Uptown 4: Riverbend, Carrollton & Broadmoor

CBD

What would be your first thought a restaurant in a big hotel, connected with a seafood house in Destin called Stinky's Fish Camp? That was my reaction, too. Another: a scan of the menu revealed prices higher than I expected to find. Finally, the place seemed to be pushing the Cajun-Creole thing a little too hard. (That name is an obscure reference to life in the marshlands.) With all that mental baggage, I tried the place a few months ago. The evening was astonishing, getting off to a great start with some dozen different ways of serving oysters. I was also incredulous about the presence of four or finfish species. The few missteps involved the service, and they weren't bad enough to put a sour taste in my mouth. I was looking forward to the next time before I called for the check.

Mid-City

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.