New Orleans: French Quarter
Acme Oyster House 724 Iberville St tel 504/522-5973. Noisy, characterful neighborhood restaurant popular with tourists, cops and businesspeople alike, all of them guzzling inexpensive po-boys, salty fresh crawfish or plump, briny oysters.Café Angeli 1141 Decatur St tel 504/566-0077. A favorite with hipsters, night owls and bar flies, this big, dimly lit room is an extension of the groovy Lower Decatur scene outside. The hours are a welcome rarity in the Quarter, and the Mediterranean salads, sandwiches and pasta are just the thing after a wild night out.
Croissant d'Or 617 Ursulines St tel 504/524-4663. Peaceful, absurdly cheap little local place serving delicious French pastries and stuffed croissants, plus quiches, salads and steaming café au lait, in a pretty, tiled building.
Galatoire's 209 Bourbon St tel 504/525-2021. Splendid, top-of-the-range Creole food in landmark, mirror-lined dining room. It's best at lunchtime, on Fri or Sun especially, when long, convivial hours are spent gorging on turtle soup, oysters en brochette, crabmeat maison and filet mignon. No reservations, so expect a wait. Jacket and tie required after 5pm and all day Sun.
Girod's Bistro 500 Chartres St tel 504/524-9752. Wonderful, romantic restaurant, linked to the Napoleon House and hidden away beside its pretty courtyard. Like the bar, the bistro is all cracked plaster, candlelight and ancient paintings - the perfect setting to linger over robust, creative Creole food with Mediterranean and Caribbean accents. Prices are reasonable and portions are huge.
Mr B's 201 Royal St tel 504/523-2078. Casually chic bistro with dark-wood booths, a relaxed, chatty buzz and excellent food. The garlic chicken is the city's finest, served with wild rice drowned in a satiny reduction; the same accolade could go to the signature barbecue shrimp. Reservations advised.
Peristyle 1041 Dumaine St tel 504/593-9535. Incongruously set on Rampart Street, this elegant restaurant - very New Orleans, all dark wood, checked tile floors and mismatched mirrors - is one of the hottest places in town to eat contemporary French-Creole-New American cuisine. Reservations essential.
Port of Call 838 Esplanade Ave tel 504/523-0120. Strung with tatty nets and lifebuoys, this lively neighborhood bar is the place in town for delicious fresh half-pound burgers, served with mushrooms or cheese and a buttery baked potato, and best eaten at the bar.
Rita's 945 Chartres St tel 504/525-7543. Cozy, inexpensive local place for hearty soul food and Creole favorites; try fried chicken with beans, or a combo of jambalaya-crawfish pie-filé gumbo, and leave room for the bread pudding and warm praline sauce.
Tujague's 823 Decatur St tel 504/525-8676. Unpretentious, atmospheric and with a quintessential New Orleans ambience, "Two Jacks," 150 years old, is the second oldest restaurant in the city. The prix fixe menu - shrimp remoulade and beef brisket in secret sauce - has changed little over the years; though it's not on the menu, ask nicely and they might prepare you a delicious chicken Bonne Femme. The old stand-up bar is particularly lively at Sunday lunchtime.
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