Kingpin Smokes It Up Tuesday Night; Spring Dining Galore

UPTOWN— Longtime smokers' paradise The Kingpin (1307 Lyons) is going out In A Blaze Of Glory with a smoking party tomorrow night, April 21, aka the final night of smoking in bars in New Orleans.  Festivities include a "smoke ring contest, smoking baby, celebrity judge, stained wall art, free ashtrays and more." [Facebook]

NOLA— Adrienne Quinlan reports that "If the smoking ban on Apr. 22 is 'doomsday' for any joint, it might be for Snake and Jake's—which feels like it already lives well past that day, in some post-apocalyptic vision."  [NOLA.com]

NOLA— Ian McNulty has released his huge Spring 2015 dining guide for The Advocate with restaurant recommendations from Uptown to the Westbank, and a bevy of 'Best Of' establishments for the best Vegetarian-friendly, romantic, indulgent and inexpensive dining, among other categories. [Advocate]

NOLA— NOLA.com also has an actual countdown to doomsday and a poll lamenting the best smoking bars, which readers selected as The French 75 Bar, Snake & Jake's and Ms. Mae's. [NOLA.com]

LOUISIANA— Five years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, many Louisiana oysterman are "struggling with depleted production" and have sunk their BP settlements into constructing new limestone and concrete reefs to farm oysters. [NOLA.com]