7 Louisiana Northshore Booze and Barbecue Spots from Memorial Day Weekend
A picturesque view of the Tchefuncte River in old town Madisonville, LA just before the river reaches Lake Pontchartrain
Over Memorial Day weekend 2024, Visit the Northshore hosted me for a couple days of eating and drinking around the greater Mandeville, Madisonville, and Covington, Louisiana area. Since it was the holiday weekend, we put together a mostly barbecue and beer-based tour, with some snowballs and wine as well, of course. There were certainly some highlights worthy of posting about, so here goes:
7) Ugly Dog Coastal Kitchen - White Chocolate Bread Pudding with Gosling’s Rum Sauce
Ugly Dog Coastal Kitchen sits across the street from the Tchefuncte River in historic downtown Madisonville. Just upriver from the shores of Lake Pontchartrain, Ugly Dog serves up some great seafood and beers, but the highlight on the meal was the above White Chocolate Bread Pudding with Gosling’s Black Seal Rum Sauce.
6) Desi Vega’s Smokehouse & Tavern - Piggy Powerline, Tiramisu Shake, Founder’s Old Fashioned
Desi Vega has a few restaurants between New Orleans and the Northshore, but this was my first time at the Smokehouse and Tavern in Mandeville. I enjoyed a cornbread skillet, a nice tray of smoked meats, and a BBQ pizza, but what really lit up the camera and my taste buds on fire was the Piggy Powerline - strips of flame-torched bacon dripping from a line of charred clothespins and smoldering rosemary. Sure, it was just crispy bacon, but it made for a great moment, and there’s nothing wrong with bacon! I washed the bacon down with the Founders Old Fashioned made with Elijah Craig Smallbatch Bourbon then ended the meal with an extreme Tiramisu milkshake!
5) Abita Brewery - Instigator Hazy DDH IPA and Turbodog
The flagship of Louisiana’s craft beer scene is Abita Brewing. They are also a sponsor of the Louisiana Charter Boat Association and the Catch & Cook TV Show that I just wrapped filming for season one! I checked out their tasting room in Abita Springs for a handful of pours. The Instagator Hazy Double Dry Hopped IPA is an Abita beer I had yet to try, so try it I did. Juicy and refreshing with a nice pop of bitterness, the Instagator went down smoothly. I sampled a few other beers as well, then went back to one of my old college staples: Turbodog!
4) Flying Dolly’s - Nectar Snowball stuffed with Dreamsicle Ice Cream
On a hot day in Louisiana, few things will cool you down quite like a snowball. With a line wrapped around the building from the minute they opened, Flying Dolly’s in Mandeville clearly had the goods. I went with the flavor of the day: nectar snowball stuffed with dreamsicle ice cream! While almost cloyingly sweet and giving me brain freeze a few times, this snowball sent me back to my youth and definitely helped fight the heat wave!
3) Chafunkta Brewing - Cherry Old 504 Vanilla Coffee Porter and
The Old 504 Vanilla Coffee Porter is one of my favorites at Chafunkta Brewing, so when Ian, one of their acclaimed beertenders, asked if I wanted to add a fruit infusion to it, I figured I should say yes! I went with a couple pumps of cherry, and while I may not have preferred it to the original, I still enjoyed the sentiment behind being able to change it up a little! I also tried several other beers they had on tap as I got to catch up with Chafunkta’s incredible owners, Josh and Jamie Erickson. I highly recommend this place as a stop on any beer tour passing through Louisiana!
2) Pyre BBQ - Brisket, Egg, & Cheese Sandwich, Tiki Drink, Brisket Chili Dog
Chef Jeff Mattia at Pyre BBQ is a guy I’ve known through Louisiana’s food scene for a number of years now. I stopped by his spot in Mandeville for an early lunch and a few cocktails while a farmers market was happening right outside. After starting me off with a bloody mary, Jeff sent a out a smoked brisket breakfast sandwich on a croissant! This bad boy, complete with a slice of cheddar and a sunny side up egg that oozed yolk all over, satisfied just about every crazing. But as the hobbits would say, that was elevensies, and I immediately moved into second lunch. While sipping on a “Left My Bikini in Barbados” featuring rum, strawberry, coconut, pineapple, and agave, I also downed an incredible brisket chili dog, voted best hot dog on the Northshore!
1) Wild Bush Farm + Vineyard - Wine, Wine, & more Wine
I just so happened to luck out and be on the Northsore while Neil and Monica were having a concert at their vineyard, Wild Bush, in Bush, LA. They’re growing some really nice blueberries, muscadines, and even some grapes that are resistant to certain fungi so they grown in the humidity with moist soil. That being said, Neil has also been making wine for years with different wine makers and vineyards on the West Coast, and he brings that wine back to Louisiana with Vending Machine Winery and now Wild Bush wines. Most of the Wild Bush labels are funky and interesting, straying from the flagship, name brand grapes that everyone else uses. Pictured above are: “On the Back of a Winged Horse” - 2023 American Nere d’Avola (Top Left), “Wild Bush Pink” rose (Top Right), “Like Swimming” 2023 Mission (Bottom Left and Bottom Right), and “Up Jump the Boogie” dry hopped sparkling white wine (Bottom Left, second wine).
