Barbes
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
By: Becky Firesheets

Stepping into Barbes is like entering a snapshot from an exotic city’s past. Its elephant sculptures, Buddhist-inspired wall engravings, colorful tapestries and statues of mustached men combined with the shelves of single malt scotches, fine bourbons, aged wines and more creates a mysterious yet laidback atmosphere.  The opening room extends narrowly past the bar, leading to an intimate backroom covered in faded, overlapping rugs with a piano tucked along one wall and wooden tables with mismatched chairs shoved against another.   Every Wednesday, this snapshot becomes an ancient bar in Guinea as a ten-piece band wedges itself into the front of the space, sets up the djembes and guitars, saxophones and flutes, and breaks into “100% Manding music.”

Click here for the full review on The Mandingo Ambassadors.