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Dining in New Orleans!
On a busy night,
hard workers like Darren (right) shuck 35 dozen oysters.
While some people come to New Orleans
primarily to drink, others come here just to eat.
Either way, everybody wins.
New Orleans has launched some of America's most acclaimed chefs –
Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse among them – and some of
the world's most original creations. Gumbo, red beans and rice and jambalaya
are among the cuisine choices of the city. Oysters and crawfish are
also two items seen on many New Orleans menus.
One of the great things about eating in "Nawlens" is that
virtually every restaurant – from the small corner cafe to the
famous kitchen – uses some variety of Cajun cooking in almost every
dish. What diners get is food that is truly unique to this region. It
can be puzzling to know what to order with so many types of different
foods, so see below for a guide to the New Orleans creations.
Many of New Orleans' top restaurants offer sample platters for $50-75
and smaller places have New Orleans combination plates for less than
$15.
It's much more difficult to go wrong than go right with a restaurant
choice. Yet New Orleans does has a few restaurants that long ago set
the standard for all the others. Dinner and drinks run in the $50 per
person range and people rave about the food for weeks after they return
home.
For authentic Cajun cooking, there is K-Paul's Kitchen of the
aforementioned Prudhomme. It's famous for the blackened red fish and
spicy Cajun martinis, but it's the sauces that will leave you simmering
and bring you back time and time again. Emeril's is also excellent,
but the place is often booked weeks in advance. Still, try your luck
at a last-minute cancellation.
Galatorie's is one of the city's most traditional Creole restaurants,
located on Bourbon Street just a couple of blocks from the mayhem. Brennan's
is a family-run restaurant with courtyard seating and The Palace
is proud of its kitchen and is packed at both lunch and dinner. Arnaud's
is outstanding, has first-class service and boasts a huge wine cellar.
It's too loud for a peaceful, romantic dinner but the food is spectacular.
The most formal dining in New Orleans is at Commander's Palace
in the Garden District. Founded in 1880, it was only until the Brennan
family took control in the 1970s that it became a legend. Commander's
Palace is traditional, excellent and pricey. The jazz brunch is popular
among locals and repeat visitors. This is one of the few places in town
that requires a jacket to dine. For a complete experience, the Chef's
Table has a chef cooking a seven-course meal personally for guests.
This is the restaurant that has launched a thousand chefs, including
Prudhomme and Lagasse.
Yet the oldest – and some argue the most legendary restaurant
in New Orleans – is Antoine's. It is the oldest family-run
restaurant in the country and has fed FDR, JFK, the Pope and General
George Patton. Antoine's created Oysters Rockefeller (named for their
"rich" sauce) and its wine cellar stores 25,000 bottles.
Jazz Legends Duke Ellington Louis Armstrong and Nat King Cole preferred
the red beans and rice at Dookie Chase's. It's like eating in
someone's home and the traditional Southern menu also includes what
might be the South's best fried chicken
For more casual dining – and for places a bit easier on the wallet
– locals love Mike Anderson's for it's simple seafood. Ralph
& Kacoos is also seasoned with locals but be sure and get a
table in the rear; the yellow paint scheme and pop-a-shot in the front
gives the place the look of a fast-food joint. Entrees at both run $15-18.
Bourbon House Seafood (Bourbon and Iberville) specializes in
oysters and any grilled fish entree is exceptional.
Locals and return visitors alike line up at Acme Oyster House
for the city's best oysters and the other inexpensive offerings. Most
plates are $8-12. It's not the best meal in town but it it is affordable
for the masses and is one of the few places that serves hushpuppies.
Some of the best jambalaya in town is at Napoleon House. Located
a few blocks away from K-Paul's on Chartres Street, the jambalaya is
made with shrimp and is quite flavorful. At $4.95, it's also one of
the best food deals to be found. We like to sit in the bar with the
doors open to the street, although it has a beautiful dining area, as
well. The service is very definitely French, so be patient!
 For
lunch on a nice day, it's hard to beat The Market Cafe (left).
Yes, the gumbo is good, but it also has a pair of smooth jazz quartets
playing on each of the two patios. Pick a side and pull up a chair for
a meal or just a drink. It's such a Nawlens thing to do.
For those on a budget, Mena's Place on Iberville is a down-home
diner serving hearty breakfasts and daily lunch specials. They are all
priced under $6 in true Southern style.
Don't be afraid to get off the beaten path and have lunch where the
locals working in the big office buildings go – Liborio Cuban
Restaurant (321 Magazine Street). Try the "dirty clothes"
dish.
If you are taking the St. Charles street car, the Camilla Grill
claims to be the home of Jimmy Buffett's song, Cheeseburger in Paradise.
It isn't, but it's a good lunch break, located at the Riverbend area
(just tell the driver to let you off at Camilla Grill).
Breakfast is not necessarily a New Orleans specialty, but several places
for eggs and omelets can be found on Chartres, as well as Decatur near
Jackson Square. The Le Richeleau hotel on Chartres Street has
possibly the tatiest omlette we've ever experienced. The six-stack of
crepes is also popular and it's also open for lunch and dinner.
New Orleans Food Guide
With a heritage that includes French, Spanish, African and Caribbean,
the food in New Orleans has been influenced by a number of cultures.
Many dishes are simply adaptations of a country's traditional recipes
– some Spanish here, a little bit of Caribbean on the side, that
kind of thing. Kind of like a Mamba #5 of cooking.
The base for all New Orleans cooking is the sauce. It's called a roux,
and no two are seemingly alike. That is what makes eating here so great
– you can have gumbo with popcorn shrimp until you blow up like
a blimp but it may never taste exactly the same twice.
Eating New Orleans style means you had better like rice. It's in nearly
every dish, sometimes just a scoop in a bowl of gumbo or mixed with
spices in dishes like jambalaya.
Pinch the heads
of the crawfish, Fer Sure!
Seafood is also prevalent and the local "delicacy" is a local
creature known as the crawfish. It resembles a mini-lobster and
is often served boiled. Just pop the back and pull out the meat. Diehards
claim the best part is to suck the heads. "Fer sure!," they
exclaim.
Here are some more local phrases found on virtually every New Orleans
menu:
Creole – Cajun tomato sauce.
Etoufe -Smothered in butter and onions or roux. Often served
with crawfish as crawfish etoufe.
Gumbo – A dark, rich soup with okra, chicken and sausage
or seafood. Served with rice either in the bowl or as a scoop. Jimmy
Buffett loves it so much he claims you don't have pay him but feed him.
"I will play for gumbo," he sings.
Jambalaya – Rice cooked with chicken and sausage (sometimes
shrimp is added).
Lucky Dogs – A chili hot dog sold all over town out of
mobile carts. Especially popular late at night on Bourbon Street.
Muffaletta – Italian sandwich of ham, salami, cheeses and
olive oil on round Halian bread. Locals only get it at the Central
Grocery on Decatur Street.
Po'-Boy – A large sandwich on French bread. Often it's
fried seafood – oysters, shrimp or soft-shell crab. Very affordable,
thus its name.
Red Beans and Rice – Just like it sounds, with sausage
and with a spicy kick.
Roux – Flour, sautéed with oil, with a peanut butter
consistency and chocolate color. The sauce that is the basis for all
New Orleans food.
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Stop: The Sites of New Orleans – Photo Journal
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