Kitchen manager Nikki Elliott (left) and cook Rebecca Hinojosa have added new dimensions to what once was just a bar menu at Le Bon Temps Roule.

For more than two decades, the corner Uptown bar and grill, Le Bon Temps Roule (4801 Magazine St., 895-8117, www.lebontempsroule.com), has provided a comfortable but uncommon gathering place for a diverse mixture of locals seeking no-nonsense libations, live music, local flavor and a bite to eat.

  "We are truly a local neighborhood place," says Sean Hobgood, general manager of the tavern his father, Leonard, opened in 1979. "We are a place where anyone of any age and any background can come and have a good time."

  The promise implied in the bar’s name is honored by welcoming customers whether they are clad in shorts or dressed for a night at the opera and providing them with the elements they need for a good time. There are no gimmicks, although there are regular drink specials, free oysters on Fridays, $1 beers during Saints football games, and live local music four nights a week (Kermit Ruffins is a regular on Wednesdays). That’s not to say it’s a homogenized watering hole. You can find a dog wearing sunglasses over the bar, along with a white cow’s skull. There’s a mosaic alligator tiled into the floor, along with signs from defunct businesses. What you won’t find, however, is frou-frou specialty drinks such as New Orleans’ famous hurricanes or cyclones, or anything that comes with a paper umbrella.

  "We have a variety of good beer and cocktails like any bar," says Hobgood, who became manager five years ago. "We have a nice selection of high-end liquor, which is the hot thing now because people are better educated about liquor. But we don’t have specialty drinks. We’ll give you a good rum and Coke, but we don’t serve things like hurricanes."

  To keep customers happy, Le Bon Temps Roule has a couple of large pool tables and operates a full kitchen that opens at 11 a.m. daily and serves food late into the evening. Under the guidance of kitchen manager Nikki Elliott, the menu has expanded from basic bar food such as hamburgers to more compelling selections such as quesadillas as well as comfort foods.

  "Nikki has really made a difference in the kitchen," Hobgood says. "When we first opened it was burgers and po-boys, but now she has added quesadillas, pizzas and plate lunches. Most of the stuff is homemade (like the chili, meatloaf and marinara sauce). She even makes her own macaroni and cheese sauce. She does a good job, and we get a nice crowd."

  When Hobgood’s father first opened the bar 22 years ago, he did not conceive of bestowing on it any particular theme or atmosphere other than that of general fun and revelry, the general manager says. The establishment’s eclectic nature developed as an outgrowth of the elder Hobgood’s own character.

  "We’re a reflection of the owner," says Hobgood, who used to help his father sweep out the bar each morning before attending school as a boy. "He’s a very eclectic gentleman, so it’s a strange little club."

  Strange and eclectic in a good sense, the general manager says. "We are truly a neighborhood bar. We’re reasonably priced. We’re safe, clean and an enjoyable place to be. We have a lot of regulars, whether they’re professionals, college students, or older people from the neighborhood. We don’t have a lot of transient customers. Most are regulars and come in week in and week out. We’re locally owned and operated and always have been, and that makes us a little different. All the bands we have play here are local bands. The place is uniquely New Orleans."

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  A team of professionals from the New Orleans wellness facility Living Well will present a free seminar from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday, March 3, at Le Meridien Hotel. Titled "Blame, Shame, Always the Same. Who Is Talking?" the seminar will address barriers to personal growth. The following day, a panel of mental health counselors, authors and lecturers will lead a workshop from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (March 3) at Le Meridien. Panel members for "Discovering the Shame That Heals Us" include author and social worker Claudia Black, who surveys children’s issues, and best-selling author John Bradshaw, whose books cover subjects dealing with addictions and recovery. Workshop admission is $105 ($75 for senior citizens and students) and provides professionals with six hours of continuing education credit. Call 486-9737 for more information.