According a report by the USDA, the issue of hunger is most common in the South, and the topic will be the focus of the Southern Food and Beverage Museums third annual symposium held September 16-17. Centered around lectures and panel discussions about the history of eating in the South, hunger and obesity, the symposium brings influential leaders in the food community to New Orleans for this two-day program, which will be held at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum.

The symposium will kick off on Friday, September 16 with a gala and the opening of a new exhibit, Roots, Rice, And Beans: The Legacy of Africa In Our Fields and In Our Cooking Pots, curated by Rachel Finn of Roots Cuisine, and online resource dedicated to the promoting the foodways of the African Diaspora.

Schedule of Events
Friday, September 16: Continuing Legal Education Workshop sponsored by Tulane University School of Law

Friday 8 p.m.: SoFAB’s 4th Annual Gala

Saturday, September 17:

9:45 – 10:30 AM
David Berris: “The Written Restaurant: Criticism and New Orleans Food Culture”

Bruce Kraig: “The Great Depression — Different Manifestations of Hunger”

10:30 – 11:15 AM
Sheila Crye: “Let’s Move! Helping Kids Get Cookin’ in the American South”

Ashley Young, Lindsey Haynes-Maslow, and Sarah Parsons: “Real and Perceived Food Deserts in Orange and Durham Counties, North Carolina.”

11:15 – 12:00 PM
Andrew Smith: “Starving in the South”

Anne Hart: ”The Food of Appalachia and West Virginia” (Demonstration)

1:00 to 1:45 PM:
Salvatore Muscumeci: Beyond Gumbo: New Orleans Cuisine as a Mosaic of Europe and Microcosm of Itself

Elizabeth Pearce and Bob Edes “Down the Hatch” (A Cabaret Presentation)

1:45 to 2:30 PM:
Andrew Haley: “Mississippi’s Melting Pot: Cosmopolitan Dining in the Rural South”

Rachel Finn: “Roots, Rice and Beans: The African American Agricultural Legacy”

2:30 – 3:15 PM:

Gary Mormino: Food History of Florida

3:15 to 4:00 PM:
Shayne Figueroa, Amissa Miller/Sara Simons (joint paper), Scott Barton, and Jamie Png Students from the Food Studies program at New York University: “Race, Ethnicity, Culinary Tourism and the Unseen Contributions of People of Color”
Baylen Linnekin: “Foodie Originalism: The Fundamental Role of Food and Drink in Shaping the Bill of Rights”

4:15 – 5:15 PM:

Panel: Kids and Hunger
Panelists: Natalie Jayroe, President and CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank in Greater New Orleans and Acadiana; Rhonda Jackson, Louisiana Director, Share our Strength; Daphne Derven, Special Projects Manager, Emeril Lagasse Foundation
Moderator: William Ludwig

5:30 to 6:30 PM:

Contemporary Issues Lecture: William Ludwig, Southwest Regional Administrator, USDA Food and Nutrition Service

For tickets, including VIP tickets to the gala, visit www.southernfood.org.

1. The Roast Beef at Parasol’s (2533 Constance St., 504-302-1543)

When the legendary Irish Channel bar Parasol’s – famous for its fall-apart roast beef po-boys – changed ownership in 2010, its kitchen staff struck up a second line and moved up 3rd Street to Tracey’s, a revived joint with higher ceilings and more televisions. Along with the move came a narrative: Parasol’s new owner was painted as an outsider (he’s from Florida, but his wife is from New Orleans) and an opportunist. The tale conjured up moneybags and a monocle-sporting businessman. In reality, Johnny Hogan is a friendly, Hawaiian shirt-wearing regular at the bar with an abiding love for his adopted home. And while Tracey’s has gone the sports bar route, Parasol’s has maintained the charm of a local watering hole, with both a bare bones dining room and a cozy, dark bar. Parasol’s kitchen has maintained the classic taste of its roast beef – slow-cooked and debris-like, soaked in gravy – while adding a slight, delicious twist: its French bread is lightly toasted and kissed with garlic butter.

