Mid-City

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.

Uptown 3: Napoleon To Audubon

Every now and then, a New Orleans restaurant will open with a menu combining the food of our city with that of the Delta Country of northwestern Mississippi. Because they are connected by the Mississippi River's busiest segment, a cultural connection formed two centuries ago between our city and Natchez, Vicksburg, Greenville and Memphis--the main ports of the Delta Country. Eat in any of those places, you'll notice many dishes and flavors in common with New Orleans eats. High Hat was (and remains) like the neighborhood cafe you remember in a neighborhood you never visited before in some little Southern town you happened to drive through. Add a feeling that it's 1949, and you have an accurate image of High Hat and some--but not all--of its food.