Metairie 2: Orleans Line To Houma Blvd

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.

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.