A new guide to the best food and restaurants in New Orleans

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

In an age where all things food and gastronomy 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 country that even comes close for Cajun and Creole food. But while that’s what The Big Easy is most famous for, there are many other culinary areas where it excels, from Vietnamese to soul food, and there’s simply no other US destination that can match the city for sandwich superiority. In addition to homegrown students like the muffuletta and po boys of every ethnicity and description, New Orleans has taken the lead in modern chef-driven deli/artisanal butchery, and no matter what kind of sandwich you want, the better version may be likely. found here (except for Jewish-style pastrami, which New York still rules).

I first visited New Orleans in 1986 and have written about its food for three decades, and in that time there have been dramatic changes, renewed neighborhoods, waves of immigration, and vastly expanded offerings—plus closings, hurricanes, and pandemics.

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 like 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’re unlikely to find on your own. On the other hand, what you are likely to find on your own is one of the many tourist traps that would be better avoided.

That’s why I was so excited to get my newly released copy City Eats New Orleans (Cider Mill Press/Harper Collins, July 2024, $22.99). It’s a must-have tool for any foodie planning a trip to the Crescent City.

The expert author is veteran food writer and longtime New Orleans resident Beth D’Addono, and author of 100 things to do in New Orleans before you die and New Orleans Hunting Guide. For as long as I can remember, she’s had the cushy full-time job of covering the city’s food scene for media outlets like Eater, Gambit and The local palaceand 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 an open spot for lunch and contacted Beth, and she took me to Alma Café, a creative Honduran neighborhood joint in the Bywater that she also loved. which I would never have found, and we had an amazing meal. . Since then, Alma has racked up awards and national recognition, most recently with its chef being a semifinalist for Best Southern Chef at the 2024 James Beard Awards—no small feat. This is the kind of place D’Addono knows and tourists don’t – but they should.

This is the purpose of the new book. “There’s been a big change since the pandemic shut down our hospitality industry,” D’Addono said. “Unfortunately, we lost a lot of restaurants. But many chefs also found their voice, opening restaurants and taking a long-awaited place at the table. With this book, I wanted to delve into what we eat now, what will always matter and what’s new.”

It features more than 50 chefs and restaurants, highlighting traditions and trends to illustrate why New Orleans might be the best food city in America. As a bonus for home cooks, there’s a signature recipe from the chef with each entry.

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

In addition to the featured restaurants and their recipes, there are separate compilations of the best hotel restaurants, featured neighborhood restaurants in each part of the city, and lots of information about the city’s different cuisines.

It’s a book you should pick up before planning a trip to New Orleans and making reservations, but it’s small enough to carry around and make last-minute choices on the go. Looking through it makes me want to jump on a plane. There are very few things I wouldn’t want to eat, and a visit to New Orleans—host of the next Super Bowl—is all about the food. The book is available from the author’s website, in bookstores across the city and, of course, on Amazon.