Historic Sites in St. Charles Parish

"The Beauregard-Keyes House is significant and worth a tour for its Greek Revival architecture, lovely quaint garden, and for once having been the residence of Confederate General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, a New Orleans native who ordered the first shots of the Civil War and remained a hero in the South long after the war was lost. Ursuline nuns used the property from the early 1700s until the 1820s when the new house was designed to combine elements of a Creole cottage with Greek Revival features, including a Palladian facade, curved twin staircases, Tuscan portico, and generous dining room. In 1945, author Frances Parkinson Keyes was looking for a place to write and live in New Orleans."

"The Beauregard -Keyes House museum includes past residents such as Confederate General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard and American author Frances Parkinson Keyes. The house has elements of a Creole cottage with Greek Revival features, including a Palladian façade. It also has twin curved staircases leading to a Tuscan portico."

"Tours run twice every evening (5pm and 8pm) and include visits to the Lalaurie Mansion (where American Horror Story Coven was filmed), LaFitte’s Blacksmith Shop, and more. Our guide had plenty of creepy tales to share and clearly believed a lot of the ghost stories herself, which made it all the more fun. Our tour group was a little on the larger side, but otherwise, the experience was entertaining."

"Wander down to Governor Nicholls Street to see Lalaurie Mansion, once the home of actor Nicholas Cage, and one of the homes used for American Horror Story Coven. There are also other fancy homes like the New Orleans home of Angelina Jolie down this beautiful street."

"2035 Metairie Road, Metairie, (504) 832-8032; www.marktwainpizza.com. A Life on the Mississippi pizza is topped with pepperoni, Canadian bacon, sausage, mushrooms, bell peppers, onion, black olives, jalapenos and anchovies."

"3524 Severn Ave., Metairie, (504) 455-2266; www.riccobonospeppermill.com. Sauteed veal Josephine is topped with lump crabmeat and shrimp and served with brabant potatoes. Reservations accepted."

"People hang around the doors of this modest Metairie institution, night after night, the way barbecue lovers flock to the newest and hottest joints in Texas, except that R&O has been around since the ’80’s, that’s how much people love it here, and why shouldn’t they—the roast beef po boys are some of the most distinctive in town, but there’s so much else to eat here, too—shrimp salads, eggplant parmesan lunch specials, thin crust pizza, the works. Fancy it’s not, unforgettable all the same."

"For good reason: They’re reasonably priced, filling and about as egalitarian as a local food can be. Fried seafood po’ boys get much of the love, but consider the unsung hero of po’ boy land: the roast beef po’ boy. Here in the first suburb west of New Orleans proper is R&Os, home of the finest roast beef po’ boy with gravy that can be."

"Atelier Vie is a craft distillery that produces a hefty lineup of spirits including Euphrosine Gin #9 Bottled in Bond; a standard version of Euphrosine; and a nine-month, barrel-aged version called Barrel-Finished Reserve. The Atelier Vie lineup also includes Louisiana Single Malt; Riz, a Louisiana rice whiskey; Calio Rum and Barrel Aged Calio Rum; Orphan Street Brandy and Orphan Street Brandy “El Jefe” Edition; Toulouse Green, a traditional-style absinthe distilled with Louisiana wormwood; and Toulouse Red, an American absinthe colored red with hibiscus. Atelier Vie also bottles Buck 25 Vodka and Orphan Street Bourbon."

"Founded in 2011, Atelier Vie produces vodka, gin, whiskey and even absinthe, from its South Broad Street location in Mid-City New Orleans.Atelier Vie’s two varieties of absinthe include the traditional green absinthe and a red version colored and flavored with hibiscus flowers. Try: Louisiana Single Malt Whiskey, Calio Rum, Orphan Street Brandy, and Euphrosine Gin, which took the Gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition."

"What is a chain brewpub next to a casino doing on this list?. Brewer Nick Anzalone has been expanding the restaurant’s beer selection with his creative recipes including hazy New England IPAs, Brut IPAs, saisons, and a non GBB-standard Bohemian Keller Pils lager. Anzalone has upped the beer cred at GBB-NO and it’s a great place to stop by downtown."

"Dan Gordon and Dean Biersch’s dream came true when Gordon Biersch Brewing Company opened its doors. The brewery opened in Palo Alto, California, in July 1988. The duo worked together to bridge fresh, handcrafted beer and world class cuisine."