Covington

Uptown 2: Washington To Napoleon

Basin Seafood is your basic utilitarian seafood house in every regard except one. Although it plies the flow of Louisiana fish and shellfish to build its menu, this is not the place if you're hungry for a fried seafood platter. The techniques of cooking and the flavors that result from them are from a different cookbook, although not one that is likely to puzzle any eater for long. Sauces, even the ones that sound as if they make a strong statement, step aside to let the fish take over.

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.