While everyone knows we have the best Metairie drink specials and amazing food, we can never say enough about the Shack’s live music. And let’s be honest, can you have a completer evening than the sweet combination of perfectly fried onion rings, a juicy Shank-Me Burger, a cold pint of Abita, and awesome local live music? We don’t think so.

That’s why you should come get your fix of Metairie live music this Saturday when Gal Holiday & the Honky Tonk Review gets the Shack rockin’. You’ve probably caught the toe-tappin’ group Uptown at Tip’s or onstage at Jazz Fest, so you know how amazing their modern rock ‘n’ roll sounds are.

Like any good New Orleanian, Gal Holiday & the Honky Tonk Review took a genre and made it their own. The music is a perfect combination of Swing, Rockabilly, and country. offBeat said about the group, “Swingabilly New Orleans style from a hot little combo fronted by honeyvoiced Holiday.” Sounds like a great Saturday night right?

Have your dancing shoes ready by 10:00, because that’s when the melodious tunes will start. And, of course, enjoy our drink specials and a delicious dinner beforehand!

When October hits here in Metairie, we don’t think of pumpkins and hayrides. After all, the heat index is still reaching into the mid 90s, so swimsuit season isn’t far out of our minds. What we can never get out of our thoughts, however, is all the fun the Germans are having at Oktoberfest.

Oktoberfest is like a global party where the beer keeps flowing and lederhosen is a common sight. The festivities started back in 1810 as part of Prince Ludwig of Bavaria’s wedding celebration. 40,000 people attended the horse race in Munich that first year, and the tradition grew from there. At some point, the race was abandoned, but most of the original party continues. Today, breweries sponsor beer halls at Theresienwiese, the original location of Oktoberfest, and beer and food stands sate visitors’ epicurean desires.

Everyone at the Shack totally understands how Oktoberfest got to be such an international shebang. If you invite a whole country to a party with incredible beer, of course people are going to come. So, extend the party to the world and, well, you know what’s going to happen.

Feel free to think of us as a small scale Oktoberfest. While we can’t offer you millions of liters of beer like they can in Munich, we do have great brews and delicious food. And we wouldn’t turn anyone down if they wanted to show up in lederhosen. So if you didn’t make it to the Bavarian beer halls this year, don’t yodel out a sad tune. Just come down to the Rivershack Tavern and listen to the best live music in Metairie and raise your steins to the Germans who brought us good bee

Here at the Rivershack Tavern, we always strive to keep you in the know about good beers. As your favorite neighborhood bar, we consider it our duty. After all, if the place with the best Metairie drink specials didn’t educate you on these things, who would?

As the marsh fire blanketed the city in nauseating fumes a few weeks ago, NOLA Brewing was capturing a much more appealing smokiness. At the beginning of the month, the Tchoupitoulas brewery released a delightfully smoky ale, aptly named Smoky Mary. If that title sounds familiar, then you’re apparently up-to-date on historical New Orleans trivia. The Smoky Mary was a streetcar line that, from 1830-1930, took people from downtown out to the southern shore of Lake Pontchartrain – roughly where UNO is now.

The malt in Rauchbier (That’s German for “smoked beer.” We’re giving you a well-rounded education, here.) is smoked over beechwood logs. Like any good Crescent City establishment, however, NOLA Brewing broke from tradition to make their product a bit more special. The malt for Smoky Mary was smoked over pecan wood, which, as we all know, is indigenous to our area. Can’t beat natural, local flavor!

According to the New Orleans RTA, the Smoky Mary took its travelers to a place “where people enjoyed picnics and social events on the lakefront,” a relaxing break from the bustle of the city. That sounds familiar to us. A good beer and a happy atmosphere bring people together. That’s why we think Smoky Mary and the Rivershack Tavern are such a good fit. Just like it’s namesake, the Smoky Mary beer can carry you and your friends to enjoyable social events – and what better place to let that happen than down at the ‘Shack? Come join us for good beer and great live music in Metairie.

Like any good bar, we know the kind of fun people want – because it’s the kind of fun we want. That means great, local food, friendly service, and ice-cold beer. We at the Rivershack Tavern have built a place that provides just that so that any New Orleanian can step into the Shack and know they’ll have a good time and leave with a happy stomach. And while having the best drink specials and neighborhood bar appeal in Metairie draw in many of our patrons, some come for further entertainment – and we understand that, too. One of our favorite breaks from eating is enjoying our dartboard.

Darts is a traditional pub game in the United Kingdom. And we enjoy our good beer just as much as they do over there, so the dartboards fit right in at the Shack! It was invented way back in the 1800s, and we’re willing to guess it’s not much different today than it used to be. Just a few friends having a good time while drinking some beer!

