Bayou

This smokin’ blues-and-zydeco club rocks into the morning hours and presents Cajun-style nourishment until 1 a.m. Thursday through Saturday (and 11 p.m. other nights). The bar is festooned with Mardi Gras lights and beads, and every inch is covered with bayou memorabilia, including alligator skeletons dangling from the ceiling. And yes, those are ladies’ undergarments over the bar, purportedly donated by former Mardi Gras queens.

The large menu carries most bayou hits: red beans and rice, pork tchoupitoulas (with a cornbread-jalapeño stuffing and brown gravy), crawfish tails with Creole gravy, smoked sausage with red beans and rice, and a 3-pound crawfish boil for the table. If you are running low on hot sauce at home, look no further — there are 100 brands for sale.

The hardworking staff appears to be having as much fun as the customers. Maybe it’s the hot sauce.  –Bryan Miller