As I mentioned previously to you, my husband is from New Orleans, so we go frequently, at least pre-COVID. I agree and have been to so many places on your list and as I looked at each one, the food of course was center stage, but it was also why we were there and the people we were with that fills the richness of that memory. There's something about the food in New Orleans that is special, enhanced by the company you are with that brings it over the top. For example, when we celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary we had friends come with us to recreate our wedding weekend. Our party of 12 had lunch at Commander's Palace and it was such an experience. It was where we also spent New Year's Day 2020, with such hope and joy for the coming year, complete with roving musicians and a table of women who sang at the top of their lungs. Being New Orleans no one told then to be quiet and in fact a gentleman from another table got up and went over to dance with them. That is only something you would see in New Orleans. We know what it means to miss New Orleans.
We think it is the best food on the continent, but really quite different from every other city. We have been many times and will be there all next week. About the ones you didn't mention: We prefer Shaya to Saba (even though Alon Shaya is no longer associated with them) and we can't wait to try Alon Shaya's new place in the Four Seasons. Turkey and Wolf for their sheer audacity. The bakery Levee for their weekend morning delights. Atchafalaya for dinner or Sunday brunch. There are so very many wonderful places. I agree with Chuck Jones who writes that the Po'boy at Acme Oyster House was the best sandwich he's ever had. We got our start many years ago at K-Paul's with Paul Prudhomme - who remains our kitchen god even though he, K and the restaurant are sadly now all gone (we still grab his andouille sausages to bring home every time we go). Of course Emeril's is amazing, as is Commander's Palace. Some great places are ones that get no notoriety at all, including ones that venture to cuisines not usually associated with New Orleans (at least not nationally) and might just be sandwich joints: Mais Arepas, Banh Mi Boys.
Enjoy your visit next week. When we visit, my husbands family teases us and claim we eat our way through the city. So many good choices, so little time.
We've been to NOLA many times over the last few years, but one memory stands out. On our first trip we drove straight through from Madison WI with two young teenagers. Our first stop was Cafe Dumonde. At 2:00 AM, dead tired, hot as hell, before we even went to the hotel. We still talk about the first bite of a beignet and the first sip of iced chicory coffee. We wore the splash of powdered sugar on our chests with pride! Like Jon Favreau said in "Chef", you'll never forget your first beignet. So true.
As with all great food cities there are always changes and more undiscovered gems. I've actually never lived in NOLA but it seems I have spent most of my life there. It's funny that I don't think of Cafe Degas as one of the "best" but then you realize that familiarity can breed complacency. It's has just been the local place around the corner when I visit. No mea culpa needed as talking about these lists is always more fun than making them.
G.W. Fins- beautiful seafood and a stunning wine list. I have to go back because there’s too many eateries that I need to experience. Laissez les bons temps rouler!
At K-Paul's we've had both amazing food (dinner) and meh food (lunch). IMHO, it's still a place that every traveler to NOLA should visit at least once.
Growing up in La, going to NOLA as a kid was a great experience. My grandfather was on a first name basis with all the waiters and staff at Galatoire's so that was our go to spot. K-Pauls's opened in '79 I think. About a year after it opened we went there to see what all the fuss was about. My grandfather ordered the catfish. When it came he called the waiter back and asked why he would serve him burned fish! Even Chef P couldn't convince my grandfather that fish should be cooked like that. It was an amusing conversation to say the least.
I didn't know that, and I'm sorry to hear it. Credit Paul Prudhomme with igniting our national obsession with Cajun/Creole food when he published the Louisiana Chef cookbook more than 30 years ago.
I visited New Orleans in 2013 for a golf trip, and sadly have yet to return. But it's definitely on my bucket list to get back, and this time with my wife, who has never been. There were two stand out meals we had on that trip. The first night, we stood in an hour long line to get onto The Acme Oyster House. Once inside, I had the best sandwich of my life, a fried soft shell crab po boy. The crab was perfectly fried and that bread is something that I have not been able to duplicate since I left NOLA. The sauce, tomatoes, and lettuce they put on it complemented it to perfection. The second night, we got into K-Paul's without too much of a wait because we went early. There I had the best meal period I've ever had. It was Blackened Drum with a cream sauce and lump crab meat on top served with the most delicious garlic mashed potatoes on earth. Oh, and every morning before teeing off, we had coffee and beignets at Cafe du Monde. Spectacular.