If you’ve never played before, a regular can show you the way it’s done. But if you think dart throwing and drinking may be a bad combination, there are still plenty of other things to keep you entertained. Remember: we always have the best live music Metairie has to offer!

All us New Orleanians know that our festive city created that wonderful sandwich we call the Po’Boy. But we’ve probably forgotten the history behind the Crescent City’s French bread brainchild. We serve seven different Po’Boys here at the Rivershack Tavern, and our prices show that we haven’t forgotten the sandwich’s history! So read through this tasty history lesson, and then come on down to the Shack to enjoy a fresh, local Po’Boy and the best Metairie drink specials.

-       Benny and Clovis Martin moved to New Orleans in the 1910s to work as streetcar conductors.

-       They open Martin Brothers’ Coffee Stand in the French Market in 1922.

-       On July 1, 1927, the streetcar motormen and conductors went on strike following heated contract negotiations. The strike was very violent and the public participated by not riding the streetcars.

-       Many businesses helped the union men by donating goods and services.

-       The Martin Brothers were one of these businesses. The brothers wrote a letter promising a free meal to members of the local union.

-       The New Orleans Po-Boy Preservation Society states that Bennie Martin said, “”We fed those men free of charge until the strike ended. Whenever we saw one of the striking men coming, one of us would say, ‘Here comes another poor boy.’” And thus, the Po-Boy was born.

-       To be able to serve more sandwiches, the Martin Brothers’ baker recreated the French bread, making the ends uniform in length, as opposed to the typically narrowed ends of French bread.

-       This new style allowed large sandwiches and the Martin Brothers’ kept the prices low, ensuring many a po’ boy during the Great Depression could afford a sandwich to eat.

We at the Shack raise our glasses to the generosity and innovation of the Martin Brothers! We sure do love the sandwiches they created.

Today is National IPA Day, so of course we’re celebrating down at the Shack! But since we have the best happy hour deals in Metairie, who could blame us for a little Thursday night party?

Unsure about IPAs? You’re not alone. Many people avoid them because of their strong bitter flavor. But with drink specials like ours, it won’t hurt your wallet to try a pint after you enjoy some of your regualr favorite brew.

India Pale Ales are descended from 17^th century, British pale ales. The color, like the name, comes from the pale malts used to make the beer. A quick Wikipedia check tells us that, in the 18^th century, pale ale was manufactured with coke-fired malt; this needed less smoking and roasting of barley in the malting process, producing a paler beer.

Beer lovers like to tell a tall tale about the history of the IPA name. It is said that IPAs were brewed with extra hops and alcohol to help them survive the journey from Britain to India. While brewers had been told to add hops to beers being exported to warm climates, IPAs weren’t the only beer traveling to India – porters did, too. But the beer was very popular in India, and exporters eventually adopted the name.

If you’re curious to try an IPA tonight, there are two great local options. NOLA Brewing makes the Hopitoulas IPA, and Abita makes the Jockamo IPA. The Jockamo is a perfect IPA for newbies. It’s very balanced and isn’t overly hoppy. The Hopitoulas packs a bigger punch in terms of bitterness, but is still very drinkable.

If you want to celebrate National IPA Day, come join us at the Shack! Enjoy some Metairie live music, while sipping local brews. We promise you’ll have a good time with us!

With Tropical Storm Don just passing Metairie by, we’ve been vaguely reminded that we are, in fact, in hurricane season. With no major storms yet this summer, when we’ve heard “hurricane,” we usually just think of how delicious NOLA Brewing’s Hurricane Saison tasted during a Metairie happy hour back in the spring and long for the return of that seasonal beer!

But when the rain does come pouring down, we think you should join us at the Shack for some live music and food. We have it on a good authority that our parking lots are just a bit higher than the rest of the area, and you know your car will appreciate some elevation when water is running through the streets!

If you do spend a rainy night at the Rivershack Tavern, we have just the right thing to make you forget the stormy skies: onion rings. Really, is there anything better to accompany a cold Purple Haze? We can’t think of anything…

We like to believe we’ve mastered the art of the onion ring, and our customers tend to agree. Our onion rings are huge (St. Charles Avenue recently compared them to bagels), lightly breaded, and chock full of all the delicious flavor you know you’ll find at our Tavern. Not to brag, but they’re the best around.

The rings are a perfect starter to split between your table, but we completely understand if you want your own. Personally, we like throwing some on top of our Tex-Mex Burger or Alligator Sausage Po’Boy. Yum! The crunch and flavor is something to moan about.

So order some for your crew, order some for yourself, or even order some for one our live music acts if you’re really loving the tunes! You’ll make everyone happy. And if a big storm brews up during happy hour, know that you – and your car – can safely ride out the ‘cane with the best Metairie drink specials and the most delicious food in town!