[FIND] Vice - On The Road, NOLA

Nashville private investigator Thomas H. Humphreys finds a new home in New Orleans.

It's been a while since we last took the time and trouble to have a cocktail crafted for one of the myriad fictional PIs out there. Well, stay tuned. We have enlisted the help of Murf, our new favorite bar manager at Sylvain in New Orleans, to help us out with the next few pairings. 

For those of you who are unfamiliar, Sylvain is one of New Orleans' best restaurants. In a city chock-full of fine eateries, this one stands out - a beacon of passion and attention to detail, an old-school throw-back to the days of intimate and personal dining. One of the South's best bars, Sylvain sits in a restored carriage house in the Vieux Carré. It's the perfect setting for a world-weary PI to quench his thirst after a long day of surveillance in the Quarter.

Prior to Katrina, we had a long-standing affair with a locally owned and operated restaurant. Sadly, they pulled up stakes and headed as far west as possible. Since then, we've been on the prowl for a new home in NOLA.

Last year our local bar maven and sommelier, Jen Doherty McCarthy - co-owner and manager of our hometown Rumours Wine Bar (recently closed, but scheduled to re-open in a new spot), gave us a little hint. "You guys have to go to Sylvain." That's all, a simple heads up.

We did, and we fell in love. I actually took a 200-mile detour in the latter part of 2011 just to have dinner there. Kim and I found ourselves in the Crescent City for work the second week of February. Our first call, Sylvain. We occupied seats at the bar on Monday and got a window seat reservation on Tuesday, ending with a courtyard cocktail. Yes, we're smitten.

I digress...

The gist of this wordy post is simple: Murf, the bar manager at Sylvain, is going to be hand crafting some cocktails for our [FIND] Vice column. Yea! Stay tuned...