Melius Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Louisiana

Two things my mother taught me: 1) you can make a killer meatloaf, without bothering to chop an onion, by using a packet of French Onion Soup mix, and 2) find the bar where the local waitstaff and bartenders go after work. Drinks are cheap, people are friendly, and it's the best place around to unwind.

Cheap drinks? How does $1.75 Bloody Mary's all weekend sound?! I'm not talking a tomato juice variant of a Screwdriver, compadre. Nah, I'm talking full garnish of pickled green beans, onions, olives and lemons and limes squeezed into a perfectly balanced level of spice. The reason God made tomatoes. How about $2 Martinis on Mondays? I get mine dirty... I'm talking fake blonde, pole dancing, truck stop dirty. Jewls pours them into a chilled martini glass like a Bond villain. Chilled glass for a $2 cocktail!? I'm personally a Gin & Tonic man, mostly. Keep the malaria away. But, being a regular here I've strayed from my standard fluid options.

Friendly people? When regulars at the video poker machines offer to buy you drinks, you know you've done right in this world (nickel and penny denominations, btw, rare to find in bars). Applause for each song at karaoke on Fridays (Joey draws some fierce regulars to his karaoke queue). Bartenders not only glad to see you, but regaling others about stories of your accomplishments in life. Like, Jewls will gladly tell you about this one time I sat on ice that was put on my chair. Seriously, stop telling that story, Jewls... And don't put ice on people's chairs! Where was I? Hugs! Hugs from people when they see you walk in... I mean, I've got the physique of Santa Claus, so I get that a lot anyway, but still. You'll feel like Norm at Cheers.

What's left? Best place to unwind? Dawg, what did you just read above?!?! I'm a professional lounge lizard. I moved to New Orleans three years ago and have been to 172 bars since (yeah, nerd alert, I have a Google map of each with notes and ratings). Take old Jobester's recommendation of said establishment to heart... this is your new jam.

Meli-you?! Nah, bruh, Meli-us!

Seriously, though, French Onion Soup Mix ($1 for a box of 3 at the Dollar Tree) instead of onions and seasonings. That's some solid life hacking of ground meat!...

This is a cool bar that has a lot of great specials and offers some good service industry deals. They have a decent sized menu and also do breakfast items. They offer pool, darts and some other entertainment options that should please most folks. There is a large "L" shaped bar here that has quite a bit of seating and then a large central space which has plenty of tables and chairs. I sampled their interesting sounding "Bayou Black Burger" which has garlic and green onion mixed into the burger meat. It was a nasty rainy day with flooding when I visited so the cook wasn't able to get into work that day so the lady bartending was brave enough to try making my food for me and she did a good job at getting my burger prepared for me. Overall this is a very cool bar with a nice ambiance to it and it is probably the best bar in the Bucktown area.

My video review of Melius Bar & Cafe is...

Been going here for Years! This is the place that sort of reminds you of "Cheers". Its where everyone knows your name! Its where you go for a cold beer after a hard days work. When you lose faith in humanity (which happens to almost everyone before the end of the work week.) This is the place where you'll always find a friendly face; both the staff and the customers will remind you that there's hope for the human race after all! It's where the bartenders make you feel like family. The food is great and the drinks are cold!...