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View From Your Table

This is the view from my barstool at Loa, the bar at the International House Hotel. My old friend Alan Walter is the star bartender there, or rather, the “creative director” of cocktails (he no longer tends bar). He is a rock star. Look at the awesome cocktail menu. This isn’t exactly the one they […]
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana

This is the view from my barstool at Loa, the bar at the International House Hotel. My old friend Alan Walter is the star bartender there, or rather, the “creative director” of cocktails (he no longer tends bar). He is a rock star. Look at the awesome cocktail menu. This isn’t exactly the one they have now, though. I don’t know if Alan created this cocktail menu entirely, but man, it is something else. Never seen anything like it. Too bad he wasn’t in the joint tonight. Anyway, the cocktail you’re looking at above is a bitter thing made with gin, Amaro, Campari, and plum. I bet nine out of 10 of you would have despised it, but I love me some bitter. The one I had after it was even better, though a smidge too sweet for my taste, but fantastically tart. It was called the Green Door, and was cloudy and the color of jade. It was made with green Chartreuse, ginger juice, apple, and something else.

Earlier in the evening, I stopped into John Besh’s brasserie, Lüke, for a take-out hamburger, and had a beer while standing at the bar waiting. I have to tell you that I don’t know that I have ever eaten fries better than the ones that came with this (delicious) burger. This was the view from the bar while I waited. That’s the house amber ale in the foreground, which is cold and crisp and deserved a platter of raw oysters, come to think of it:

New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is one terrific town, I tell you what. Fred Gion, what are you waiting for?!

 

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