2. The Surf and Turf at Parkway Bakery & Tavern (538 Hagan St., 504-482-3047)

If there’s a po-boy standard-bearer in New Orleans, it’s likely Mid-City’s Parkway Bakery and Tavern. The family-owned restaurant is 110 years old and was the site of an incredible Katrina comeback, reopening less than four months after taking on six feet of water in the flood. The vibe is laidback, family-friendly, and decidedly vintage, with antique signs covering the walls. President Barack Obama brought the First Family to Parkway in 2010, opting for the famous fried shrimp po-boy. However, if you happen to be traveling without Michelle, go for the gusto: the Surf and Turf, a roast beef and shrimp monster that should sate your appetite for about a week. Don’t fret, vegetarians: there’s a delicious Caprese option, or pig out with the carbolicious golden fried potato (read: French fry) po-boy. Add a bag of Zapp’s chips and a bottle of Barq’s, and you’ve got a meal fit for the Commander in Chief.

3. The Duck at Crabby Jack’s (428 Jefferson Highway, 504-833-2722)

You are going to need a car, and the hours are sometimes prohibitive – Crabby Jack’s is a lunch-only proposition – but sometimes you’ve got to do some seeking to get ahold of something really special. Across the parish line on Jefferson Highway sits Crabby Jack’s, a shack that ain’t much to look at, but locals in the know flock here when they want something transcendent. Order the slow-cooked duck po-boy and grab a thick handful of napkins. You’ll need at least one to hide your first-bite face. If duck isn’t your favorite, go for the excellent shrimp remoulade and fried green tomato po-boy, another fan favorite.

4. The Half and Half: Shrimp and Oyster at Domilise’s (5240 Annunciation St., 504-899-9126)

Think up the most picture-perfect, old-fashioned, no-window, wood paneled rec room you can. Now cram a sandwich shop, a bar, and a few ancient tables inside. Sure, Domilise’s isn’t a fancy place, and it isn’t easy to find (smack dab in the middle of a residential block), but good golly if they don’t serve one of the best po-boys in the city. Just ask the Nevilles and the Mannings, who have been known to favor Dom’s. Grab a numbered ticket and order the combination oyster and shrimp po-boy. (Nevermind that the Travel Channel’s “Food Wars” picked Domilise’s shrimp po-boy over Parkway’s in a po-boy face-off. Get the combo.) It isn’t cheap (an actual poor boy couldn’t afford to spring for a $16 sandwich), but you aren’t likely to forget the big, hot-sauced, dressed, messy bite of heaven any time soon.

5. The Hot Sausage at Gene’s Po-Boys (1040 Elysian Fields Ave., 504-943-3861)

There are going to be those times. Having started the night at the Sazerac Bar at the Roosevelt Hotel, stumbled through the French Quarter, and ambled from club to club on Frenchmen Street, you’re going to be hungry. And where is your phone? And didn’t we start off the night with five people? And, my God, it’s four o’clock in the morning, is anything even open? There are going to be those times you somehow wander into that 24-hour, hole-in-the-wall, big pink building with the huge yellow signs on St. Claude and Elysian Fields. Welcome to Gene’s. Order a hot sausage po-boy and your complimentary soda and be happy, for a moment, to be consuming something without a proof. The rowdy atmosphere is not for the faint of heart, and the food is greasy, fatty, and messy. But…there are going to be those times.

Think of this as a visual checklist of famous New Orleans restaurant dishes. How many of these classic dishes have you eaten in the Big Easy? If your answer is “less than 5″, it’s time to book your next New Orleans eat-a-thon!

Please note: These types of restaurants can be capricious – here today, gone tomorrow, somewhere else the next day – and new pop-ups and food trucks are emerging every week. If you want to track the whereabouts, hours or other details of these food trucks and pop-ups, find the eatery’s page on Facebook or follow on Twitter.

For copies of these cookbooks, check out the Southern Food & Beverage Museum gift shop or Kitchen Witch in the French Quarter. Want to learn how to cook like a local? Take a class at Crescent City Cooks.

Sazerac Bar / Roosevelt Hotel New Orleans

When a bar can lay claim to serving nearly 30,000 of its namesake cocktail in 2011, you know it’s got to be good. Celebrating its 75th birthday next summer, the majestic Sazerac Bar in the Roosevelt Hotel gets its name from America’s first cocktail: the rye-based Sazerac, created in New Orleans in the mid-1800s. Grab a cushioned bar stool at the curved African mahogany walnut bar, and take in the quintessential New Orleans scene, enhanced by Paul Ninas WPA murals that date to the 1930s. Be sure to order a classic like the Ramos Gin Fizz or Sazerac.

