Lunch At Coops: Neighborhood Feel, Down Home Charm

 This place has a surprisingly neighborhood feel, smack in the middle of serious tourist attractions near Jackson Square.

Coops Place
1109 Decatur Street
 New Orleans, LA 70116
Thursday, September 20, 2012

One of the coolest things about the French Quarter is that not every bar is a theme park for tourists. Coops Place on Decatur, one of the most high traffic tourist streets in the Quarter, has the feel of a local pub, friendly to tourists but a familiar watering hole for locals.

Most of the patrons this afternoon are on a first name basis. One guy apparently couldn’t wait to get a taste of New Orleans comfort food before finding his hotel – his black roll-aboard suitcase is propped right next to his barstool. The couple sitting next to him draws him a map to find his hotel while he pays his tab.

Coops wears its age well. The place has the feel of an old flannel shirt, The varnish at the corners of the chestnut brown tables is worn around the edges - actually everything is a little worn around the edges – the bar stools, the U shaped 15 seat bar wedged into the middle of the small place, and the beams overhead. The plasma TV over the bar is running with captions, the only sounds are from the diners chattering away. Utilitarian black metal chairs with soft cushioned seat covers are arranged around the tables and banquettes and screech jarringly on the stone floor when diners pull them out to sit down.

Most of the buildings in the French Quarter are constructed with brick, abundant, and inexpensive when the Quarter was constructed during a period of Spanish rule in the late 1700s. The exposed brick walls at Coops are covered with photographs of Old New Orleans.

My friend Bill Ives, born in New Orleans, recommended the Cajun Fried Chicken “seasoned to perfection with our own Coop's Bayou Blend and served with Rabbit & Sausage Jambalaya and coleslaw.” The white meat chicken breast was disappointingly dry but I was happy nibbling off every centimeter of its crusty fried coating.

The big surprise was the rabbit and sausage jambalaya, both meats moist and zesty with a spicy finish. When I was a little kid, my father often took my sister and me with him when he accepted invitations to visit his Italian clients for Sunday afternoon dinner.

I remember being ushered into the back yards of many of the homes to see the cute rabbits hopping around in mesh chicken wire enclosed pens. I thought they were exotic pets. Years later it dawned on me that the bunnies were probably in the spaghetti sauce when we ate at the long tables set up in his clients' back yards.

Dessert comes in the form of an experience. “Would you take a photo of me, too?” I ask the waitress after she takes photos of the women at the next table.

“Want me to come over and sit on your lap?” says one of them, hardly waiting for my answer.

Ten seconds later Susie from Mississippi is on my lap, her big grin matching mine.

“Watch those hands!” says her friend Kay from Abita Springs, a few miles north of Lake Ponchartrain. The bunch of them meet when they go camping together - today the husbands are left to their own devices and the women are shopping.

You gotta love the way New Orleans drops its hankie when it flirts with its visitors.

 

Photos by Paul A.Tamburello, Jr. and a friendly waitress!

Comments

[Phil Woodbury]

I found Coop's in Feb. 2006, a week into my first volunteer trip after the levees failed. After a day working in Plaquemines Parish, down the river, a new friend and I skipped the evening's volunteer meeting to find a bar. We started at Molly's, and when hunger struck the bartender sent us next door to Coop's. I've returned many times, always happy with the food, drinks, and company.

[Paul A. Tamburello, Jr aka pt at large]

You certainly make the most of your volunteer stints for the rebuilding efforts in New Orleans and nearby parishes.
When you're not using your plumbing and carpentry skills, you're finding really cool places to listen and dance to quality Louisiana music... and have met lots of good local people along the way. I just checked Coops online menu, know exactly what I'll order next time.