An
older couple sits in a black leather sofa at the Voodoo Lounge in
downtown Cedar Falls drinking “Hurricanes” and chatting
about the snowy weather on a February Tuesday night.
A few feet away, another
couple watches an Iowa State basketball game on the big screen television
behind the bar. Across the floor, four twenty-somethings laugh loudly
and gossip about their jobs while a server passes out a fresh round
of Miller Lights. And in the back, several University of Northern
Iowa students play pool on the bar’s three tables.
Behind the bar, a bartender
mixes Southern Comfort, Bacardi 151 and fruit juice in a tall glass
and garnishes the “Hurricane” – a Voodoo Lounge
signature – with a cherry and orange slice. He passes it on
to a server decorated with several strands of Marti Gras beads who
then uses it to replace an empty glass on a coffee table across
the room.
In the Voodoo Lounge,
the top floor of the New Orleans themed Bourbon Street restaurant,
each group of people is oblivious to any other. The bar’s
atmosphere is friendly and relaxed, and so are its staff and patrons.
People know New Orleans as “The Big Easy,” and the nickname
also fits Cedar Falls’ Voodoo Lounge very well.
“You can sit and
talk to your friends and actually hear them,” says Mary Schafert,
a frequent Voodoo Lounge patron. “If you’re not into
loud, standing-room-only bars, this is an atmosphere you’d
probably like. It’s very different.”
She’s right. With
dozens of black leather sofas encircling several glass coffee tables
across the floor, the Voodoo Lounge breaks the unwritten rule of
bar seating via high top tables and booths. General Manager Patrick
Snyder says the seating makes the bar relaxing, yet upscale.
“We typically attract
a bit of an older crowd,” Snyder says. “The couches
fill up and everybody is sitting, relaxing and having a great time.
“This is the upscale
place downtown,” he says.
Downstairs, a cast iron
skillet becomes white hot as a Bourbon Street restaurant chef applies
a rub of Cajun spices to a 12 oz. slice of prime rib. He lays it
on the skillet and flames engulf the meat turning the spicy rub
into a blackened crust. The blackened prime rib is part of a menu
that features a combination of Cajun creole and American fare.
“The owner swears
by our blackened prime rib,” Snyder says. “And I’m
serious about this: you pick up our honey barbecue ribs and the
meat literally just falls off the bone.”
Accompanied by baked
potatoes and salads, the entrées are served to a family sitting
in a row of booths divided by a railing and raised above the main
floor. An oak tree replica lit with white Christmas lights projects
from the center of the floor where busy waiters buzz to and from
the kitchen. The scene is reminiscent of the open-air restaurants
in the New Orleans French Quarter.
It’s still snowing
outside, and the newly renovated downtown streets are coated white.
Restaurant and bar patrons glance out the window between bites of
Cajun cuisine and drinks of their “Hurricane” –
perhaps wishing they are in the warm bayou climate.
But for those who enjoy
a great meal and a relaxing social hour after work, the Voodoo Lounge
will do just fine.
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