CBD

The dining room of the Loews Hotel is a kicky, casual branch of Commander's Palace, with the service standards of the mother ship and an accessible, interesting menu. ¶ A visit here begins with one of the best bars town, with an imaginative program of creating new and old cocktails with fresh juices, house-made mixers, and great care. ¶ The food is more rustic than at Commander's, with ingredients and techniques that have a homestyle quality. Cafe Adelaide does a brisk lunch business, but at dinner it's a good place to remember, because it usually has tables available.

Esplanade Ridge

Grab some chips and dig into the superb and offbeat salsa (it has a slightly smoky flavor). It's good enough that you will go for a second ration, for which you will have to pay extra--but probably without complaint. Margaritas and guacamole are excellent in their turns. After that, pretend you're in a gourmet bistro. Time for mussels, calamari, steaks, racks of lamb, big flanks of fish, and no small number of other specialties that might not remind you of anything Mexican. But so what? We let Italian and French restaurants get away with that. So why not Creole-Mexican?

Bywater & Downtown