So Much Good Food, So Little Time

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French Quarter dining is a celebration of culinary excellence. From the traditional to the exotic, the Quarter offers a delectable variety of restaurants, cafes, coffeehouses, patisseries and delis.

New Orleans is known for fine Creole cuisine, which combines Louisiana ingredients such as seafood and local produce and seasonings with classic European cooking techniques. For over 100 years the French Quarter elite have enjoyed dining at elegant institutions such as Galatoire’s, Arnaud’s and Antoine’s.

Created by the French-speaking Acadians of southern Louisiana, Cajun cooking has gone from a modest regional cuisine to a style imitated the world over. Not spicy so much as flavorful, experience the real thing at K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen or Alex Patout’s.

Fresh seafood is abundant in the New Orleans. Raw oysters at the Acme Oyster House, fried shrimp and catfish at Deanie’s and grilled redfish at the Redfish Grill are just some of the options for seafood lovers. For those who prefer “meat and potatoes”, Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse offers a 24 oz. Porterhouse as well as more modest steaks. A more casual option is Port of Call on the edge of the Quarter, serving ½ lb. burgers with a baked potato rather than fries.

Cafes and coffee houses can be found on almost every block in the French Quarter, but no visit to New Orleans is complete without a stop at the Original French Market Coffee Stand, Café du Monde. Café au lait and warm beignets are available 24 hours daily at this busy spot right across from Jackson Square.

With over 140 options to choose from, the French Quarter is a world-class destination for food lovers, and is sure to please every palate.

Susan Filipowicz is Associate Producer of FrenchQuarter.com and an enthusiastic observer of the Quarter scene. She once lived and worked in the French Quarter for two years without ever crossing Canal Street.