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Pianist Kyle Roussel takes out-of-town friends for gumbo and etouffee at Dooky Chase‘s, a staple in the city for so long that Ray Charles referenced it in “Early in the Morning” 65 years ago. Troy Andrews, better known as Trombone Shorty, loves Dooky Chase’s shrimp creole and cites its bread pudding as top-notch — along with the ones at Willie Mae’s Scotch House (usually heralded for its fried chicken) and a place he just discovered called Station 6 that serves it in butterscotch sauce.
Dooky Chase’s in New Orleans.RITA HARPER/NYT
Galactic saxophonist Ben Ellman counters, “I’m just a total sucker for the bread pudding at Commander’s Palace.”
Ultimately, Shorty says that the city’s most distinctive dessert is at another old-school classic Brennan’s, which invented the bananas foster 75 years ago and still sets plenty aflame today.
For the best gumbo, both Porter and pianist Jon Cleary choose Brigtsen’s. “They have a nice dark brew there,” Cleary says. “Whenever there’s a real dark brew and it’s really tasty, you know there’s loads and loads of butter in it. You don’t eat it for health reasons.”
Ellman’s top “once-a-year” meal is Clancy’s, with smoked pork chops, lemon icebox pie, and especially the fried oysters with brie over sauteed spinach appetizer. “It’s one of my favorite bites in the city and worth a plane ticket right there.”
For “straight up New Orleans flavor,” Neville favors Jacques-Imos. He loves its spinach salad with a sesame-plum vinaigrette topped with a fried oyster and the alligator cheesecake, actually a savory quiche with shrimp and alligator sausage. But he praises its staples like black beans and redfish, barbecue shrimp, cornbread, and fried chicken, which follows the recipe of the late Austin Leslie, “the Godfather of Fried Chicken.” “I go off the menu and order fried chicken wings,” Neville says.
Neville’s uncle Cyril (of Neville Brothers fame) argues that “the best fried chicken is at Li’l Dizzy’s Cafe,” also a top spot for Trombone Shorty and singer Irma Thomas.
Ivan Neville of Dumpstaphunk performs at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, on Sunday, May 1, 2022, in New Orleans.Amy Harris/Invision/AP
Thomas’s favorite restaurant is Mandina’s: “I get the marinated crab claws, and my husband orders fried oysters, fried shrimp, and a half fried chicken.” (Ivan Neville suggests the turtle soup or the oyster and artichoke bisque.)
The British-born Cleary takes visitors for red beans and rice to Please You. “It’s where I was taken when I arrived in America 45 years ago, and it hasn’t changed a bit,” he says.
Ellman loves another old-time joint, though this one has definitely changed. Mosca’s was named for the personal chef of infamous mobster Carlos Marcello; it used to be so deep in the swamps that, Cleary says, the boss dumped bodies there.
While the surroundings have been civilized, it’s still a ways out and remains “a time capsule,” Ellman says, recommending its Oyster’s Mosca. “They’ve got a great jukebox with Louis Prima, and everyone table hops so it’s a scene.”
It’s not just the locals who love the food. Bridget Kearney says Lake Street Dive rearranged their schedule so that, after playing, they could hang around to listen to music and eat. While she recently discovered Zasu, her two standbys are Cochon, a festival of pork, and Peche Seafood Grill. In other cities, she says, “we just have catering at the venue, but in New Orleans, I’m always going out.”
The locals often seek out different flavors. “There’s food from around the world here too,” says Roussel, who names the El Salvadorian pupusas at La Macarena and the jollof rice at the Senegalese restaurant Dakar, “one of the top restaurants in the city.”
Blanchard loves the chicken shawarma at 1000 Figs and has even found a good British pub, The Bell. His sushi spot is Yakuza, while Porter has two, Hana and Mizu. Ivan Neville suggests Saffron’s blend of New Orleans dishes with Indian flavors, like its charbroiled oysters with a curry leaf and parmesan. (For the classic charbroiled oyster, Cyril Neville cites the restaurant Nonno’s.)
Everyone has a favorite in their own neighborhood, too. For Ellman, that’s Turkey and the Wolf, which has “great stoner food.” It’s famed for its Collard Green Melt, though he has switched to its fried pot pie with slow-cooked chicken and tarragon buttermilk. “It’s their sleeper hit,” he says.
Blanchard loves the turtle soup, oysters with caviar, and lemon doberge cake at Ralph’s on the Park, adding, “We often go to the bar to take food out on the way home, but it becomes a hang — the drinks are fine there — and we stay for three hours.”
For tourists in the French Quarter, Cleary recommends the crawfish and tasso pizza at Louisiana Pizza Kitchen and the burgers at Port of Call. “That’s the best burger in town, and they serve it with baked potatoes with the works on top.”
But, as Trombone Shorty says, you’ll find something new everywhere you go. “I was driving down Porter Street an hour ago and didn’t have time to sit down and eat before this, so I saw a food truck, and they had a cheeseburger where the bun was a king cake with all the icing on top of it,” he says. “Most people would say, ‘What in the world is this?’ but I tried it, and I enjoyed it. You get lunch and dessert all at once.”
Dining and Cooking