by Laine Kaplan-Levenson

It’s not every day a bartender describes his restaurant establishment as "Blitzkrieg Psychedelic Dining." But when it's coming from a man who makes a Sazerac with rum, an adjustment of expectations is in order. Scotty Dagenhart runs the speed game known as restaurant bartending at the French Quarter’s Green Goddess, located at 307 Exchange Place. With a background in cooking, which "definitely affects his drink making," Dagenhart runs his deck to compliment and be up to par with the food of chefs Chris DeBarr and Paul Artigues. "They may be the Mingus, but that doesn’t mean I don’t get a sax solo," he explains.

by Laine Kaplan-Levenson

The thoroughfare that is St. Charles Avenue experiences a myriad of character and aesthetic shifts from its Riverbend burst to the collision with Canal. The narrow, cobblestone, streetcar embedded CBD strip continues to flesh out with local and tourist oriented establishments; the ‘B’ stands for business, but today, it may as well stand for Besh. This week’s sipping scheme saw St. Charles’ Lüke, the chef’s homage to the grand old Franco-German brasseries of a previous New Orleans. Launching in 2007, Lüke is going four years strong, with positive food vibrations, three dining room areas (including a view of the classic horseshoe shaped glass enclosed open kitchen), and comfortable bar seating.

by Laine Kaplan-Levenson

This week the NOLA Defender cocktail spotlight switched lanes to Mid-City, going down to the crossroads of Baudin and Telemachus at Twelve Mile Limit. Owner Cole Newton, today’s featured mixologist, opened up the spot about eight months ago, after spending too much time working in other people's bars. The idea was to create the bar he always wanted, but couldn't find in New Orleans: cheap beer, fancy cocktails, barbeque, pool,selective jukebox offerings, and board games galore.

by Laine Kaplan-Levenson

This week's libation-on-location marks our first stop in the Lower Garden District. Magazine Street's Bridge Lounge is what one might call a high end neighborhood bar. Full of regulars (and their dogs), Bridge Lounge is coming up on its ten years in the same space. The storefront at 1201 Magazine Street started as a strip club, then moved to a (slightly more reputable) punk rock dive. In order to overcome previous connotations, the new Bridge Lounge started out with the motto: "swanky, not skanky."

It’s that time of the week to head to that part of the city. Today’s cocktail is once again found in the Warehouse District, at Republic New Orleans. Some know this creative and cultural center as an entertainment provider of music (live sets, DJ sets, Friday throwbacks), but the club is constantly evolving, and so is its drink menu.

By Laine Kaplan-Levenson

FRENCH QUARTER - A mere block from the historic St. Louis Cathedral rests one of the newest cracks at contemporary cuisine to grace the downtown scene. Named after Andre Getry and Jean-Francois-Marmontel’s 1796 one-act comic opera, Sean McCusker's Sylvain (a NoDef Nodder) takes a modern culinary approach that has been luring locals into the heart of the Quarter for nightly dinners and weekend brunch since it's opening on 10/10/10. 

by Ian Hoch

When my mother and father separated during my final year in high school, Mom stayed in the house I’d grown up in while Dad moved back into the apartment he was living in when they met. Mom took advantage of the new arrangement by turning the dining room into a homey sewing factory where she now assembles hospital scrubs and purses for her girlfriends at a small profit.

NoDef left its comfy Marigny quarters this week to discover new digs and drinks for the second installment of our Cocktail of the Week. This time around, we found ourselves at Whiskey Blue, a CBD establishment that has been around for over ten years, set in the ground level of the W Hotel. Manager/Mixologist Sam Skydell met us for a pre-lunch fix to craft the refreshingly classy Coconut Basil Gimlet.