E-MAIL CHRIS   PRINT   2008 COLUMNS   ARCHIVES   SEARCH ARCHIVES A SPECIAL BAR IN BATON ROUGE By Chris Barnett April 10, 2008 -- Avoyelles on the River has a history as colorful and mysterious as Louisiana itself. Back in the early 20th century, this cavernous upstairs bar in Baton Rouge used to be the tailoring and mending room for Joan Eddy's Dress Shop. Today, Avoyelles is probably the best gathering place in Louisiana's state capital for a great drink, Creole cooking, a game on the television or a view of the parade of commerce floating up and down the Mississippi River. The clothing store's original red-oak floor, restored of course, is still underfoot. Part of the back bar is red oak, too. Wood columns, well-seasoned brick walls and plaster are the unpretentious backdrop for a whopping 9,200 square feet of airy interior space under 14-foot ceilings. There's an outdoor deck facing the river, too. "We're an old New Orleans atmosphere right on the 50-yard line of the downtown Baton Rouge Entertainment District," beams Jay Dykes, an electrical contractor who bought Avoyelles ten years ago. The first floor, where the frocks and gowns were once sold, is now the Third Street Bistreaux, a café with prices so low that you'll wonder if they're 20 years out of date. Where else can you get a dish like Alligator Bayou Teche--a blackened or fried "tender cut of gator" that's seasoned with Creole honey mustard--for $8? Back upstairs, drinks are served on top of a 35-foot-long bar crafted out of sinker cypress from a tree rescued from the Louisiana swamps. All of the knots, scars and grain remain intact beneath a coat of varnish--and add to the local lore. Dykes and his main mixologist, Erik Adams, wisely haven't gone over the libational edge with "real gatorade" or crawfish cocktails. But there's no shortage of imagination. The Avoyelles Sunset is a potent blend of Sailor Jay and Malibu rums, triple sec, pineapple juice and grenadine ($7.50). Enjoy one on the deck late in the afternoon for maximum return on your reasonable investment. Adams also makes what he calls a Creole Cosmo, using the more expensive Stolichnaya Orange and Cointreau along with the de rigueur cranberry juice and splash of lime juice. It's also $7.50. Other inspirations: the calorie-packed Mississippi Martini, which is a beyond-the-pale potion made with Stoli Vanil, Godiva and Baileys liqueurs and chocolate syrup. Again, it's just $7.50. Thanks to Dykes' deft hand, Avoyelles has somehow managed to avoid a reputation as simply a "Tiger bar," even though Dykes himself is a Louisiana State University grad. There are plenty of saloons in Baton Rouge that cater almost exclusively to the LSU crowd, but Dykes knew that lawyers, lobbyists, legislators, cane and cotton growers, brokers and bankers would want to caucus, drink and chin-wag in a more sophisticated setting. That may be why Kip Holden, the mayor of Baton Rouge, drinks a Budweiser here now and then, and locals say you never know who you'll run into at Avoyelles. Not long ago, the actors Beau Bridges and Judd Nelson were at Avoyelles, attending a cast-and-crew wrap party for Dirty Politics, a movie partly filmed in Baton Rouge. Says Dykes with a smile, "It's a comedy about two presidential candidates." For anyone who believes in a frugal fiscal policy, Avoyelles is the place to come for bargains in a glass. From Tuesday or Saturday from 4:30 to 7 p.m., American longneck beers are $2 each house wines and imports--Heineken, Becks, Bass Ale--are $3. During these hours, house wines are $3, well drinks are $4 and there are 2-for-1 martinis. Mike Ederon, a Baton Rouge executive with the Boy Scouts of America and a regular at Avoyelles' $10 buffet lunch, advises me to try an Abita, brewed down the road in Abita, Louisiana, a place said to be hopping with Louisiana flavor and personality. Just like Avoyelles itself.

ABOUT CHRIS BARNETT Chris Barnett writes about business-travel tactics and strategies that save time and money and help minimize hassles. He is based in San Francisco and has written for a wide variety of major newspapers and national magazines. Barnett on Business Travel is syndicated by Copley News Service. THE FINE PRINT Joe Brancatelli makes this space available to Chris Barnett in the spirit of free speech and to help encourage editorial diversity and the wider discussion of important travel issues. All of the opinions and material in this column are the sole property of Barnett. This material may not be reproduced in any form without the express permission of Chris Barnett. A NOTE TO EDITORS Barnett on Business Travel is available biweekly through Copley News Service. Contact: Glenda Winders. This column is Copyright © 2008 by Chris Barnett. JoeSentMe is Copyright © 2008 by Joe Brancatelli. All rights reserved.