Cajun & Creole$
Mother's in New Orleans is the 1938 CBD cafeteria-line lunch counter at Poydras and Tchoupitoulas, with $12 red beans and rice plates and the Ferdi Special.
Try: Red beans and rice
Tip: Lines run long; arrive 11:00 or after 14:00 for the shortest wait, the cafeteria runs fast at the counter.
Cajun & Creole$Mon-Sat 11:00-20:00
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, $15 with butter-pepper.
Try: BBQ shrimp po-boy
Tip: Cash only at peak; check the Jazz Fest schedule, the room turns into a circus on festival weekends.
Cajun & Creole$
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 $8 a cup.
Try: Sno-ball with cream-of-nectar syrup
Tip: Open March to October only; cash only, the cream-of-nectar with condensed milk is the canonical order.
Cajun & Creole$
Killer Poboys in New Orleans is the Conti Street po-boy counter at the back of Erin Rose, with chef-driven $13 po-boys including the rum-glazed pork-belly.
Try: Glazed pork-belly po-boy
Tip: Pork-belly with rum ginger glaze is the cult order; the bar in front serves drinks while you wait.
Cajun & Creole$
Verti Marte in New Orleans is the 24-hour Royal Street deli at Governor Nicholls in the French Quarter, with the $12 All That Jazz po-boy as the cult.
Try: All That Jazz po-boy
Tip: Phone the deli for delivery to a French Quarter hotel; it runs 24 hours a day on the Royal Street counter.
Sicilian$
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.
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.