A New Insider’s Guide To The Best Food And Restaurants In New Orleans, From A Local

If you thought guidebooks were obsolete in the digital age, you were wrong.

In an era where all things food and culinary have become a national obsession, there is no city as revered for its local cuisines as New Orleans.

While you can get great sushi and authentic Italian specialties from New York to Las Vegas to Los Angeles, there is no other city in the nation which comes even remotely close for Cajun and Creole dishes. But while that is what The Big Easy is most famous for, there are many other culinary areas in which it excels, from Vietnamese to soul food, and there is simply no other U.S. destination that can touch the city for sandwich superiority. In addition to home grown stunners such as the muffuletta and po boys of every ethnicity and description, New Orleans has taken the lead on the modern chef-driven craft deli/butchery, and whatever kind of sandwich you crave, the best version can likely be found here (with the exception of Jewish-style pastrami, which New York still rules).

I first visited New Orleans in 1986 and have been writing on its food for three decades, and in that time there have been dramatic changes, renewed neighborhoods, waves of immigration, and greatly expanded offerings—plus closures, hurricanes and the pandemic.

Yes, it’s still worth a visit to one of the classic white tablecloth icons that have been here forever, to see what classic New Orleans is all about at a place such as Arnaud’s, Commander’s Palace, Galatoire’s, Antoine’s, Brennan’s or Emeril’s, but there’s so much more great food here—food you are unlikely to find on your own. On the other hand, what you are likely to find on your own is one of many tourist traps that would better be avoided.

That’s why I was so excited to get my copy of the just released City Eats New Orleans (Cider Mill Press/Harper Collins, July 2024, $22.99). It is an indispensable tool for any food lover planning a trip to the Crescent City.

The expert author is veteran food writer and longtime New Orleans resident Beth D’Addono, also the author of 100 Things To Do in New Orleans Before You Die and The Hunt Guide New Orleans. For as long as I can remember she has had the pleasurable full-time job of covering the city’s food scene for media outlets like Eater, Gambit and The Local Palate, and she is the co-founder and past president of the New Orleans chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier International.

The last time I visited New Orleans I had a free spot for lunch and contacted Beth, and she took me to Alma Café, a creative Honduran neighborhood eatery in Bywater that she loved, and that I would never have found, and we had amazing meal. Since then, Alma has racked up awards and national recognition, most recently with its chef being the Semi-Finalist for Best Chef of the South in the 2024 James Beard Awards—no small thing. This is the kind of place that D’Addono knows and tourists do not—but should.

That’s the point of the new book. “There has been a big shift since the pandemic closed our hospitality industry down,” said D’Addono. “Sadly, we lost a lot of restaurants. But many chefs also found their voice, opening restaurants and taking a long overdue seat at the table. With this book, I wanted to take a deeper dive into what we’re eating right now, what will always matter and what’s new.”

She profiles more than 50 chefs and restaurants, spotlighting traditions and trends to illustrate why New Orleans may well be the best food city in America. As a bonus for home cooks, there is a signature recipe from the chef at each entry.

While D’Addono showcases many new and lesser known hidden- gems, like Ethiopian specialist Addis NOLA, Cajun/Caribbean rum bar Cane & Table and carnivore paradise Toup’s Meatery, it doesn’t overlook the hottest recent spots in town (Turkey and the Wolf) or the tried-and-true classics such as Arnaud’s and Emeril’s. You get straight-from-the-source recipes such as Emeril’s gulf shrimp ravioli with tasso cream, Arnaud’s speckled trout meuniere, and the famous chicken pot pie from Bywater Bakery.

In addition to the featured restaurants and their recipes, there are separate compilations of the best hotel dining, featured neighborhood restaurants in every part of town, and a whole lot of background on the various cuisines of the city.

It’s a book you should get before planning a trip to New Orleans and before making reservations, but it’s small enough to you can carry it with you and make last minute choices on the fly. Looking through it makes me want to jump on a plane. There is very little I wouldn’t want to eat, and a visit to New Orleans—host of the next Super Bowl—is all about eating. The book is available from the author’s website, at bookstores throughout the city, and of course, at Amazon.