The counters in New Orleans worth queuing for: bread, pastry, and the morning ritual.
Bakery counters in New Orleans worth queuing for: levain breads, laminated pastry, regional bakes and the morning ritual.
Dong Phuong in New Orleans is the James Beard America's Classics Vietnamese bakery on Chef Menteur Highway in New Orleans East, with the city's most-demanded Mardi Gras king cake.
Tip: King cake sales run January 6 to Ash Wednesday only; lines form before opening on weekends.
Worth the queue: King cake (Mardi Gras season)
Willa Jean in New Orleans is Kelly Fields's James Beard winning bakery cafe on O'Keefe Avenue in the CBD, with biscuits, sourdough loaves and a chocolate-chip cookie service in a glass.
Tip: The chocolate-chip cookie with milk is the cult dessert; order it at the bar even outside lunch.
Worth the queue: Chocolate chip cookie with milk
Levee Baking Co in New Orleans is Christina Balzebre's Uptown levain bakery just off Magazine Street at 9th, with sourdough loaves, kouign-amann and a Cuban pastelito programme.
Tip: Bread sells out by 11:00 on Saturday; pastries hold longer. Cash discount at the register.
Worth the queue: Sourdough miche
Bywater Bakery in New Orleans is Maggie Scales's Dauphine Street corner bakery, with king cakes through Carnival season and a Chantilly cream cake that runs year-round.
Tip: The chantilly cream slice is the year-round star; king cakes need a one-day pre-order at Carnival peak.
Worth the queue: Chantilly cream cake
District Donuts on Magazine in New Orleans is the Lower Garden District doughnut shop on Magazine Street, with scratch-made doughnuts, breakfast sandwiches and post-11am sliders.
Tip: Daily doughnut flavours rotate; the Instagram feed announces the morning's drop.
Worth the queue: Chocolate ganache doughnut
Croissant D'Or in New Orleans is the French Quarter patisserie on Ursulines Avenue, in a 1913 Brocato's ice cream shop space, with classic French pastry and an Old World courtyard.
Tip: The almond croissant and the apple turnover are the cult orders; the back courtyard is the prize seat.
Worth the queue: Almond croissant
La Boulangerie in New Orleans is the Donald Link bakery on Magazine Street near Cadiz, with French country breads, pain au chocolat and an Uptown morning queue at the counter.
Tip: The pain au chocolat sells out by 10:30 on weekends; pre-order loaves on Friday for Saturday pickup.
Worth the queue: Pain au chocolat
Leidenheimer in New Orleans is the 1896 Central City wholesale bakery on Simon Bolivar Avenue that bakes the airy French loaf used at almost every po-boy shop in the city.
Tip: No retail; the bread is at Domilise's, Parkway, Mahony's and most po-boy shops in the city.
Worth the queue: Po-boy French loaf
Maple Street Patisserie in New Orleans is the Carrollton Polish-French pastry counter on Maple Street near Adams, with almond croissants, kremowka and a long Tulane queue at lunchtime.
Tip: The kremowka (Polish vanilla custard square) is the cult order; arrive before 11:00 weekends.
Worth the queue: Almond croissant
Haydel's Bakery just outside New Orleans on Jefferson Highway is the family-run king cake institution since 1959, with traditional cinnamon-braided king cakes shipped nationwide.
Tip: Order online for nationwide shipping in Carnival season; the original Jefferson store also stocks daily.
Worth the queue: Traditional king cake
Peak food season in New Orleans is year-round.
Local dining hours: lunch around 12:30, dinner from 19:30.
service is typically included; small extra is welcome but not expected.
Ask the next local you meet what they would order. New Orleans rewards trust.