Covington

Lakeview

Mid-City

Slidell

French Quarter

Mid-City

Warehouse District & Center City

Uptown 3: Napoleon To Audubon

CBD

Marigny

Uptown 4: Riverbend, Carrollton & Broadmoor

Metairie 3: Houma Blvd To Kenner Line

Algiers

CBD

Marrero To Lafitte

Uptown 1: Garden District & Environs

Mandeville

River Parishes

Metairie 2: Orleans Line To Houma Blvd

New Orleans East

As a ratio of goodness of the food to obscurity, this may be the best restaurant in New Orleans. It's a throwback to another era. No web site, only open for lunch only on weekdays, nothing on the menu even slightly off the standard New Orleans neighborhood eatery beat. But what they cook they cook well, and serve in obscenely large portions at prices that almost make the many nearby Vietnamese restaurants seem expensive.

Uptown 4: Riverbend, Carrollton & Broadmoor

Mid-City

CBD

Metairie 3: Houma Blvd To Kenner Line

Slidell

New Orleans East

Walker's appeared on Hayne Boulevard so quickly after Katrina that it was a godsend to the people in its neighborhood. Almost everything in New Orleans East was destroyed, but Walker's building is right up on the lakefront and free of major flooding. And the supply of customers was infinite, what with all those people in the extended neighborhood with lots of work and few sources of food and drink.

Warehouse District & Center City

West End & Bucktown

Both in the Marigny Triangle and Lakeview, Wasabi brought sushi to neighborhoods bereft of the delicacy. In both places, there are a lot of people who go for Japanese dining, which makes one wonder why it took so long. That clientele also knows from quality, and Wasabi put forth excellent fish and a big menu of other beautiful food from the outset.

Marigny

The seller's market for sushi seems to have peaked. With seventy-three sushi bars around town, I think I detect a few net sushi bar closings, and a much smaller, less ambitious menu in most of the new places. While I've never seen a big crowd at either Wasabi, the food has always been excellent, and the place seems solid.

Madisonville