Shaya in New Orleans is the Magazine Street modern Israeli room that won James Beard Best New Restaurant in 2016, now under BRG Hospitality with its wood-fired pita oven still anchoring service.
Signature dishes: Wood-fired pita, Lamb shawarma
Must order: The wood-fired pita with hummus. Then the lamb shawarma.
Tip: Founder Alon Shaya now runs Saba up the road at 5757 Magazine; both rooms are worth a visit.
Address: 4213 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70115
Saba in New Orleans is Alon Shaya's 2018 Magazine Street follow-up to Shaya, a modern Israeli room at Nashville Avenue with the whipped feta and whole roasted cauliflower he made famous.
Signature: Lutenitsa with whipped feta, Whole-roasted cauliflower
Order: The whole roasted cauliflower with whipped feta. Then the lamb ragu hummus.
Tip: Brunch on Sundays runs the shakshuka and matzo ball brioche French toast; book a fortnight ahead.
Mosquito Supper Club in New Orleans is Melissa Martin's Uptown communal-table Cajun room in an 1898 cottage on Dryades Street, with a single fixed Cajun menu and a Bayou Lafourche cookbook lineage.
Signature: Communal Cajun set menu, Crab stew
Order: The crab stew and shrimp boulettes; the menu is fixed and arrives in courses.
Tip: Reservations open the first of the month for the next month. Book the moment they appear.
Saba in New Orleans is Alon Shaya's 2018 Magazine Street follow-up to Shaya, a modern Israeli room at Nashville Avenue with the whipped feta and whole roasted cauliflower he made famous.
Signature: Lutenitsa with whipped feta, Whole-roasted cauliflower
Order: The whole roasted cauliflower with whipped feta. Then the lamb ragu hummus.
Tip: Brunch on Sundays runs the shakshuka and matzo ball brioche French toast; book a fortnight ahead.
N7 in New Orleans is the Bywater French wine bar behind an unmarked fence on Montegut Street from Aaron Walker and Yuki Yamaguchi, with French bistro plates and a Japanese accent.
Signature: Tinned-fish plate, Steak frites with Bordelaise
Order: The tinned-fish board with bread, then steak frites with Bordelaise.
Tip: Reservations are tight; the garden seating opens at 17:00 and walk-ins land best on weeknights.
Mosquito Supper Club in New Orleans is Melissa Martin's Uptown communal-table Cajun room in an 1898 cottage on Dryades Street, with a single fixed Cajun menu and a Bayou Lafourche cookbook lineage.
Signature: Communal Cajun set menu, Crab stew
Order: The crab stew and shrimp boulettes; the menu is fixed and arrives in courses.
Tip: Reservations open the first of the month for the next month. Book the moment they appear.
Peche in New Orleans is Ryan Prewitt, Stephen Stryjewski and Donald Link's James Beard winning Gulf seafood room on Magazine and Julia, with a wood-fired grill and a daily whole fish.
Signature: Whole grilled fish, Smoked tuna dip
Order: The smoked tuna dip to start, then a whole grilled fish to share for the table.
Tip: The bar walks in best at 17:30; the kitchen sends the same menu and the oyster service is tighter.
Brigtsen's in New Orleans is Frank and Marna Brigtsen's 1986 Victorian-cottage Creole Acadian room near the streetcar terminus, a Paul Prudhomme alumnus with shell-bean stews still on the menu.
Signature: Shell-bean and crawfish stew, Filé gumbo
Order: The shell-bean and crawfish stew, on the menu since 1986. Then the file gumbo.
Tip: Dinner only, Tuesday to Saturday from 17:00. The whole restaurant is one cottage; book ahead.
Boucherie in New Orleans is Nathanial Zimet's Carrollton tasting-menu room, a former food truck turned Southern-modern five-course degustation with the Krispy Kreme bread pudding still on the list.
Signature: Five-course tasting, Krispy Kreme bread pudding
Order: There is no choice; the five-course tasting changes with the produce. End with the Krispy Kreme bread pudding.
Tip: Bourree next door is the daiquiri and wings spinoff; sit there first for a cocktail before dinner.
