The Avenue Pub

How do I love thee? Let me count the beers -- which are listed in painstaking detail on clipboard menus. But  forget the poetical crap. For the beer aficionado, or the wannabe, or just the curious beer lover like me, I know of  no better place in New Orleans for craft beers and  foreign gems than the Avenue Pub -- especially if you like Belgian styles. (And that's not to knock The Bulldog, which I seldom walk past without stopping in.)  The Ave Pub has a great selection upstairs and down.  They satisfy the most incorrigible hop fiend (you sorry buggers), but they go well beyond that  with  sours, wheats, stouts, and a bit of malty stuff. They offer the best of the local beers and some stuff that's just weird.  I often wish they had a nice simple Scottish ale or some old-school  English "bitter," but they always have something that works for the non-hophead like me.  Every Friday evening  there's a special cask upstairs. Sometimes it's awesome, sometimes not so much, but it's always fresh and well-worth a try.  And they get beer that few other saloons in North America can get.  I have not tried their bottled beers, but they have an intimidating selection.   They also have a lot of bourbons,  though I don't go there for that.

The staff know their beer and they're very friendly.  They will  tell you whatever you need to know.  The owner is as close to the Beer Queen of the Universe as you'll ever want to get.

I'd call the food creative yet reliable  pub food, and not pricey.  I don't eat there often, but I've been reasonably happy with the burger, calamari, crab cakes, dump-truck fries, and a really nice grilled-cheese club (or whatever they call it.)  If they have something experimental, try it.   But the beer is the star of the show.  

The place is divey in an unconsciously hip sort of way, but the clientele is eclectic - anyone who fancies beer is there, and nobody cares whether you're wearing a bow-tie or a nose ring, young or old.  If you are in New Orleans and love beer, you owe it to yourself to come here.  It's an easy streetcar ride from the CBD or Uptown, or you can stroll  from the CDB or  Warehouse District, in 30 minutes or much less.  Yo. ride your bike!

I have to say I like this bar, the beer selection the balcony, and of course the bourbon ambassador program, but I have to give it 2 stars the other night for the raw hamburger that my wife vomited in the middle of last night and I've been regretting all day.  She hadn't even been drinking.  I'm just glad we noticed before we had more than one bite.  The staff was great, we even asked for it to be warmed up and they essentially went out of their way made a new burger with the same meat put in the over for a while.  But, it was still red/raw and we didn't eat anymore.  Hamburger in a bar should be cooked, no taking chances.

I'll stick to the drink selection, the upstairs and the balcony from now on.

Being a beer snob, this place has what I need.  Always something new to try everytime I come here.  

also something else I like is that I see something new on every visit. This place is so cluttered, in a good way, makes for a interesting joint especially when conversation runs out.

The food smells awesome but I haven't eaten there yet.  

Upstairs is cool too, well actually kinda hot during the summer months. The balcony is nice in the fall.  

Don't forget to go upstairs too, different beers up there. You might miss out. You might fall down the stairs too if you enjoy the upstairs too much.  Im not sure how I know this...