A surprisingly good vibe at House of Blues' Foundation Room...

Last night, I had the pleasure of mystery shopping the Foundation Room, a members-only dining club and lounge that is part of House of Blues. My cousin Bill came along... ;-)

I've always thought of HOB as just sort of a cheesy, one-in-every-city, concert venue. Last night was sort of an education. Aside from the original 1992 House of Blues in Cambridge, MA, now gone, New Orleans has the oldest. The company was originally financed by Dan Aykroyd, Aerosmith, Paul Shaffer, River Phoenix, James Belushi and Harvard University among others. Co-founder Isaac Tigrett has collected authentic treasures from around the world, as well as local folk art, to make each location unique and representative of the community. Foundation Room members enjoy fine dining, exotic lounges and bars, wine tastings and special events, and secluded "Prayer Rooms" for meetings and private parties. Every Foundation Room is a unique and beautiful space decorated with art and artifacts from around the world. This is a Mardi Gras Indian "suit". They take a year to make, are worn only once and are treasured artifacts in New Orleans.

The front door was unobtrusive with no signage on the street, and we had to be buzzed in, pass by a desk to check in, and then take an elevator upstairs. Once there, a chic hostess encouraged us to have a drink at the bar before our dinner reservation. The bartender Alex was a gregarious, 8-year employee and proudly described his signature summer cocktails, including a blackberry mojito. After dinner, he offered us a private tour of the club and adjacent concert hall, showing us a reservable private Hindu Prayer Room with its own big projector/TV and stereo system, and walls upholstered in Indian dowry cloth. He said Drew Brees and Matthew McConaughey had recently used it for an event.

Banquettes, round couches, heavy wooden temple doors and sheer curtains made this room, the bar and dining room have somewhat of a bordello feel with a little spiritual aura thrown in. He took us to the private viewing balcony where FR members can watch the shows next door at House of Blues. He also showed us the green room where musicians relax, shower, dress and chill before and after shows. He pointed out some of the original local folk art and international treasures that HOB is famous for collecting and displaying, including the Mardi Gras Indian suit (above), Indian temple artrifacts, a chandelier from an old local plantation, and 4 carved stone angels from the original Batman movie.

The food was mostly tapas/small plates and we had an ahi tuna salad, a wedge salad with the best bacon rind "croutons" you've ever put in your mouth, pork belly on grits (out of this world!), crab cakes and a mac and cheese side. All of it was delicious. The Manager was friendly and accomodating and all staff made the effort to get to know us on a personal level and make sure our visit was first class! If you can find a way to enjoy this "club" with a member friend, in any city where there's a House of Blues.... do it!