Carousel Bar / Hotel Monteleone

Ernest Hemmingway wrote about it, and it has been the backdrop for countless movies (Double Jeopardy, Glory Road), but the present-day buzz happening at the Carousel Bar is reason enough to take a spin at the rotating bar. The stunning recent renovation of the Carousel Bar is second only to bar man Marvin Allen’s cocktails and conviviality. The renovation opened up the space and filled it with light (day and moon) that pours in from grand windows overlooking Royal Street. Try the Carousel Bar’s original Vieux Carre cocktail, or go for classics like the Corpse Reviver #2 or Pimm’s Cup.

Swizzle Stick Bar / Loews Hotel New Orleans

This modern bar is within walking distance of the French Quarter and has a fine pedigree: it is operated by New Orleans’ first family of restaurateurs, the Brennans of Commander’s Palace. “It is truly great to run a bar named after an amazing redhead, Adelaide Brennan,” says Lu Brow, bar chef at the Swizzle Stick. “My bar celebrates great dames and broads who like to sip on a cocktail; at times, it’s a neighborhood bar celebrating the New Orleans Saints, other times it’s strictly a cocktail bar.” Brow (a redhead herself) mixes up a host of creative cocktails, from straightforward Cosmopolitans to more complicated concoctions like the “Who Dat” Punch. “It’s about having a good time, sipping on a little something, and watching the afternoon or evening slip by,” says Brow. An unexpected perk: free valet parking at the hotel.

The Victorian Lounge / Columns Hotel

This genteel bar inside the Columns Hotel is the epitome of Old South splendor. Cigar tycoon Simon Hernsheim commissioned the Italianate mansion, which was built in 1883, and inside the lounge, working fireplaces, stained-glass chandeliers and Mahogany wood touches create the perfect old New Orleans setting for a stiff drink. A drink in hand and a seat on the hotel’s front porch is one of the best scenes in town. Bartenders pour classics like Mint Juleps, Sazeracs and Old Fashioneds for a mix of Uptown locals, hotel guests and visitors looking for sips near Magazine Street. The Victorian Lounge’s bottomless mimosas and excellent Bloody Marys also make the Columns Hotel a prime choice for an al fresco brunch.

Bellocq / Hotel Modern

The cocktail aces behind Cure, one of New Orleans’s premier drinking dens, established this boudoir-themed bar, located in the newly renovated Hotel Modern on the St. Charles Avenue streetcar line at Lee Circle. The bar’s name pays homage to E.J. Bellocq, who famously photographed the working girls of pre-prohibition New Orleans. The historic theme carries over into the cocktail list, which features handcrafted cobblers – fresh fruit-based cocktail recipes that date back to the 1800s.

Polo Club & Cocktail Bar / Windsor Court Hotel

The British Colonial vibe at the Polo Club lounge is fitting for the posh environs at the Windsor Court Hotel, and serves as the perfect background for the cocktail menu and stellar wine list curated by our favorite New Orleans wine nerd, sommelier Sara Kavanaugh. The Windsor Court also recently opened the speakeasy-style Cocktail Bar in its palatial lobby, and appointed mixologist Christine Jeanine Nielsen (a vet of Bar Tonique and Loa) to the task of creating the bar’s “culinary” cocktail menu. Nielsen is working with Windsor Court executive chef Drew Dzejak to create cocktails using kitchen techniques, like kumquat tequila infused en sous vide. Locals in the know are also heading here on Thursdays to catch the sultry sounds of ragtime jazz singer Meschiya Lake and the Little Big Horns.

Burgundy Bar / The Saint Hotel

Deep red walls, funky, modern furnishings and red crystal chandeliers give this new jazz club at The Saint Hotel an edgy, uber-luxe atmosphere. The brand-new French Quarter hotel is poised to become a hotspot with the opening of local chef Mike Stoltzfus’ restaurant, Sweet Olive, but the Burgundy Bar is already getting some attention for its collection of specialty cocktails like The Gatsby (a variation of the classic Pimm’s Cup) and the Bloody Oyster Shot garnished with a shrimp. The hotel’s Halo rooftop bar is slated to open summer 2012.

Bombay Club / Prince Conti

Tucked behind the carriageway at the Prince Conti Hotel in the French Quarter, the posh Bombay Club’s claim to fame is its giant selection of martinis–over 125 variations. Like yours a little extra-dirty? You’ll get an extra sidecar of olive juice. Don’t miss the house specialty Meat & Potato Martini made with potato vodka and garnished with andouille sausage. A fine selection of single malt Scotches and fine wine, buffered by the room’s dark wood and deep, plush leather chairs all add to the Bombay Club’s English manor vibe.

