This is Half Year In. It's like One Year In, only half-ier.
Inside Bellocq at the Hotel Modern. [Photo: Nikki Mayeux]
A little over three years ago, three guys revolutionized cocktails in New Orleans. In opening Cure, Neal Bodenheimer and Kirk Estopinal, along with partner Matthew Kohnke, really introduced the contemporary craft cocktail movement to New Orleans. Last year, they signed on with hotelier Klaus Ortlieb, who was rebranding the Hotel le Cirque into the Hotel Modern, to open Bellocq. With this project, they've moved past the combination of classic and original cocktails that are the basis of Cure's menu and begun investigating pre-Prohibition drinks like the cobbler. Eater recently caught up with Estopinal to talk about how it's going so far and what they've got planned moving forward.
