The most notable feature of the bar is its in-the-round format, complete with moving floor: The barstools actually rotate around the bartender all night. (Thankfully, the spinning is quite slow.) Gossiping about all the fellow drinkers you'll spy as the wheel turns is almost as much fun as the drinks.
Speaking of, they're terrific. You won't find any hand grenades at the Carousel. This place is all about the classics, like negronis, sazeracs and lots of bourbon. Fortunately for me, my room was right upstairs.
New Orleans probably has more stories about drinking than any other place in the world. And the man to tell you about them is Joe Gendusa, a Gray Line tour guide who's been leading cocktail tours of the French Quarter for five years. (He's so expert that the reality show Blind Date asked him to ferry some young lovers on a pub crawl for an episode.)
Not to worry, though. Joe's tour isn't all history. After detailing famous locations and buildings, he'll also tell you which bars make the best hurricanes (Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop), mint juleps (Court of the Two Sisters) and Pimm's cups (Napoleon House Bar & Cafe). In other words, make sure you go on the tour with a full stomach.
With all the drink stops and hiking, the tour takes just under three hours, so wear some comfortable shoes. And if you want to remember anything that Joe tells you by the time the walk ends, maybe you should take a notebook, too.
When the first family of New Orleans restaurants opens a new place, you pretty much have to check it out. So a friend and I went over to the Loews New Orleans Hotel to have lunch at Cafe Adelaide. Since it's run by the Brennan clan--of Commander's Palace fame--I knew I'd have fun, I just didn't realize how much.
Since opening in 1990, Emeril Lagasse's original has likely become one of the best known restaurant in the country. There's not too much to add to Emeril's hagiography, but it's worth noting that even with all his restaurants and shows, quality at his flagship is still as high as it was more than 10 years ago when I first ate at Emeril's.
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