Davenport Lounge / Ritz-Carlton New Orleans

A few floors above the din on nearby Bourbon Street, the Ritz-Carlton New Orleans’ Davenport Lounge often transcends its highly polished reputation. When Grammy award-winning trumpeter Jeremy Davenport hits the stage, the mood is swingin’, the bar is slingin’ classic cocktails to a mixed clientele of visitors and locals, and the room feels like jazz lover’s luxe pad. Davenport plays Thursdays through Saturday nights, and there’s no cover beyond the plush couches, which are reserved for bottle service.

Patrick’s Bar Vin / Hotel Mazarin

As reigning king of the Krewe of Cork and a hospitality pro with more than 20 years working the front in New Orleans’ best restaurants, it was only a matter of time before Patrick Van Hoorebeek landed in his own briar patch. The Beligian-born man-about-town opened Bar Vin in the newly renovated/re-named Hotel Mazarin (formerly the St. Louis Hotel in the French Quarter) and a wine bar it is. Hoorebeek’s passion for the grape is apparent, but Bar Vin is—mercifully—not a place where you’ll get a dissertation on terroir when you ask about a wine. There are affordable luxuries in a by-the-glass bubbly list and wines under $10/glass, alongside knockout Old and New World wines that do require digging a little deeper into your wallet. Televisions in the bar may curb some of its inherent ambiance, , but Bar Vin is still a comfortable spot to get corked.

Iris / Bienville House

It’s easy to see why Iris is often the final stop on cocktail walking tours of the French Quarter – visitors know they’ve stumbled on a local secret for upscale libations. Inside the historic Bienville House hotel, mixologist Sharon Floyd has created an elegant menu of craft cocktails that center around house-made floral and herbal tinctures. Even the glassware – an eclectic mix of antique vessels – speaks to the bar’s unique approach to drinking. Iris also offers a selection of premium sakés, a rarity in the Crescent City.

Related New Orleans tours:

Old New Orleans Rum Distillery Tour

Boos! & Booze French Quarter Hauntings Tour

Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival
When: March 21 – March 25
Where: Hotel Monteleone, Historic New Orleans Collection, Muriel’s Jackson Square

Join a legion of Stanley hopefuls in Jackson Square as they bellow the famous cry – Stellaaaaaaaa! – at the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival. This five-day festival is devoted to honoring the work of the Pulitzer-prize winning American playwright, who called the French Quarter home for many years, but it is also a gathering of authors, editors and agents conducting writing workshops and contests, panel discussions, readings, and other events centered on American literature. For more information, see http://www.tennesseewilliams.net/.

4th Annual Hogs for the Cause
When: March 24
Where: New Orleans City Park

If you ever wanted to feel good – we mean really, really good – about eating as much pork in one day as your body can handle, the 4th annual Hogs for the Cause cook-off is your chance. More than 50 teams of competitors (including chefs from top local restaurants) vie for the title of Grand Champion and raise loads of cash for a great cause: event proceeds and team fundraising efforts go directly to families with kids being treated for pediatric brain cancer. (In 2011, Hogs for the Cause raised some serious bacon: $100,000.) Teams compete in four categories, and sell food to ticket-holders. Buy tickets online at http://www.hogsforthecause.org/tickets/.

New Orleans Road Food Festival
When: March 24 & March 25
Where: The French Market

From hot boudin to barbecue, tamales to mile-high pies, the New Orleans Road Food Festival honors the great American dives, out-of-the-way restaurants and roadside eateries that specialize in regional foods. This year, the New Orleans Road Food Festival is moving to bigger digs. For two days, the French Market will host this food-lovers banquet featuring local and national restaurants. A sampling of previous festival eats: softshell crab po-boys, breaded pork tenderloin sandwich, grilled cheese with boudin, debris sandwich, dry rub ribs, snoballs, pecan pie, muffaletta, Vaucresson sausage, brisket, Baked Alaska, pork and cheese tamales, pulled pork sandwich, pork boudin, chicken and sausage gumbo, crawfish enchiladas, jambalaya, strawberry shortcake, shrimp remoulade and Mint Juleps.

