New Orleans East

French Quarter

The corner of Iberville and Bourbon Streets may be the best restaurant location in New Orleans, with a surfeit of classic local eateries right there or mighty nearby. The Brennan family alone has four major restaurants within the block, creating a little tension when Dickie Brennan's Bourbon House encroached upon Ralph Brennan's Red Fish Grill's seafood-restaurant turf. As it turned out, both places thrived because of the propinquity, not despite it. The Bourbon House also offset one of Dickie Brennan's Steakhouse place at the other end of the block. All is harmony now.

CBD

I've found that some restaurants go well beyond being popular, and become so adored by their regulars that one can't take the comments you hear about it seriously. ¶ Singha Thai is such a place. A side effect of this is that a certain number of people go to the restaurant with wildly high expectations triggered by the loyal fans. ¶ Any reports you hear that Singha Thai is the best Thai restaurant in America (or the worst), that it's a terrific bargain or a total ripoff, that portions are enormous or minuscule, or anything else extreme should be ignored. The reality: here is the standard Thai menu, turned out reasonably well, if not always brilliantly.