'Bowling by the Penny(s)

This past weekend in New Orleans was one of the best precursors to the carnival season ever. The entire city was out in droves(drove=large meandering crowds) both Saturday and Sunday in a citywide protest to the big game. We had the opportunity to check out some new establishments as well as get around to some of our favorite bars as we "hopped" throughout the downtown area and the French Quarter and review what things really cost.

Copper Vine was our first stop for lunch and cocktails. Copper Vine is located in the old Mailey's building(yes you have to be a certain age to remember Mailey's) on Poydras Street and has undergone quite the extensive renovation creating a comfortable industrial space inside and a good sized courtyard on the outside. There is a large selection of wines and ale on tap and a nice cocktail menu. The food selection was good but let's just say they'll need to work on that a little more for the future. The drinks were delicious except for the pricing. As we concluded our weekend, we discovered that Copper Vine was the second most expensive cocktail bar we would visit this weekend.

Black Penny is always our go to bar as we Uber into the quarter and the Sazerac's here are some of the best as well as the most reasonably priced. We were lucky enough to run into Chris Hannah, who recently opened up Manolito, and his krewe who were headed to the second line at Jackson Square. From here, we bounced over to the 700 Club, another neighborhood bar with reasonable prices and great food. Their mash up of Saints clips was impressive and kept the customer base engaged and happy.

Pat O's was next and yeah, you're thinking how touristy for a local to head here; however, the main bar at Pat O's has the least expensive drinks in the quarter and even the Patio Bar manages to keep your wallet happy. We were lucky enough to center ourselves around three millennial tables who ended up having a drinking competition with the Magnum hurricane. The Magnum is a giant hurricane glass for around $150.00 pretty much guaranteed to make you feel great and then knock you on your derriere for the balance of the evening.

Hermes was next and is the world famous Antoine's bar. The bartenders here are a blast and incredibly friendly, and all of them know how to make cocktails. Hermes is special because you can wander about the entire restaurant to see the magical rooms filled with historic paraphernalia and surprise, Hermes has some of the most competitive pricing in the French Quarter. Sazerac's here are only nine dollars gaining Hermes second place in our checkbooks.

Around a couple of blocks from Hermes is 21st Amendment which never disappoints with live music and creative bartenders. The cocktail list is original and includes twists on some local favorites because the staff creates everything but the liquor. While we love this bar, pricing is not intended for locals so we wandered elsewhere. 21st Amendment wins the prize for most expensive bar we visited this weekend.