Metairie 3: Houma Blvd To Kenner Line

Among the most-loved restaurants are those whose customers believe that their goodness is known only to themselves. Secret restaurants, we might call them. The regular patrons are reluctant to talk about such restaurants, believing that the restaurant will become impenetrable if everybody in the world starts coming. In actual fact, that almost never happens, but the feeling is still comforting. All of the above applies to Cypress, whose location at the corner of two heavily-traveled arteries should make it better known than it is. But ssshhhh!

Mandeville

For at least two generations of New Orleanians, the joys of restaurant dining were introduced in restaurants a lot like Mandina's. Or at Mandina's itself. Until the gourmet bistro era began in the 1980s, restaurants like this were in every New Orleans neighborhood. By then Mandina's had become not only a rarity but seemed to be every Orleanian's idea of what a neighborhood restaurant should be. Then Katrina came though and reminded us how important restaurants like this are to our cherished dining practices. The North Shore franchise of Mandina's doesn't have the pulse of the original, but it comes close to duplicating the food.

Metairie 2: Orleans Line To Houma Blvd

The restaurant identifies itself as Italian, and most of its customers think of it that way. But since its earliest days the most distinctive part of the kitchen's work involves seafood. Chef-Owner Andrea Apuzzo makes much of the fact that, with few exceptions, all the fish he serves are bought fresh, whole and filleted in house. It is not uncommon for there to be six or more species of finfish on hand, with pompano, red snapper, trout, redfish, puppy drum, salmon, Dover sole, amberjack and flounder usually available. ¶ The shellfish offering is no less comprehensive, with crabmeat, shrimp, oysters (shucked to order), mussels, clams, lobster and scallops almost always to be had. The range of preparation is equally strong, to the point where it's possible to say that the chef will cook his seafood in almost any imaginable way. It all adds up to a big enough seafood menu to stand alone. It's better than any other part of the menu.