.
Posted by: John L.(aka John l. farrell) | Sep 8, 2005 5:13:29 PM
I found it here's the link for the "save new orleans cocktail hour"
New York’s and the Nation’s Bars and Restaurants Answer Call to Aid
New Orleans Food & Beverage Industry Workers and Their Families
NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 1, 2005 — The Museum of the American Cocktail™, a non-profit organization, and Southern Comfort's Tales of the Cocktail have organized a "Save New Orleans Cocktail Hour" on Monday, September 12, 2005 from 5:00pm to 7:00pm to directly benefit New Orleans food & beverage industry workers who are out of work and out of funds.
New Orleans' bars, restaurants, and casinos are the backbone of the tourism industry—the city's largest industry. With the devastation to home and livelihood in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, thousands of the city's hospitality workers face a pressing need in the coming months—funds to help rebuild their lives and their futures are sorely needed. It will take months for these businesses to become operational again and even longer before visitors, who are the source of that much-needed income, return to the Crescent City.
Participating restaurants and bars across the nation will serve New Orleans classics like the Sazerac and French 75 for $10 per drink between the hours of 5:00pm and 7:00pm. For a list of participating establishments, visit http://www.MuseumOfTheAmericanCocktail.org/cocktail200.
Receipts from those purchases will be donated to a special tax-deductible relief fund established by the Museum of the American Cocktail. And all monies received will be distributed directly to the workers and their families who apply for aid.
"We’re asking the nation’s food and beverage industry to donate two hours of their time and drink receipts to help their New Orleans colleagues," says Ann Rogers, organizer of the New Orleans-based Southern Comfort’s Tales of the Cocktail. "We hope other cities will answer the call in the coming weeks to help these men and women rebuild their lives."
Establishments can email [email protected] to pledge their support and receive further information on the "Save New Orleans Cocktail Hour" program.
Individuals, establishments, and companies wishing to contribute directly to this relief fund can send their checks to Museum of the American Cocktail, 459 Columbus Avenue, Suite 201, New York NY 10024. Make checks payable to the Museum of the American Cocktail and write the phrase "Katrina Relief Fund" on the bottom left-hand corner of the check. Donations can also be made via Paypal at http://www.MuseumOfTheAmericanCocktail.org/news/pr/KatrinaFund.html.
CONTACT:
Posted by: John L.(aka John l. farrell) | Sep 8, 2005 5:28:06 PM
NJ Bars:
Caffe Aldo Lambert
2011 Route 70 West
Cherry Hill, NJ
856-663-1747
http://www.lambertis.com
LoBoves Park Inn
47 Ridgefield Ave.
Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660
201.641.3750
Union Landing Restaurant **
622 Green Avenue
Brielle
732-528-6665
http://www.unionlanding.com
**holding its event Saturday, September 10
Posted by: John L.(aka John l. farrell) | Sep 8, 2005 5:37:32 PM
ahhh, snake n' jake's...the thing i remember most about that place is that it got so dark i could barely see who i was talking to at the time. :)
Posted by: efs | Sep 9, 2005 12:20:38 AM
And for those of you who will be in Gotham today (Friday 9/9), the Town Tavern (3rd St. & 6th Ave.) is having a cocktail hour this evening with all proceeds to benefit the Red Cross Katrina Disaster Relief Fund. More info at www.murphguide.com/ and click on "New Yorkers for New Orleans."
A votre sante.
Posted by: conan the grammarian | Sep 9, 2005 7:35:19 AM
Hey, what about some local taverns/bars? Someone should mention this to Jakes, South Park, The Office, Egan's...etc.
Posted by: Miss Martta | Sep 9, 2005 9:07:21 AM
"Celine Dion criticized President Bush for the slow evacuation of New Orleans. Yeah, Celine said, 'I could have driven everyone out of that city in two songs.' " -- Conan O'Brien, NBC's "Late Night With Conan O'Brien."
Posted by: John L | Sep 9, 2005 11:19:30 AM
Yeah, if I had to listen to her sing, I would hightail it out of there, too!
Posted by: Miss Martta | Sep 9, 2005 11:32:22 AM
speaking of funny things said on late night talk shows...
John Stewart on the Daily Show parrotting GWB's saying to FEMA director Michael Brown (at his New Orleans photo-op)...
"Brownie, you're doin' a heck of a job...
... but Blackie, you're on your own!"
cracked me up.
Posted by: daniella | Sep 9, 2005 1:03:59 PM
