Brewpubs
Where The Beer As Important As The Food
New Orleans is a good beer town. Not a great one, it must be admitted, but certainly one where a good brew is appreciated. A big mug of suds goes exceptionally well with a lot of our food. Certainly no beverage is better with a dozen freshly-shucked raw oysters. Or a fried seafood platter. Red beans and rice is a good partner for beer. Jambalaya. Boudin and other sausages.
There are two kinds of brewpubs. In one kind, the beer is actually made on the premises. This is a complicated and expensive undertaking, and for every microbrewery-and-restaurant that has opened over the years, at least one has closed. The oldest of them is the Crescent City Brewhouse, where the copper tanks dominate the dining room.
Then you have restaurants that sell the work of outside breweries. In the best of these, dozens of beers are available on tap, with even more coming to the table in bottles. The fun is in trying beers you never had before. Perhaps never even heard of.
The menus in all kinds of brewpubs are designed to make the beers more satisfying. You might even say more urgent. This is not necessarily simple fare--although basic platters and sandwiches usually take up a lot of space on the list. The chefs at some brewpubs get mighty ambitious. And when you find an oyster bar in a brewpub, you know you've arrived.
Click on any of the restaurants listed below for a detailed, updated review.