A ticketed VIP kick-off party will be held at the Royal Sonesta Hotel on March 23 from 6:30 p.m. – 9 p.m. Join local food maven Poppy Tooker, host of “Louisiana Eats!”, Lynn Rossetto Kasper, host of “The Splendid Table” and other food celebrities (including organizers Jane and Michael Stern) for a special evening in the Grand Ballroom of the Royal Sonesta Hotel. Open bar cocktails and Big Easy hors d’oeuvres will be served. For more information, see www.neworleansroadfoodfestival.com.

5th Annual Congo Square New World Rhythms Festival
When: March 24 & March 25
Where: Congo Square, Louis Armstrong Park (901 N. Rampart Street)

No festival reaches deeper into the city’s musical heritage than the Congo Square Rhythms Festival. Produced by the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, the festival celebrates the historic role of Congo Square as a birthplace of American music. The festival draws from a diverse lineup of Caribbean, Latin American and African musicians and musical styles – from traditional African drums to contemporary R & B performers to brass bands.

Highlights of the festival include the Tom Dent Congo Square Symposium, a panel discussion centered on themes and topics connected to world music and culture, named for the jazz scholar, New Orleans writer and activist. The topic of discussion for 2012: “Between Heaven and Earth: Soothing the Troubled Soul with the Arts of Our Ancestor”, about the African origins of New Orleans “vernacular traditions,” such as second-line and bounce dance styles. The Symposium will be held at the Joy Theater on March 24 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information, see http://www.jazzandheritage.org/congo-square.

Plan your weekend getaway to New Orleans today! Book French Quarter hotels and more hotels in New Orleans on NewOrleans.com.

O! Vegasm (1200 St Roch Avenue; 504-945-0194)

Vegan pasta alfredo at O! Vegasm

This vegan restaurant is tucked into the dive-y St. Roch Tavern, but don’t let the location dissuade you from a visit. Despite the off-the-beaten-path locale, it offers surprisingly sumptuous vegan twists on comfort-food classics like a “crab” cake made with jackfruit, a Vegasmic BBQ seitan sandwich with house-made barbecue sauce and fried pickles, cashew “meatloaf” and jambalaya with spicy homemade seitan sausage—all in a fun, friendly atmosphere. The menu changes weekly (check their Facebook page for updates) and a weekly vegan brunch keeps the veggie crowd coming back for more.

Santa Fe Tapas (1327 St Charles Ave; 504- 304-9915)

Santa Fe Tapas "crab" cakes are made with jackfruit. Photo by Derek Goodwin Photography

This Garden District eatery isn’t strictly veggie, but it’s a popular meeting place for the vegetarian community, offering many vegan dishes on the regular menu and a hoppin’ vegan jazz brunch every Saturday from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. The globetrotting menu covers meat-free starters like wild mushroom corn tamales and zucchini-green onion latkes, hearty mains such as roasted vegetable “Wellington” with wilted spinach and red wine reduction or braised wild mushroom-stuffed arugula risotto arancini. Desserts like banana strudel with hazelnut crème anglaise make for a sweet finish to a fun meal.

Superfood Bar (4113 Magazine St., 504 891 7733)

Salad with a twist at the new Superfood Bar on Magazine Street.

Shopping on Magazine Street? This tiny, new storefront is the perfect refueling stop. “Treating yourself to good health” is their motto, and the menu is packed with fresh snacks, smoothies (try the Vitamineral green smoothie with pineapple, basil and coconut) and a light veggie-focused lunch of soups and salads. Check the chalkboard sign for the full menu of the day’s vegetarian and raw offerings, or call for their weekly pop-up shop: offerings include superfood salads, vegan baked goods, pizza, mac n’ cheese and wraps.

The Wandering Buddha (2239 St Claude Ave., 504-945-9428)

Braised tofu at the Wandering Buddha

This one-of-a-kind eatery located inside the Hi-Ho Lounge dishes out delicious, vegan Korean cuisine (most of the menu is also gluten-free). Exotic flavors abound: spicy buckwheat noodles with mung beans, bibimbap (a traditional Korean rice dish accented by spicy cucumbers, seasoned spinach and sprouts), marinated tofu-stuffed lettuce wraps and tasty dumplings filled with glass noodles and fresh veggies. Homemade ginger-lemon tea is a must, and Wandering Buddha sells kimchi by the jar.

