Mr. B’s is a favorite spot for downtown lunches, and not just for the classic Creole menu. The weekday lunch cocktail specials have lubricated a variety of important business deals. Every Wednesday through Friday lunch, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., diners can enjoy well-chilled house martinis and well-seasoned Bloody Marys for just $1.50 with entrée purchase. Also, thrifty locals in the know can avoid a vigilant meter maid’s ticket by using Solari’s Parking Garage. Mr. B’s guests enter the restaurant directly from the garage through the kitchen door and receive $5 discounted parking for up to three hours. 201 Royal St., (504) 523-2078, mrbsbistro.com
Move Over Espresso Martini!
Football fans in need of a ready-to-drink (or pour) beverage for a morning tailgate or early kick-off should check out the new Coffee Old-Fashioned from Slow & Low. The rye whiskey-based cocktail with the flavors of the New Orleans classic Cafe Brulôt, comes in bottles for larger shindigs, as well as cans, making it a perfectly portable potion. Slow & Low began as a bottled whiskey cocktail and was inspired by the rock and rye flavored concoctions of the 19th century. The company’s new product features Intelligentsia Coffee and gets its sweetness from both demerara sugar and raw honey. Aromatic bitters and orange peel used in an Old Fashioned also evoke the cinnamon, clove, and citrus flavors of a Cafe Brulôt recipe. The result can be a morning pick-me-up or a touchdown toast. Available throughout the metro area. drinkslowandlow.com
New Orleans Cocktail Week
New Orleans Cocktail Week, Sept. 15-21, offers New Orleanians an affordable way to try a new bar or revisit a favorite watering hole. The Cocktail Week Pass entitles guests to special reduced-price signature cocktails throughout the city. In addition, some bars are offering cocktail and food pairings for a fixed price.
Participating restaurants include the Higgins Hotel Kilroy Bar, which is pouring a “Spoonbill” made with Masala chai infused with a bourbon and rye whiskey blend, Dubonnet Rouge, amaro, sweet vermouth, and Blackstrap Bitters. The food pairing is a tandoori spiced pork rib, oven baked and marinated in a ginger masala chai.
Mister Mao’s signature cocktail is the Magic Carpet, made with rum, coconut, passion fruit and toasted jasmine rice syrup. The Blackbird Hotel is pouring Throw Me Somethin, Mister! using Espolon Blanco tequila, Thai chili Aperol, grapefruit and lemon, with an andouille hot dog and okra relish.
To purchase passes to all and see the full list of bars and restaurants, as well as prices for all the specialty cocktails and pairings, visit neworleanscocktailweek.com.
Sober September
Whether you need a break after too many poolside frozen drinks or need to prepare for a busy, boozy holiday season, Sober September has joined Dry January as a time to take a pause from alcohol. To meet the growing interest in sobriety, many local bars now spend as much effort on thoughtfully crafted non-alcoholic options as they do on their spirituous pours. The Bower’s Sugar Roots Spritz uses house made hibiscus syrup to jazz up soda water and lime, while the Pool Club at the Virgin Hotel pours a Luau Lagoon, full of tropical flavors like pineapple shrub and orgeat. Compere Lapin’s Garden Party spotlights the fresh flavors of cucumber, lemongrass and basil, mixed with the non-alcoholic spirit Seedlip Garden. They also offer Caribbean-inspired softer drinks like Sorrel Tea with spiced hibiscus tea and ginger and Ginger Turmeric Lemonade.
320 Magazine St,(504) 582-9738 thebowernola.com; 550 Baronne St, (504) 603-8000; virginhotels.com/new-orleans; 535 Tchoupitoulas St., (504) 599-2119, comperelapin.com.
Happier Hours
Locals looking for a well-priced tipple can visit New Orleans institution Tujague’s for happy hour available daily at the bar from 3 to 5 p.m. Drink specials include discounted glasses and bottles of Tujague’s private label wines and select beers. Specially priced classic cocktails include the Old-Fashioned, paloma, French 75, cosmopolitan and the Marigny mai tai, which highlights local rums. Additionally, Tujague’s is participating in New Orleans Cocktail Week pairing its Decatur Sour, featuring bourbon, cranberry and lemon with truffle parmesan fries. They are also serving two different riffs on a classic French 75 — the Iris 75, made with Tujague’s private label sparkling wine and Empress gin, and the new Hampton 75, created especially for Cocktail Week and made with rosé and gin. 429 Decatur St., (504) 525-8676, tujaguesrestaurant.com.
