Lehrmann’s Bar and Billiards

Where can you go to drink a beer, get some fresh crawfish, connect to local punks, and play a game of pool all in one place? If you’re in Saint Bernard Parish, that would be Lehrmann’s.
After work one night, I hopped in the car by myself to find myself some trouble. It was raining, and I was in the mood for a local dive. With it’s sign advertising pool, it seemed I found the right place.
I took a seat at the bar, in front of a windowed cooler with a Crayola marker sign advertising fresh crawfish, and at a good price. On the TV was an episode of American Gladiators, which should speak to the level of sports enthusiasm here. Locals talked actively over bottled beer, and I ponied up fifty cents for a go at one of the four pool tables. It was Ego vs. Id, and I was going to win one way or the other.
As my Id was pounding the crap out of my Ego, Tony wandered over. Who’s Tony, you ask? Heck if I knew beforehand, but it turns out he’s in local hardcore band Graveyard Rodeo. What’s it to me? Well, here I am, mohawk’ed punk wearing dingy white-​stained work pants in a bar of 40+ locals, playing a game by myself. If this were Oakland or San Francisco, that would be it, end of story. But that’s not where I was, and people can be significantly more friendly here. We spoke about the local punk/​hardcore/​metal scene here, and where to find it (that would be Decatur St, apparently).
Which brings me to another point– reportedly, there isn’t a difference between the punk scene, hardcore scene, and metal scene here. What would be three separate and insular scenes at home are one blended small community here.
As if that weren’t enough, after Tony takes off and I finish my game, Cheryl invites me to a game. ‘Wait a minute,’ I hear you asking, ‘who’s Cheryl? First there’s Tony, now Cheryl? I thought you went out by yourself!’ She’s some local who’s picked up a replacement spot in the night’s pool tournament, and is getting in a practice game. Naturally, she hands me my ass, but as if on cue, halfway through our game pretty much half the bar saunters over to the remaining three tables, as if of one mind, and the tournament begins.
Quite satisfied with the local hospitality and the local beer, I left shortly after. If I run out of new places to visit while on this short trip south, this is one of the select places I’ll be coming back to.