Dos Jefes Uptown Cigar Bar, New Orleans

Angel Antin
Posted: August 12, 1999

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Speaking of food, the menu's scribbled on the chalkboard above the bar. You might munch on fries or nachos, or go a little upscale with a pesto tart, shrimp toast or baked brie. Whether you graze or gorge, snacks range from $3 to $7. If they are available, order the oysters meuniere ($6.00). Even in this city renowned for its seafood, these crisp, meaty tidbits stand out as delicacies. A ribeye steak sandwich ($7.50) satisfies heartier appetites.

Some come to Dos Jefes for the music. Young men shake their heads to jazz or bebop, entranced by the energy of the Webster Davis Bebop quartet, for example, which plays here often. Other folks prefer to sit outside on the patio, a south Florida-style haven with hanging hammock chairs and a bar surrounded with swings instead of stools. A tropical mural by Mississippi artist Tazewell Morton features fish and other underwater creatures smoking stogies beneath the waves, a kind of cigar-friendly Octopus's Garden.

Smoking, drinking and relaxing, all stigma-free. And you wonder why they call New Orleans the Big Easy? Unlike so many cigar bars in America's more frenetic cities, Dos Jefes isn't an escape from real life. It is real life.

Angel Antin is a Denver-based freelance writer whose roots and heart are in New Orleans.

Dos Jefes Uptown Cigar Bar
5535 Tchoupitoulas St. (corner, Tchoupitoulas and Joseph)
New Orleans, Louisiana 70115
(504) 891-8500

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