Harahan

The fact that the parking lot is surfaced with oyster shells should tell you something. It's the first of many impressions that this is an old-style, close-to-the-water combination seafood market and cafe. It's like the joints and the people you see after driving a hundred miles into the Louisiana wetlands, except that it's in Harahan, which is only slightly remote from the city. All the freshness and sense of place that this implies are indeed borne out in the cooking.

Marrero To Lafitte

New Orleans is in close proximity to many Ends Of The World. Restaurant des Familles is not quite that remote, but well down the road to a place that is: Barataria, the hangout of Jean Lafitte and his pirates. The surroundings of the restaurant are primordial enough that there are swamp tours nearby. Yet it's close enough to town that if you have a visiting client or friend who wants to eyeball the unique Louisiana environment, it's not too long a trip to come here. And eat some gumbo, oysters, crabmeat, and all the other comestibles for which our town is celebrated.

Metairie 2: Orleans Line To Houma Blvd