Since you have already had the Acme experience, a piece of time saving advice. When you get to Acme and there's a long line, do a 180 and cross the street and go to Felix's. While their horseradish isn't as good pretty much everything else is.
Acme is such a classic and they are always good. When my mother in law was still with us, that's where we'd go when we landed. A large icy goblet of Abita Amber hit the spot after our flight.
The only time I went to K-Paul's I had the drum and oh my goodness it was great! Thank you for bringing back that memory.
I agree, Cliff. We went on the plantation tour of Houmas House and followed it up with lunch in their cafe. Both the tour and the food were phenomenal.
I read your prior list of the best global food cities with great interest, it's always fun to read about places I've never been and likely won't ever get to. As for New Orleans, as much as I love it and enjoyed my years there as a college student and beyond, I have to say I think you were right to leave it off that list. If we're talking greatest food cities in the US, New Orleans is Top 5 easily, maybe even Top 3. But I don't think New Orleans is a "global food city" in the way the others are (at least the few I know personally)...I don't think New Orleans even tries to be, and probably most importantly I don't think it needs to be. At least not for me, anyway; it's definitely *my* favorite food city, and your list of favorite restaurants there runs pretty much parallel to mine!
As I mentioned previously to you, my husband is from New Orleans, so we go frequently, at least pre-COVID. I agree and have been to so many places on your list and as I looked at each one, the food of course was center stage, but it was also why we were there and the people we were with that fills the richness of that memory. There's something about the food in New Orleans that is special, enhanced by the company you are with that brings it over the top. For example, when we celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary we had friends come with us to recreate our wedding weekend. Our party of 12 had lunch at Commander's Palace and it was such an experience. It was where we also spent New Year's Day 2020, with such hope and joy for the coming year, complete with roving musicians and a table of women who sang at the top of their lungs. Being New Orleans no one told then to be quiet and in fact a gentleman from another table got up and went over to dance with them. That is only something you would see in New Orleans. We know what it means to miss New Orleans.
We think it is the best food on the continent, but really quite different from every other city. We have been many times and will be there all next week. About the ones you didn't mention: We prefer Shaya to Saba (even though Alon Shaya is no longer associated with them) and we can't wait to try Alon Shaya's new place in the Four Seasons. Turkey and Wolf for their sheer audacity. The bakery Levee for their weekend morning delights. Atchafalaya for dinner or Sunday brunch. There are so very many wonderful places. I agree with Chuck Jones who writes that the Po'boy at Acme Oyster House was the best sandwich he's ever had. We got our start many years ago at K-Paul's with Paul Prudhomme - who remains our kitchen god even though he, K and the restaurant are sadly now all gone (we still grab his andouille sausages to bring home every time we go). Of course Emeril's is amazing, as is Commander's Palace. Some great places are ones that get no notoriety at all, including ones that venture to cuisines not usually associated with New Orleans (at least not nationally) and might just be sandwich joints: Mais Arepas, Banh Mi Boys.
Enjoy your visit next week. When we visit, my husbands family teases us and claim we eat our way through the city. So many good choices, so little time.
Seriously!
We've been to NOLA many times over the last few years, but one memory stands out. On our first trip we drove straight through from Madison WI with two young teenagers. Our first stop was Cafe Dumonde. At 2:00 AM, dead tired, hot as hell, before we even went to the hotel. We still talk about the first bite of a beignet and the first sip of iced chicory coffee. We wore the splash of powdered sugar on our chests with pride! Like Jon Favreau said in "Chef", you'll never forget your first beignet. So true.
I dream about the Cheesburgers at Port of Call
And a baked potato as big as your head.
And now….after reading that 1.I couldn’t be hungrier! 2. Planning a trip there later this spring….and realizing going to need more days. 😬.
It's never wrong to plan your trip around food.
Didn't realize there was any other way!
