Smoking Ban Opinions; Reinventing the Sazerac

SMOKING BAN WIRE—How do service industry peeps feel about the smoking ban?One French Quarter waiter says, "This cuts into the heart of New Orleans," while T. Cole Newton of Twelve Mile Limit says, "I think the fear that soon New Orleans will be just like every other city in America is greatly exaggerated. New Orleans has been weird, exotic, and dangerous for 300 years now. That isn’t about to change just because you have to go outside to smoke." [First We Feast]

COCKTAIL WIRE—NOLA.com highlights the cocktail program at the revamped Brennan's. Most interesting is something they call The Sazerac Project, which lets customers swap out any of the classic cocktail's ingredients — rye, bitters, or absinthe — for more unusual spirits such as Chartreuse. [NOLA.com]

WAREHOUSE DISTRICT—Calling all Girl Scout Cookie fiends: A Saturday night benefit event at Harrah's called ‘Cookies and Cocktails’ will feature "local chefs using the famous treats as the inspiration for appetizers, desserts and cocktails." Tickets are $60 or $100 per couple; more details here. [Advocate]