*Marigny/Bywater*

Checkpoint Charlie's
501 Esplanade Avenue , New Orleans, LA
(504) 949-7012

Checkpoint Charlie’s is in the Igor’s family. Open twenty four hours a day, cheese fries, laundry services, and live bands. Specializes in serving up Rock n' Roll, Punk, and Country with tasty Bloody Marys

 

DBA
618 Frenchman St. , New Orleans, LA
(504) 942-3731

This trendy bar has one of the best beer selections in town. It's the indelible Cajun cousin to the NYC hotspot of the same name. Get yourself a Chimay and grab a booth. You get to appreciate the hustle and bustle of Frenchman St. while listening to great live performances by top local artists. Just realize that all of your hijinks are viewable by the masses of the world due to real-time streaming video over the Internet.

 

Dragon's Den
435 Esplanade Ave. , New Orleans, LA
504 945 7744

Dragon's Den was once a brothel, once a bonafide tantalizing atmospheric getaway where patrons chased the dragon, and more than once a fantastic little club on the border of the quarter. It perches now above Zot's coffeehouse, better than ever with an eclectic mix of shows. From turntablism to Klezmer, to post-modern gypsy/punk sounds, this bar truly globetrots across the soundscape. Drink a sake bomb for me.

 

Hookah Cafe
500 Frenchmen St. , New Orleans, LA
(504) 943-1101

Owned in the past by Robert DiNero under the moniker Belle Fourche, the Hookah Cafe is now a swinging club, bistro, smokehouse, meetmarket, and bastion of cooler than coolness. This hotspot swaggers with indomitable hipness hosting live musical sounds, hip-hop/reggae nights, and funk and soul parties. Get some baba ganuj, get some shisha, get a cosmo, and get ready to meet some beautiful people.

 

13 Monaghans
632 Frenchmen St. , New Orleans, LA

This bar has great Guiness and a really nice little menu offering late night fare to Frenchmen St. revelers. Always jumpin' in the location that used to be semi-toity purveyors of vegetarian lifestyle, Old Dog New Trick, Mohaghans still keeps a menu that will satisfy vegetarians, carnivores, and those looking for a tasty nightcap alike.

 

Ray's Boom Boom Room
508 Frenchmen St. , New Orleans, LA
(504) 248-0801

 

Blue Nile
532 Frenchmen St. , New Orleans, LA
(504) 948-2583

Once the famous Dream Palace, the Blue Nile rose out of it's ashes to satisfy New Orleanians desire to dance, drink, and carouse is a down to earth, intimate environment. With more lives than a cat, the Blue Nile is reinventing itself again offering live Jazz, Reggae, Latin sounds, Funk, and Rock n' Roll to the good people of this fair city.

 

Apple Barrel
609 Frenchmen St. , New Orleans, LA
(504) 949-9399

Coco Robicheaux's Apple Barrel is a tiny hole in the wall bar that hits the spot on a daily basis. It's hallmark is great music nightly, frequently played by impromptu assortments of disparate musicians that all seem to be at the right place at the right time. This place defines the phrases, "down home," "hootinany," and "Yeah you right!" Oh The characters that you'll meet...........

 

Cafe Brazil
2100 Chartres St. , New Orleans, LA
(504) 949-0851

No bar in New Orleans is as diverse as Cafe Brazil. Like a Chameleon, it shifts and changes, permutating, inventing itsef as a latin club en fuego, a haven for jam-banders, hip-hop sanctuary, house of funk, traddy jazz hall, etc., etc., etc. One thing that is always for certain: the party will spill into the street at some point during the night.

 

Cafe Negril
606 Frenchmen St. , New Orleans, LA
(504) 944-4744

Cafe Negril took over where the Blue Nile left off, though heavier on the reggae. It offers up live music night after night to a crowd that likes to dance and drink red stripes until the wee hours.

 

Spotted Cat
623 Frenchmen St. , New Orleans, LA
(504) 943-3887

A personal favorite bar of mine, the Spotted Cat offers up very rootsy live music every night. Highlights include Washboard Chaz and The New Orleans Jazz Vipers. This is really a quintessentially New Orleans bar. It's intimate, unamplified, low-key, and authentic as they come. The chocolate martini just goes so well with great jazz.

 

R Bar
1431 Royal St. , New Orleans, LA
(504) 948-7499

There’s a motorcycle over the bar and chalkboards in the bathroom where you can write embarrassing things about your friends and foes. The jukebox is usually seething with the discontented sounds of Lou Reed and various college bands, and the pretentious looking crowd is actually pretty friendly.

 

Mimi's
2601 Royal St. , New Orleans, LA
(504) 942-0690

Late night tapas and sangria accompany great sounds at this heart of the Marigny landmark. Two bars (loungier upstairs/edgier downstairs), two atmospheres (great live music upstairs/great jukebox downstairs), too many drinks (almost every time). What is it about this place that compels one to stay until dawn? Great mellow crowd--little more intentional, little more erudite, little more cosmopolitan. Ouch, I've got to be up in 2 hours.

 

Hi-Ho Lounge
2239 St Claude Ave. , New Orleans, LA
(504) 947-9344

 

The Saturn Bar
3067 Saint Claude Ave. , New Orleans, LA
(504) 949-7532

 

Vaughn's
4229 Dauphine St. , New Orleans, LA
(504) 947-5562

This is another great Bywater bar. Kermit plays a smokin' show every thursday night. If you come early, you'll even find some free red beans and rice. The crowd is fun-loving and free-wheeling, and the libations come at you fast. So, prepare yourself for one helluva time when you find yourself deep in the 9th.

 

Markey's Bar
640 Louisa St. , New Orleans, LA
(504) 943-0785

Markey's has dedicated itself to protecting the allure of "the neighborhood bar." The staff is sweet, and on any given night, you'll find a bohemian assortment of interesting locals waxing poetic on arts, politics, literature, or...the Saints. Find yourself a bar stool, a shot of Jameson, and settle in.

 

Bacchanal Fine Wine and Spirits
600 Poland Ave. , New Orleans, LA
(504) 948-9111

Bacchanal may not exactly fit the rubric, but it must be included, because it's that cool. This little wine cellar offers up vino by the bottle and glass, a great collection of globe-spanning beers, as well as an assortment of top shelf liquors that you may be pining for and unable to find elsewhere. Grab a terrine or cheeseplate, some fresh bread, and treat yourself to a great bottle of affordable wine with good friends in the beautiful courtyard. On Sunday evenings, Chef Pete Vasquez (of Marisol's fame) takes over, offering fantastic gourmet fare following an ever-changing theme. Great music always accompanies, making this my favorite less-known hangout in the city. Get here around 6 to make sure to don't miss anything.