I have always loved Bayona. Susan Spicer is a wonderful New Orleans chef.
Her newer joint Rosedale near the Lakeview neighborhood is excellent as well.
Great addition.
As with all great food cities there are always changes and more undiscovered gems. I've actually never lived in NOLA but it seems I have spent most of my life there. It's funny that I don't think of Cafe Degas as one of the "best" but then you realize that familiarity can breed complacency. It's has just been the local place around the corner when I visit. No mea culpa needed as talking about these lists is always more fun than making them.
Agree with all you said-- esp the complacency aspect! Sometimes we stop seeing the beauty in the familiar.
How does Tina Fey say it? "I want to go to there!" All of them.
Thank you for the New Orleans love, it was worth the wait.
Susan Spicer's Bayona is outstanding
G.W. Fins- beautiful seafood and a stunning wine list. I have to go back because there’s too many eateries that I need to experience. Laissez les bons temps rouler!
Thank you for all the restaurants to choose from. Very gracious ! 🍀💙
At K-Paul's we've had both amazing food (dinner) and meh food (lunch). IMHO, it's still a place that every traveler to NOLA should visit at least once.
Growing up in La, going to NOLA as a kid was a great experience. My grandfather was on a first name basis with all the waiters and staff at Galatoire's so that was our go to spot. K-Pauls's opened in '79 I think. About a year after it opened we went there to see what all the fuss was about. My grandfather ordered the catfish. When it came he called the waiter back and asked why he would serve him burned fish! Even Chef P couldn't convince my grandfather that fish should be cooked like that. It was an amusing conversation to say the least.
Sadly, it is gone now.
I didn't know that, and I'm sorry to hear it. Credit Paul Prudhomme with igniting our national obsession with Cajun/Creole food when he published the Louisiana Chef cookbook more than 30 years ago.
I visited New Orleans in 2013 for a golf trip, and sadly have yet to return. But it's definitely on my bucket list to get back, and this time with my wife, who has never been. There were two stand out meals we had on that trip. The first night, we stood in an hour long line to get onto The Acme Oyster House. Once inside, I had the best sandwich of my life, a fried soft shell crab po boy. The crab was perfectly fried and that bread is something that I have not been able to duplicate since I left NOLA. The sauce, tomatoes, and lettuce they put on it complemented it to perfection. The second night, we got into K-Paul's without too much of a wait because we went early. There I had the best meal period I've ever had. It was Blackened Drum with a cream sauce and lump crab meat on top served with the most delicious garlic mashed potatoes on earth. Oh, and every morning before teeing off, we had coffee and beignets at Cafe du Monde. Spectacular.
Since you have already had the Acme experience, a piece of time saving advice. When you get to Acme and there's a long line, do a 180 and cross the street and go to Felix's. While their horseradish isn't as good pretty much everything else is.
Yes!! Felix's is great!!
Acme is such a classic and they are always good. When my mother in law was still with us, that's where we'd go when we landed. A large icy goblet of Abita Amber hit the spot after our flight.
The only time I went to K-Paul's I had the drum and oh my goodness it was great! Thank you for bringing back that memory.
GRIS GRIS on magazine street is my fave, among others you've mentioned! YUM!
If you want real Cajun food you need to head to Houma.
https://crawfishtrail.com/
I agree, Cliff. We went on the plantation tour of Houmas House and followed it up with lunch in their cafe. Both the tour and the food were phenomenal.
I read your prior list of the best global food cities with great interest, it's always fun to read about places I've never been and likely won't ever get to. As for New Orleans, as much as I love it and enjoyed my years there as a college student and beyond, I have to say I think you were right to leave it off that list. If we're talking greatest food cities in the US, New Orleans is Top 5 easily, maybe even Top 3. But I don't think New Orleans is a "global food city" in the way the others are (at least the few I know personally)...I don't think New Orleans even tries to be, and probably most importantly I don't think it needs to be. At least not for me, anyway; it's definitely *my* favorite food city, and your list of favorite restaurants there runs pretty much parallel to mine!
New Orleans doesn't pretend to be anything else other than itself, good and bad, which is why it has retained its culture so well.