French Quarter

The least pretentious of the seven century-old New Orleans restaurants, the Acme acts its age in its signature activity. Their oysters have always been among the city's best, both in the raw bivalves and the grilled oysters--the latter a recent borrowing from Drago's. Most of the rest of the menu is standard New Orleans neighborhood eats, but in much of that the kitchen comes across as the small chain restaurant that it is, with less range in its offering, particularly the finfish.

Uptown 2: Washington To Napoleon

Atchafalaya may be the ultimate New Orleans restaurant, at least for the younger half of the gourmet world. The food is great, inspired by the traditional ingredients and flavors but without more than a handful of classic Creole restaurant dishes. The place is an old neighborhood joint much in need of thorough restoration. But the prices reflect that. Instead of lunch, Atchafalaya offers a first-class brunch almost every day of the week. Even the restaurant's motto--"New Orleans's Only Five-A Restaurant"--is clever. The only drawback is getting a table--never easy when you need one.

Covington