Eat well in New Orleans for under €15 a plate: the locals'-budget edition.
Eat well in New Orleans for under €15 a plate: the places locals on a budget actually use.
Parkway in New Orleans is the 1911 Mid-City po-boy room on Hagan Avenue near Bayou St John, with $13 fried shrimp po-boys dressed on Leidenheimer bread plated in 10 minutes.
Try: Shrimp po-boy with debris
Tip: The back garden patio runs cooler in summer; the counter line is faster than the wait staff.
Domilise's in New Orleans is the 1918 family po-boy counter on Annunciation Street in Uptown, with $13 fried shrimp po-boys dressed on Leidenheimer bread at the corner of Belle Castle.
Try: Fried shrimp po-boy
Tip: Cash and local-card only at the counter; the kitchen closes when the bread runs out for the day.
Mother's in New Orleans is the 1938 CBD cafeteria-line lunch counter at Poydras and Tchoupitoulas, with $12 red beans and rice plates and the Ferdi Special po-boy from the menu.
Try: Red beans and rice
Tip: Lines run long; arrive 11:00 or after 14:00 for the shortest wait, the cafeteria runs fast at the counter.
Liuzza's by the Track in New Orleans is the Bayou St John lunch counter near the Fair Grounds that invented the BBQ shrimp po-boy, $15 with butter-pepper sauce on Leidenheimer bread.
Try: BBQ shrimp po-boy
Tip: Cash only at peak; check the Jazz Fest schedule, the room turns into a circus on festival weekends.
Hansen's Sno-Bliz in New Orleans is the 1939 Tchoupitoulas Street snowball stand at Bordeaux, the country's oldest sno-ball stand at $5 to $8 a cup with house-made syrups.
Try: Sno-ball with cream-of-nectar syrup
Tip: Open March to October only; cash only, the cream-of-nectar with condensed milk is the canonical order.
Killer Poboys in New Orleans is the Conti Street po-boy counter at the back of Erin Rose, with chef-driven $13 po-boys including the rum-glazed pork-belly and the seared shrimp builds.
Try: Glazed pork-belly po-boy
Tip: Pork-belly with rum ginger glaze is the cult order; the bar in front serves drinks while you wait.
Verti Marte in New Orleans is the 24-hour Royal Street deli at Governor Nicholls in the French Quarter, with the $12 All That Jazz po-boy as the cult late-night and budget lunch order.
Try: All That Jazz po-boy
Tip: Phone the deli for delivery to a French Quarter hotel; it runs 24 hours a day on the Royal Street counter.
Central Grocery in New Orleans is the 1906 Decatur Street Sicilian deli that invented the muffuletta, with $13 half muffulettas built on the round seeded loaf with house olive salad.
Try: Muffuletta (half)
Tip: A half feeds one; a whole feeds two to three. Order to walk and eat in Jackson Square across the street.
Coop's Place in New Orleans is the Decatur Street Cajun dive open since 1983, with $13 rabbit and sausage jambalaya and the Chicken Tchoupitoulas plate on the budget menu.
Try: Rabbit and sausage jambalaya
Tip: Dive bar atmosphere, late kitchen, cash-friendly. Pairs with Abita Amber on tap from the bar.
Stein's Deli in New Orleans is the Magazine Street Jewish-Italian deli in the Lower Garden District, with $15 Reuben sandwiches and a long sandwich queue at lunchtime.
Try: Pastrami Reuben
Tip: The Reuben sandwich is the cult order; the deli closes Monday and runs out of bagels by 11:00 on Sunday.
Willie Mae's Scotch House in New Orleans is the 1957 Treme fried-chicken counter on St Ann Street, a 2005 James Beard America's Classics winner with three-piece chicken plates and red beans.
Try: Fried chicken plate
Tip: Lines are real; arrive at 11:00 open or expect a 45-minute wait. Cash and card both accepted.
Dat Dog on Freret in New Orleans is the Freret Street specialty hot dog counter, with $9 alligator sausage, crawfish dogs, vegetarian franks and crawfish etouffee on top of any link.
Try: Specialty hot dog
Tip: Build with crawfish etouffee on top of a frank for the local order; sides of fries run $4 a basket.
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.