Story highlights
Oysters every which way rank high with New Orleans visitors
Standards such as Café du Monde's beignets are still favorites
For an excellent burger, head to Port of Call, says one iReporter
We asked for your recommendations for New Orleans’ very best dishes.
“Excess is the new moderation,” one iReporter proclaimed. Debatable, but not a bad mantra for a trip to diner’s paradise. If you’re not hungry now, you will be.
Oysters every which way
Tucked into a baguette, charbroiled, fried, smothered in butter and cheese, sprinkled with bacon or just slurped right out of the shell, oysters turn up in many a New Orleans memory.
The charbroiled variety from Drago’s made a big impression on Heather Ackerly, a South Louisiana transplant. “The rich butter and garlic mixed with the fresh saltwater taste of the oyster is heaven. And before you know it – the oysters are gone. But that wonderful butter and herb sauce remains, waiting for you to soak it up with the French bread.”
Felix’s Oyster Bar gets iReporter Lulis Leal’s vote. “Whether served ice cold on the half shell, chargrilled and sizzling in garlic butter or fried to golden perfection, Felix’s oysters are some of the best you’ll ever have,” Leal said.
There’s nothing better than the standard oyster po’ boy, “dressed, lots of Crystal,” said Judy Pfau Hull of Rochester, New York. She likes Domilise’s, Tracey’s, Frankie & Johnny’s and Central Grocery for sandwiches.
“The wonderful thing about New Orleans cuisine is it really doesn’t matter if you have $100 to spend or $10, you can always get something truly special,” she said.
A sandwich known ‘round the world
Po’ boys aren’t the only world-famous sandwiches to come out of the Crescent City. The Central Grocery on Decatur Street is widely touted as the source of the original muffuletta, a sandwich of layered Italian meats, cheeses and olive salad on a flat round loaf of muffuletta bread. The sandwich has been replicated and interpreted, but Leal calls the Central Grocery’s sandwich “definitive.”
“Yes, other restaurants now make fatter ones on artisan breads with more exotic cold cuts and fancier ingredients in the olive salad, but Central Market’s muffuletta has a classic dignity that simply cannot be bettered,” she said.
Steven Wolfe of Houston urges diners to order a whole sandwich to stave off regrets. “No other sandwich is so perfectly designed for proportion, texture and combination of tastes.”
He’s a fan of really communing with the muffuletta, so he suggests taking it back to your hotel room, “where you can have a private experience with the sandwich, away from the eyes of strangers,” he wrote on iReport.com. Recline after you dine.
“By the time you’re ready to walk around, cocktail hour should be creeping up on the Quarter. A cold Abita and a few oysters sounds lovely. Give in,” Wolfe advised.
More fruits of the sea
Kristen Hendrix had an unforgettable taste of her husband’s crab cake pasta at Oceana Grill. “It was so rich and creamy, just the right amount of seafood flavor to it,” she said.
“We have tried to replicate it at home with no success so far,” said Hendrix, who lives in Charleston, Illinois.
The alligator sausage cheesecake appetizer at Jacques-Imo’s received two iReporter endorsements. Richard Senger of The Woodlands, Texas, called it “inexplicable.”
Mariel Metzenthin of Overland Park, Kansas, went for it with this description: “The look on everyone’s face at the table was the same, ‘Damn!’ – eyes wide, mouths full and forks going in for seconds. The texture was smoother than a quiche, yet not as rich as the traditional cheesecake and the alligator sausage gave the right amount of bite.”
When he’s in New Orleans, former Louisiana resident Anthony DiFatta always stops at Coop’s Place for the cajun pasta, a spicy creamy dish featuring crawfish, oysters, shrimp, artichoke hearts, mushrooms and cajun Tasso ham. He calls this “little dive” of a restaurant the city’s best-kept secret.
A cloud of powdered sugar
What’s not to love about fried things doused in powdered sugar? The famous Café du Monde, established in 1862, popped up several times among iReport contributors. Beignets, French-style square doughnuts, are the main attraction, but coffee mixed with chicory is a natural complement.
“Don’t get me wrong, I love étouffée, gumbo, po’ boys, muffuletta, but I gotta have my oysters and beignets,” said Diana Nguyen, who lives in the Chicago suburbs.
More sweet treats
For a more unusual, sucré salé treat, head to Green Goddess. “The standout, not-to-be-missed creation I’m crazy about is the bacon sundae,” said Lynn Chen of Los Angeles. She tucked into this concoction – pecan praline ice cream drizzled with bacon caramel sauce, topped with Applewood bacon and whipped cream – instead of cake on her 35th birthday.
And of course bananas Foster, bread pudding and pralines are well-loved New Orleans standards.
Breaking away from the local standards
When you’ve had more oysters, crawfish and beignets than you can bear, veer away from tradition and make new ones. The dining scene in New Orleans is always evolving with fresh twists on the classics and totally original dishes.
“Now really, about all you have to do is walk or drive down the street until you see an eatery. Go inside and 99.9% of the time you will be delighted!” wrote former New Orleans resident Duane Putnam.
Very fine eateries rub shoulders with casual favorites. Port of Call has earned hearty praise from Sharon Curole, who first encountered this hole-in-the-wall bar’s tremendous burger with baked potato before her wedding in December 1995. “Every year since, my husband Chris and I make sure we get down to New Orleans to enjoy it again.”
“Get it loaded or ‘dressed,’ as they say in NOLA,” said Curole, who lives in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Melinda Green Harvey of Lubbock, Texas, offered another rave for a well-loved sandwich: the Cuban. She found a very tasty version at Cochon Butcher, a hybrid sandwich shop, butcher and wine bar.
“I get it. People go to New Orleans for gumbo, or red beans, or beignets. But when you get tired of that and just want something simple and delicious, head to Cochon Butcher.”