Where to get a great drink in New Orleans

Across town in Central City, well away from the party atmosphere of the French Quarter, the Southern Food and Beverage Museum in New Orleans provides a more refined atmosphere in which to enjoy a Sazerac or a mint julep and learn about the signature dishes and drinks offered in the French Quarter.

Operating since 2015 on the site of a former public market (its first home was in the Riverwalk mall), the museum not only covers Louisiana cuisine, and specialties such as gumbo and beignets, but also the culinary traditions of 15 Southern states and Washington, D.C.

The best part: visitors are allowed, encouraged even, to sip a perfectly executed cocktail from Toups South, the museum’s adjacent bar and restaurant, while checking out the displays.

(A table is required to enjoy the sourdough biscuits, blood sausage cassoulet and other Cajun specialties on the menu.)

Organized by state with pullout exhibits on chefs, Mardi Gras and other themes, it covers a wide swath of notable foods and drinks – hot sauce, Virginia hams, sno-cones, Derby pie and the South’s many, many different takes on barbecue – through recipes, posters, menus and, of course, stories.

The Washington exhibit offers presidential anecdotes, including one involving Thomas Jefferson and a gift of a four-foot-high block of cheese that may have ended up in the Potomac.

For kids, there are nonelectronic interactive opportunities, such as a please-touch sign hanging below a table full of old kitchen gadgets, including egg beaters, sausage grinders and meringue cutters.