Green Goddess (307 Exchange Place; 504-301-3347)

Beet ravioli stuffed with truffled chevre at Green Goddess Photo by Jedd Haas/Gallery Tungsten

Green Goddess isn’t a vegetarian restaurant – chef/owner Chris DeBarr notes, “There’s an equal emphasis on Louisiana seafood and a few carnivorous dishes, too.” But like the rest of the restaurant’s funky, global gourmet menu, the kitchen’s attention to vegetarian fare isn’t an after-thought – DeBarr puts as much creative thought into the “freaky” smoked greenwheat freekeh tabouli and the popular golden beet ravioli filled with truffled chèvre as any meaty dish. Don’t miss the spread of roasted vegetables punchy dipping sauces, or the other-worldly mushroom bread pudding, which DeBarr says is “opulent, decadent, multi-faceted and pretty much killing it as the best thing on the menu these days.”

13 Monaghan (517 Frenchmen St; 504-942-1345)

Decoupaged tables and chrome accents give this local watering hole a homespun diner vibe, and the prime location on Frenchmen Street makes it a popular late-night stop after a music club crawl. (They’re open ‘til 4 a.m. 7 days a week.) The restaurant offers breakfast all day and plenty of vegetarian dishes, including a black bean burrito and tofu breakfast scramble, roasted veggies with goat cheese and the bar’s signature dish, “tachos”: crispy baked tater tots smothered a la nachos (black beans, cheese, jalapenos, salsa) – a dish with a cult following among foodies. Eight standout vegetarian sandwiches are also on offer, including a homemade black bean veggie burger and barbecue tofu sandwich.

Bennachin Restaurant (1212 Royal St; 504-522-1230)

Benachin in the French Quarter

This blink-and-you’ll-miss-it, colorful French Quarter favorite offers made-to-order meals with African flair (the chefs are from Cameroon and Gambia), so expect to wait a while for your custom creation. Many menu items are vegetarian or can be made meatless, like the signature dish, bennachin (African jambalaya served with sautéed spinach). Vegetarian dishes to devour include fu-fu (mashed yams), domoda (peanut stew), black-eyed pea fritters and yasa (carrots, cabbage and onion in garlic sauce over cous cous). While drinks tend toward the non-alcoholic (coffee, ginger soda and African herbal tea), feel free to BYO.

Satsuma Café (3218 Dauphine St; 504-342-2484)

Brie and pear sandwich at Satsuma Cafe in the Bywater Photo by Jennifer Potts

This Marigny/Bywater café boasts a lovely, quirky décor, bohemian vibe and veggie-packed menu (with items for carnivores also available). Grab a seat under a tree in the cute courtyard or inside the artfully mismatched cafe and order a freshly juiced concoction (like pineapple-ginger limeade) or wheatgrass shot, then move on to greenmarket produce-packed mains like gnocchi with brown butter, sage, butternut squash and kale. Wholesome treats include a mouthwatering, melty brie, pear and caramelized onion sandwich, a healthy quinoa salad with edamame and basil, and vegan baked goods.

Lighter, brighter, and topped with a new pewter bar, the Carousel Bar itself received a facelift, but she still revolves at a rate of about one cocktail per two rotations. Give or take.

Bartender extraordinaire Marvin Allen explains the art of the Ramos Gin Fizz to guests of the Hotel Monteleone.

The most notable change is the lounge area of the Carousel Bar. Gorgeous picture windows overlooking Royal Street bathe the once-dark lounge in bright light. The lounge is roomy and filled with comfy-chic seating, but the new back bar is the real stroke of genius – more than doubling the bar’s capacity for turning out cocktails.

The Carousel Bar will be the epicenter of activity as the Hotel Monteleone plays host to Tales of the Cocktail 2012 (July 25-29). Celebrating its 10th Anniversary this year, Tales co-founder Ann Tuennerman was at the grand re-opening of the Carousel Bar to kick off the official six-month countdown to Tales of the Cocktail 2012. Tuennerman promised an exciting new lineup of cocktail seminars and awards to honor the anniversary.

The Monteleone also released more details about the new restaurant scheduled to open in March 2012. Contemporary Louisiana cuisine will be the focus of the fine dining Criollo Restaurant and Lounge, which will be located adjacent to the new back bar in the Carousel Bar Lounge. (Picture is an artist’s rendering of Criollo Restaurant and Lounge.)

Additional renovations and upgrades at the Hotel Monteleone include:

* Rehabbing the hotel’s famous roof-top pool area, including renovation of the deck, pool tile, furniture and bar, which has been renamed Acqua Bella.

* Renovation to all of the Literary Suites on the 16th floor, including the Ernest Hemingway Suite. The Hotel Monteleone is one of only three in the country designated as a Literary Landmark.