When I first heard about Rock and Bowl I thought, "bowling alley that happened to have live music". In reality, think of it in the opposite manner. It is a great place to listen to live music, have a few drinks with a lively crowd, grab some pretty decent food and, oh by the way, there is a bowling alley with people actually bowling. Most of the people here seemed to have no interest in bowling but it does add a nice diversion for all you closet bowlers out there. But don’t take it too seriously, the lanes are very ‘old school’ (no electronic scoring, no pin counter, old beat up balls) which adds to the charm of the place. No one really cared about their score and a lot of friendships are made on the lanes. In fact, I met a really nice group of people whose daughter was going to school in New York about two blocks from my office. What are the odds of meeting someone in a New Orleans club/bowling alley that lives so close in New York? I’m supposed to get some great gumbo and jambalaya recipes in the mail from one of the people in the group. Most of the people here were very friendly New Orleans natives and you will find it very easy to strike up a conversation.

Or if you prefer, you can grab a bite at the bar. The food is surprisingly good (get the crawfish quesadillas) and you can try the local beer (Abita) while you're eating. All the while, the band wails away on the stage. The Molly Ringwold's were playing. The music was a little bit too heavy metal like for my taste but the band was pretty good. An interesting fact about the band...they open for themselves. The keep talking about how the Molly Ringwold's are coming out soon and thanking the Molly Ringwold's for letting them use their equipment. When they finally do come out, it is the same band with a slightly different look. Not that the specific band is all that important, but word is that some really great acts come through there. Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt even checked it out when they were in town filming "Interview with a Vampire".