Question: What do a pirate hat, a Mardi Gras mask, a tarot card & palm reading, voodoo & vampyre shops, Christmas lights, drag queen Ken dolls and “whipping out the gueuze” all have in common?

Answer: My recent trip to New Orleans.

Allow me to elaborate. Recently, I decided to move to Northern California — from Florida. Now if you do the math correctly, you will see that Florida and NorCal are at relatively opposite corners on opposite coasts of the country.

Lucky for me, my whole entire life fits into a tiny little Dodge Neon. Which essentially means that I can move anywhere pretty damn easily. So it was only natural that I turn my cross country move into a cross country road trip extravaganza.

There were several options for routes across country. After contacting friends in various cities, I chose to take the southern most route because it had the most potential.

The first stop was New Orleans.

This was my second time visiting the city. The first time I was with my parents and younger sister. We took a Cajun themed Christmas “cruise” up the Mississippi River from NOLA to Natchez in one of the only paddleboats still operating on steam left in the country — The Delta Queen. It was an 8 day voyage that consisted of a Bayou tour, plantation tours, lots of Cajun & Creole food, endless Zydeco music and much alcohol consumption. Disclaimer: My family enjoys taking weird and educational vacations. It happens.

Naturally, my first time in New Orleans consisted mostly of hitting up all the main tourist destinations –> Cafe Du Monde for cafe au lait and beignets, Pat O’ Briens for hurricanes, Aunt Sally’s for pralines, Preservation Hall for live music, Bourbon Street for some debauchary voodoo etc…

This time around, though, it was imperative that I hit up New Orleans local style. Prior to arriving, I contacted a fellow beer blogger and good friend — The Beer Buddha. If anyone would know the best local NOLA watering holes with the best beer selections, it would be The Beer Buddha.

The Beer Buddha & The Beer Wench

After talking with the local beer geeks and enthusiasts, it became apparent that NOLA is seriously lacking in the beer bar department.

According to the local beer fanatics, THE beer bar of beer bars in NOLA is The Avenue Pub. The owners are extremely knowledgeable about beer and, as a result, they get first pick on the best beers that get brought into the area.

Naturally, this is where I met The Beer Buddha. Much to my surprise and delight, almost the entire crew at NOLA Brewing Co. also came out. The night began with a delicious NOLA Brewing Co. Blonde. It was extremely refreshing after a 10 hour drive through the hottest and most humid states of the south. My next beer of choice was Harpoon Leviathan Series Imperial IPA followed by North Coast Brother Thelonius and another Leviathan IPA — all on draught.

The Harpoon Leviathan Series Imperial IPA was absolutely delicious. Lots of sweet pine, citrus and grass in the aroma as well as the taste. Light to medium bodied, virtually no malt flavors. It was very clean — my kind of IPA.

I also got to sample the infamous Beer Buddha appetizer –> Blue cheese stuff apricots wrapped in bacon. And let me just tell you, they were freaking out of this world.

The night took a turn for the awesome when one of the locals offered to take us to an underground, hole-in-the-wall, cult bar — Snake & Jakes Christmas Lounge. Snake & Jakes is a garage turned bar located in a residential area of uptown NOLA. It is distinctively marked by a giant “Christmas wreath” adorned with random Christmas lights. When the lights are on, the bar is open.

Needless to say, the night ended here. And what happens at Snake and Jakes — stays at Snake & Jakes!

Stay tuned for my follow up post — “Underground” in NOLA Day TWO.

Cheers!