Runways and Royal Brew Make Taking Off Special

Unless you have a boat moored at South Shore Harbor, most people do not realize there is a classic art deco gem located on Lake Pontchartrain that serves as the portal for private airplanes as well as the path for secret millionaires to head into New Orleans without a lot of fuss. This is known as Lakefront Airport and was the first regional terminal in New Orleans, and inside is Messina's at the terminal. Messina's occupies both the classic Runway Cafe area as well as the larger Walnut Room which affords views of the tarmac so you can enjoy lunch and cocktails while watching planes take off over the lake.

While it is a trek to get out here, the food is delicious, the service is friendly and timely, and there are fun cocktails including Irish Coffee because we all know there is nothing better than great NOLA coffee and adding Irish Whiskey makes it extra special.

Since we came for lunch, we decided to make a day of our adventure and heading to Royal Brewery which is about five blocks away from the terminal in an industrial park. Royal Brewery has some creative and delicious beers currently available only in kegs and their owner and brewmaster, Raymond Pumilia, is on site most of the time-when he is not working for NCIS New Orleans - telling stories and giving private tours. The space is comfortable with lots of seating and accessories for both adults and young people. We started off with the sampler flight and then settled on the most popular beer Thor's Hammer. Names of the suds remain creative with Culicidae being one of them which kindly translates to the word mosquito. Raymond explained it was a perfect name because when they initially opened, he was constantly getting bitten by mosquitoes during the brewing process. The brewery is also filled with clever art installations and on weekends, live bands take turns on the stage. It's a beautiful ride down Lake Shore drive to get here so take a little time to enjoy this hidden section of town.