Bacchanal (#229, 10/13/12)
Bacchanal is defined as a drunken or riotous celebration…well, this may not have been exactly that, but it is a pretty cool New Orleans place. It has been open for a while in the Bywater, but just recently added a full bar and kitchen. It used to be a great place to go and buy a bottle of wine (it is basically a wine shop that you can browse the different wines), then hang out outside and listen to some live music. Now you can do the same thing, except they have added the full kitchen and bar. We sat a tiny, rickety table that actually looked a bit like a toadstool, amongst some trees and branches – and had a great time. I munched on some bacon-wrapped dates and a flat iron steak (with chimicurri sauce, which I’m liking of late) and we sampled a couple of different wines. Good place to start an evening in one of the more cool, lesser-known New Orleans neighborhoods and while the night may have ended in some chaos, it was still pretty solid.
An added note, from their website: “Bacchanal is a wine retail shop, a wine bar, a live music venue, a New York style deli, an international bistro and a regular shooting location for HBO’s Treme.”