The Summer Bounce

When you have to beat the heat and humidity of the typical summer in New Orleans, you bounce around to the "coolest" bars and restaurants you can find to catch some chill. We found some new places as well as some favorite past times. It also helped that August is the start of "Coolinary" which is the reduced menu pricing with special chef selections at many of the area restaurants.

Out in Lakeview, Mondo has Coolinary for both lunch and dinner. The food is quite creative for the summer and the craft drink list has been updated with some fine new additions matching some old favorites. Sadly, Susan Spicer annouced that she was closing Mondo, so the last night to eat there is August 16th.

Down in the Bywater, we discovered very comfortable Bud Rip's which is a well designed large bar space with a number of craft beers on tap and a traditional wooden bar providing just about everything you could want. Rip's is a neighborhood bar so people (and dog) watching is pretty fun.

The Elysian Bar at the Peter and Paul Hotel continues to be the hot spot in the Bywater. Craft cocktails created by the very qualified mixology staff delight everyone. As the sun sets, the patio becomes a great space as wall fans move the air around on hot summer days and the stained glass windows from the former church glow from within. Clever food from the design team at Bacchanal serves as nice compliments to the cocktails.

Of course no trip to the Bywater could be complete without a momentary stop in the infamous Phoenix Bar. The bar is as dark in the daylight as it is at night but for our groups of guests on this afternoon, it was a bit smarter to enter in daylight hours since many of you are quite aware of the unique changes that occur as the sun sets. Drinks are nothing fancy but pricing is a gift to your wallet which reminds you that you might should come here more often...maybe.

Our final stop of the day brought us back to the warehouse district where we had a quick cocktail at Couvant in the Eliza Jane Hotel. While Couvant is a hotel bar, it has a personality all its own with a lovely collection of craft cocktails and small bites. The bar is well set up for hosting a lot of people with ample seating along Magazine Street where you can watch the passing parade.