Best Of Guides

Unlike many cities where restaurants shutdown early, New Orleans eateries know how to cater to customers with those late-night munchies. After a night of strolling, dancing, and second-lining, you can work up an appetite. If you Nola you know!

Jambalaya is not only fun to eat, it’s fun to say! Some believe the word is a combination of the French word “jambon” for ham and the African word “aya” for rice. Another theory is that “‘jambalaya” comes from the Provençal word “jambalaia,” which appeared in a French-Provençal dictionary in 1878 with the definition “a mishmash or rabble” — kind of like the dish itself.

New Orleans may be famous for bread pudding, bananas foster, creme brulee and pralines, but that doesn't mean we don't have a thing for chocolate. If the research is right and the average American eats 9.5 pounds of chocolate a year, we probably eat double that in NOLA. Here are our top picks for your next chocolate fix.

Here, several restaurants serve their own versions of lump blue crab meat, broiled, baked, or pan-sauteed, into a golden brown patty of deliciousness, sometimes drizzled with even more awesomeness. Here are our picks from around town.

Did you know that brunch was invented in New Orleans? That's no lie, amies! It was invented by Madame Begue at her restaurant (now Tujague's) across from the French Market on Decatur Street. The mid-morning meal was created to accommodate hard-working market workers (lots of German butchers) as well as hungry dock workers who received their break around 11 a.m. Learn more about Begue's here.

Bread pudding was once considered a poor man's dessert – a good way to make use of stale bread – but today it's a New Orleans delicacy. Bread pudding souffle with whiskey sauce, white chocolate break pudding, pecan praline bread pudding…you could eat a different bread pudding every night for dessert and never get bored.

When you dine in New Orleans, you'll hear a lot about how fried alligator tastes like chicken. Know what else tastes chicken? Chicken. And, like everything else that winds up in our kitchens, New Orleans does fried chicken better.

There's nothing like New Orleans seafood but sometimes you just need a burger, and New Orleans' finest restaurants don't disappoint. Check out our favs and prepare to pass the ketchup.

Crab? Shrimp? Oyster? New Orleans has an app for that. While the French name for appetizers–hors d'oeuvres–literally means, “outside of the masterpiece,” here in New Orleans every course is a masterpiece. if you can pass up an appetizer from our world-famous chefs, than you're better than we are. Here are some not to be missed.

While hosting a crawfish boil on your driveway is something every New Orleanian looks forward to, sometimes it's nice to just relax and let the restaurants do the heavy lifting. Some of these crawfish dishes are available year-round but boiled crawfish is seasonal so you have to get it while the gettin' is good.

While drinks with souvenir glasses have their place in New Orleans' cocktail culture, we hope you'll get a chance to try all of the drinks on this list.

To those who won't even try raw oysters we say, “More for us!” Oysters from the Gulf of Mexico are the best in the world. Cold and salty. Fresh, fresh, fresh. We're talking heaven on the half shell. And you'll find the best of the best oyster bars in New Orleans right here.

The first time you taste red beans and rice you'll ask yourself, “Why am I just discovering this now?” Honestly, it's amazing to us that this classic New Orleans dish isn't served everywhere on the planet on Mondays. At NewOrleansRestaurants.com, we've never met a plate of red beans and rice we didn't like, but some places do it exceptionally well. Here are our favorites, in alphabetical order.

As a city that prides itself on the art of brunching, it's no surprise our Bloody Marys are delicious no matter where you go. We've scoured the Big Easy to provide you a list with the best Bloody Marys around town from classic concoctions to libations with wild and crazy accoutrements. Bottoms up!

Almost every New Orleans restaurant serves some version of the iconic Louisiana fare. We've put together a list of our faves - some from famous haunts and some that soon will be.

According to poboyfest.com, po-boy sandwiches are “the shotgun house of New Orleans cuisine.” All we know is you can't visit New Orleans without splitting one with your BFF. Oyster, shrimp, soft-shell crab, roast beef with debris, meatball….Here's who made our best "dressed" list.

Whether you say muffuletta or muffaletta you're in the right city for this New Orleans' specialty. Just about every version of this delicious sandwich has a round sesame seed bun, layers of Italian meat, cheese and olive salad, but no two taste the same. Every restaurant in town adds their own special touch and we've rounded up our favorites.