re: Happy 2023 to OT - "Mecca" AKA Monroe the GOAT CITY to grow up in LA (PIC heavy)

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They came in 32oz cups. Drink one and you were feeling no pain. Drink two and you’d need help walking out.

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Yes Sir, we use to ride over from La Tech to get those. Trip home usually took a lot long due to stops on the way back on 20. Calling dinosaurs and what not.

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Shoutouts to the Mohawk and Sal's Saloon. Like Coney Island, they are still going.

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I figured the Mohawk would still be around. I'm so surprised that Sal's is. Certainly, Sal must be retired.

I went to NLU from 79-81 and remember most and went to at least half these places.

Pecanland Mall (It opened 37 years ago)
The Hitch BBQ (They were located in several college towns.)
Podnuh’s BBQ
Gus’s Ski Shop (The first place I saw Roller Blades. Gus Campbell owner.)
UL-Monroe/Northeast Louisiana University. Was collegiate water ski champion for a few years.
Outdoor Adventures (Trail Shop. Owned by Dr. Michael J. Caire. The first place I saw a Stump Jumper around 1982)
Sundown East (Bar. Ruston had the Sundown West)
Siesta bar (next to ULM.)
Zipp (burgers and seasoned curly fries.)
Pickle Barrel (sandwiches.)
George’s Gyros on 18th street. (George pronounced it Year-Oh.)
There was a Sizzler Steak House or Western Sizzlin on 18th.
Bawcomville Yacht Club (Some radio DJs would make comments about it jokingly. Probably KNOE)
Kiroli Park. (Nice place, good walking trails, swinging bridge. The neighborhood before entering was covered in white Christmas lights every year.)
Skyjacker Suspensions in West Monroe.

Edited the spelling of the Siesta from Fiesta.

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I figured the Mohawk would still be around. I'm so surprised that Sal's is. Certainly, Sal must be retired.

I went to NLU from 79-81 and remember most and went to at least half these places.

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I was born and raised up there, hit Sal's on MANY a night in the late 80's - early 00's. I recently found out my aunt used to go there when she was in college in the mid 70s. That's got to be record longevity for a bar in NELA.

From the googles, it seems he opened it in 1975 and Sal is still kicking around (although he's got to be up there in age now).

I think it must go through waxes and wanes in popularity with the college crowd. I think he's probably supported it during its down years with money from the strawberry farm.

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I remember the after hours club in west Monroe just south of I-20. The branding iron maybe? Patty Rambin played there a lot. Good times.

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Don't know about that one. I remember the Western Club being out in WM. It was the kind of place where at the door they asked if you had any guns or knives on you. If you said no, they pulled out a box to pick some from.

I kid, but it was a rough place.

On the Monroe side of the river the late night places were SomeWhere Else (worked there for a while) and Rad's (although it didn't last nearly as long as SWE).

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Certainly, Sal must be retired.

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You can still find Sal up there and a few regulars. The bar night life is a shell of its former self though. Not sure what's wrong with these kids these days.

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Siesta

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This nostalgia has me looking up those old places. Apparently the Sleeze-esta is still around but they moved from Desiard (across from the Dugout/Cooter Bay) to North 3rd at some point. I can't begin to remember how many nights we would spend at Dugout/Cooter Bay until it closed at midnight then stagger over to the Sleeze since it stayed open til 2am (for those who weren't around, bars in Monroe could stay open only until midnight, bars outside the city limits could stay open til 2am and that line ran between the buildings which housed Dugout/Cooter Bay and the Siesta).

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What about Deja vu?
Puddin’s?

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Deja Vu! In the early 80's they had Ladies Night where drinks were something ridiculous like 3 for 1. It was like maybe from 7-9 and then they let the guys in at 9. All the guys came looking for all us drunk ladies.

During the late 70s and early 80s, the sorority and frat standard evening was Tonga Island for a Scorpion followed by Sal's, maybe the Circus, and then the Siesta. After that, The Hangout, followed by late night food at Sambo's. It could have varied by an occasional trip to The Branding Iron, Deja Vu, or the Airport Bar. Sal's and the Siesta were a constant. It's so weird to me that the Sleazesta is a nice restaurant now!

Anyone get one of those infamous 'throat swabs' from Dr. Talbot?

That man was a sadist i tell ya. at least i always left with a green lollipop.

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Certainly, Sal must be retired.

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The bar is still there or at least it was last year. I saw Sal in the Waterfront eating a few years ago, which coincidently is where the Siesta used to be lol. I am not sure he looks any different than he did 30 years ago. Sadly, Sal's looks like a ghost-town now. Who knows what keeps that place open? I think the only time it gets a good crowd is when a reunion is in town or the holidays and the 50+ folks want to relive the good old days like they are doing in this thread.