Where to Eat in New Orleans, Summer 2021 Edition

The Central City stalwart has always been, well, central to what makes a great New Orleans restaurant. It’s open for weekday lunch only; Reconcile’s hospitality program for its staff is an enviable training model; the guests are predominantly Black — like New Orleans itself; and the food is homey and screams sense-of-place. Now, Martha Wiggins, who once ran Sylvain and assisted at The Elysian Bar, has taken over the kitchen. So the great food — like the fried green tomato sandwich and gumbo — is even better. Note: Zero in on the daily specials. For example, shrimp and white beans on Thursdays, smothered turkey necks on Fridays, and, of course, red beans and rice on Mondays.

Dining status: Reservations by phone, plus takeout. More info here.

There’s fried catfish. Then there’s Barrows Catfish fried catfish. Opened in 1943. Shuttered in 2015, after being wiped out by Hurricane Katrina. Finally reopened, in a new location, in 2018. Every bite of Barrows’ crunchy, flaky, delicate catfish feels like a celebration. And a reminder that, sometimes, the best things about New Orleans don’t just fade away in the face of disaster. Or gentrification. Or time. They come back, reborn. And they stick around.

Dining status: Takeout only. For now. More info here.

An anchor of Pythian Market in the CBD, there is now superb Jamaican cuisine likewise available in the farthest upriver reaches of New Orleans, on Oak Street. Owners Charles and Lauren Blake expanded the menu and the concept: There are two stories to their new Riverbend location, and likewise two bars. Rum is a focus, as you would hope. New dishes include whole snapper in lush brown stew and served with festival (fried dough). There is still plenty of jerk available: jerk yardbird; jerk shrimp; and, for the eager, a jerk platter with every possible jerked item.

Dining status: Reservations available, plus takeout.

The crew behind Marjie’s Grill, Caitlin Carney and Marcus Jacobs, has just opened their ode to the beachfront seafood restaurants of the Gulf Coast way upriver in the Riverbend. The pair worked with local equity-minded organization Turning Tables to staff the breezy spot, and MINO alum Joshua Blue is running the kitchen. The menu is loaded with raw seafood, boiled seafood, and fried seafood — precisely as you might expect. Less water-related, there’s a bangin’ hot sausage sandwich on a Bunny Bread bun, and lively cocktails with clever names, like the Mistakes Were Made.

Dining status: Reservations open for indoor and patio dining.

Charly Pierre’s Haitian food stall in St. Roch Market was such a hit, he opened a brick-and-mortar incarnation of Fritai on Basin Street in the Treme. The menu, naturally, is bigger at the new location, and there’s a smart cocktail menu from Ian Julian, too. New dishes include espageti with smoked herring, andouille and a soft-boiled egg, plus accra (starchy malanga fritters). Of course, the already-famous fritai sandwich — with avocado, mango, and your choice of protein and laid between two fried plantain pieces — made the short trek upriver. This being a Haitian restaurant, pikliz, that ubiquitous, zippy cabbage relish is everywhere on the menu. As it should be.

Dining status: Dine-in and takeout. More info here.

The largest Latin American population in New Orleans is Honduran. It’s the Spanish you usually hear when you hear Spanish here, and you can see Honduras’ influence in the restaurants dotting Metairie and Kenner. With Alma Cafe, Melissa Araujo, Alma’s queer Honduran chef, has brought Honduran food downriver to Bywater. Araujo makes the flour tortillas from scratch for Alma’s baleadas, which are stuffed with refried beans, avocado and house-made crema. There’s also a country-style Honduran breakfast of steak and beans and eggs, and a mix of Louisiana-ish day-starters (lump crab and eggs on toast) and sweet plates (blueberry–lemon ricotta pancakes with Hoodoo syrup).

Dining status: Open for dine-in and takeout. More info here.

There’s a surprising dearth of great late-night eats in this city that parties at all hours. Blissfully, Palm & Pine’s late-night service has returned, running on Friday and Saturday nights from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. A solid game plan might include a smoky Paloma, Corner Store Crudo, a fried chicken sandwich with pepper-jelly hot sauce, and caramel flan. Or go all in with one of New Orleans’ best burgers: the Upper Quarter Pounder, only available during late-night hours.

Dining status: Indoor and outdoor seating. Reservations available and recommended.

Michael Gulotta kept the fine-dining jewel of his restaurant group closed for most of 2020, once the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Maypop just reopened in April 2021, and you could hear the city sigh in relief. The cooking here lives at the intersection of Southeast Asia and Southeast Louisiana — with a whole lot of charcuterie know-how and a deep pasta program. So there’s gumbo, but with fermented black beans and rice fritters. And garganelli in coconut-milk alfredo with lemongrass sausage. None of it should work; it all does. Oh, and fair warning about the Bibb lettuce salad with coconut-cucumber ranch and cashew crisps: People have been known to order a second salad. Immediately.

Dining status: Reservations available for both lunch and dinner. More info here.

Some of the best traditional Indian food — if not the best — in Orleans Parish demands crossing the Mississippi River. Merritt Coscia and Tyler Stuart have built a restaurant that celebrates regional Indian cooking. So, yes, there’s naan stuffed with mushroom or topped with cheddar and garlic. There’s also banana chaat, green beans with coconut, and swordfish cooked with golden raisins and finished with green chile. The spicing is layered; the heat unabashed; and the hospitality warm.

Dining status: Reservations for indoor and outdoor dining, plus takeout.

Some of the best baked goods in Orleans Parish are now available five days a week in the Seventh Ward. Right across the street from Pagoda Cafe, Kate Heller and her beloved bakery, Leo’s Bread, are slicing bagels and bagging chocolate croissants from Wednesday to Sunday. You come here knowing that Heller is a master of “bien cuit,” that baking style that trucks in deeply bronzed exteriors on her baked goods. The croissants flake and shatter; the sesame-crusted semolina loaf crackles when you slice it. There is no wrong answer at Leo’s. Over-order. You’ll thank yourself later.

Dining status: Patio dining and takeout. More info here.

The summer swelter is upon us. And that means it’s time for… snoballs! There are endless options in town for those soft, icy domes of syrupy goodness: Check out the ultimate resource if you want to spread your snowball wings. Baby’s Snack Box in the Treme offers more than 50 flavors in its hut on Orleans Avenue. Maybe you want sour cherry? Maybe margarita or king cake? You absolutely want condensed milk on whichever flavor you select. Plus, a hot tamale or ranch fries chaser.

Dining status: Takeout only, though there are a few tables out front. More info here.