On a Toot! New Orleans Dive Bar Edition

And Now For Something Completely Different.

Welcome to the latest edition of “On a Toot!,” a feature in which I try to remember some of the liquid highlights of the week, and other highlights in general. “On a Toot!” will only run on Fridays and will only be available to paid subscribers. We hope you enjoy it.

“The bar is packed all day long with New York debutantes, brokers, Newport dowagers, bad women who walk good dogs on Park Avenue, chic divorcees and college boys on toots.”—Daily News, 1937, describing the scene at the Ritz Bar in Paris.

This year’s Tales of the Cocktail was an unusual one for me. Typically, when I journey down to New Orleans for the annual cocktail confab—something I’ve done almost annually each July since 2006—I have a pretty tightly packed schedule. This year, I had a total of two work obligations: a book reading at Baldwin & Co., a wonderful new book store in the Marigny neighborhood; and a book signing at the Ritz-Carlton. I had no seminars to present, no awards ceremony I was obligated to attend. Moreover, I was stationed at the Hotel Peter & Paul, a beautiful boutique hotel situated in a former church. It’s also located in the Marigny, which is to say far “off campus” from most of the Tales action.

This meant my schedule was fairly unencumbered. So, we decided to use our time differently. When in New Orleans, I usually spend my free time checking out places that are, to put it plainly, fancy cocktail bars. I do this because I like fancy cocktail bars. But this habit means I largely ignore the ninety percent of New Orleans watering holes that are not fancy cocktail bars.

In 2024, I decided to correct that. I was ideally positioned to do so. The Marigny and neighboring Bywater neighborhoods are home to an inordinate number of longstanding dive bars, neighborhood bars and joints that are simultaneously dives and neighborhood bars. Most of these are located on corners. Maybe all of them are located on corners.