New Orleans is a restaurant town, and there are countless ways to cut into its riches.
My newly released guide gives you 30 top restaurants around town covering a broad spectrum of styles and price ranges.
One of the most important is the category covering restaurants that exist only New Orleans and are highly accessible for anytime visits. This is where the soul of New Orleans flavor resides.
Here’s a look at those picks from the overall guide, which you can find here.
The red beans and rice with fried chicken at High Hat Cafe in New Orleans, with an add on side of smoky green beans.
4500 Freret St., Uptown, $
This restaurant feels like it’s been around for much longer than its dozen years. It works a classic New Orleans template, but also gives a fresh, rejuvenated edge.
The chicken and andouille gumbo is thick and rich at High Hat Cafe in New Orleans. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Produce is seasonal, blackboard specials show chef Kat Mann’s hand and the gumbo, po-boys and fried chicken are textbook.
Creole gumbo is served to go with a plate of fish Jourdain at Li'l Dizzy's Cafe in the Treme neighborhood. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
1500 Esplanade Ave., Treme, $
Sometimes I wish I could go back in time to experience the Black Creole cafes of yesteryear, like Chez Hélène or Buster Holmes.
Li'l Dizzy's Cafe in the Treme neighborhood is the next chapter of a long family story in Creole soul food. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Then I remember I can just go to Li’l Dizzy’s, the next generation of a family heritage in soulful cooking going back to the 1940s. It’s counter service-casual for a definitive Creole gumbo and composed plate lunches.
A BBQ shrimp poboy is served at Liuzza's by the Track. (Photo by David Grunfeld, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
1518 N. Lopez St., Mid-City, $
Here’s a corner bar near the horse track (and Jazz Fest) with a collection of neighborhood characters and a menu all about local flavor done one better with a distinctive house style.
Staff photo by Ian McNulty -Liuzza's by the Track is a neighborhood restaurant with a following that reaches far beyond its actual neighborhood.
With a schooner of beer, gumbo with a fresh pop to the seafood and a garlic oyster po-boy in hand, New Orleans life truly feels grand.
The patio at Rosedale restaurant in New Orleans is a lush oasis in nice weather. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
801 Rosedale St., Navarre, $$
Few chefs command the kind of respect that Susan Spicer has earned, and now her well-hidden neighborhood restaurant has been the focus of her attention.
Shrimp Creole is served with fried eggplant at Rosedale restaurant in New Orleans. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
It’s a love letter to New Orleans food, with a sense of place, no pretense, many nightly specials and a bistro-worthy wine list. The lovely, leafy patio in back feels like an excursion to the country.
Seither's Seafood in Harahan converted much of its oyster shell parking lot into an outdoor dining room, with tents, tiki torches and a crawfish boil trailer converted to a small stage.
279 Hickory Ave., Harahan, $
Midway between the city and the airport, visiting Seither’s feels like getting invited to a backyard bash from a master seafood boiler.
Kung fu tuna with shrimp, crab and avocado at Seither's Seafood in Harahan. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Jason Seither also has a mischievous style in the kitchen, blending sushi bar and taqueria with Louisiana standards. Most seating is outside, where bands play on the weekends.
