The Best Bars & Cafes

So now that you've read the above, you want to branch out with your drinking environment as well as your choice of drinks. There are many fine bars in this city, but here's a sampling for those looking for something more interesting than the watering holes of the frat variety.

• French 75 Bar at Arnaud's, 813 Bienville St. (tel. 504/523-5433): Beautiful room, beautiful bar, with enthusiastic, friendly bartenders who now keep a copy of Ted "Dr. Cocktail" Haigh's book Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails behind the bar. (Haigh is the curator of the Museum of the American Cocktail.)
• Napoleon House, 500 Chartres St. (tel. 504/524-9752): One of the most civilized drinking spaces in the world. It looks its age (over a century), classical and jazz music play gently, and they serve really good Sazeracs along with their house cocktail (the Pimm's Cup, garnished with a cucumber spear), plus warm muffulettas to boot.
• Carousel Bar at the Monteleone Hotel, 214 Royal St. (tel. 504/523-3341): No, you're not drunk. The bar is actually spinning; the stools rotate around the central hub of the Carousel Bar. Ask for the Vieux Carré Cocktail, their signature drink for nearly 75 years.
• The Columns Hotel, 3811 St. Charles Ave. (tel. 504/899-9308): The interior substituted for the brothel in the movie Pretty Baby, which is reason enough to come here, but truly, it's the wide, deep veranda that will inspire your Southern, warm summer night, mint-julep-sipping fantasies.
• Ralph's on the Park, 900 City Park Ave. (tel. 504/488-1000): The newest venue on our list, once the site of a tavern frequented by the ladies of Storyville, though in being spiffed up it's lost that particular ooh-la-la flavor. Still, who cares? Look how gorgeous that bar is! A grown-up but not stuffy place to drink, with a gorgeous view of the oak trees at City Park, plus real Sazerac rye to make their Sazeracs!
• Swizzle Stick Bar at Café Adelaide, 300 Poydras St., in the Loews Hotel (tel. 504/595-3305): Classy and sassy, with its own self-named signature cocktail. Get the cocktail sampler, which comes with shots of the Swizzle (made with New Orleans silver rum, lime juice, bitters, a splash of club soda, and a secret ingredient), or sometimes additionally Sidecars and Sazeracs.
• Orleans Grapevine Wine Bar & Bistro, 720 Orleans Ave. (tel. 504/523-1930): A wonderfully intimate venue, dark and cool, and surprisingly quiet so close to the bustle of Bourbon Street. There's a staggeringly extensive wine list and a small but delightful seasonal dining menu.