Eat & Drink

Dot's Diner

2239 Williams Blvd, Kenner, LA 70062, USA 70065

Restaurant Review

Anecdotes & Analysis

New Orleans’ reputation as a twenty-four-hour town is gainsaid by the difficulty in finding a place to eat after ten or eleven at night. Dot’s is one of the few 24-hour establishments that does manage a respectable meal at all those hours. It's a small, locally owned chain with a particularly strong presence on Jefferson Highway. Its ambitions are not large; however, its prices aren't either. What will happen if you wander in here at two in the morning is the same as if you did that anywhere else: you'll be served, but at a leisurely pace. And the food will be less than the best you ever had. (I hope it doesn't surprise you that the best waiters and chefs do not work the overnight shift.) However, I expect that at late hours, and Dot's does better than most all-night places. Its breakfasts are without doubt the house specialty. They make especially good omelettes (although you'd better tell them if you like yours moist inside). The rest of the menu is classic diner grub, starting with hamburgers and other basic sandwiches, and continuing through a few platters of home-style cookery. All of this is very inexpensive. I find Dot's pleasant enough that it's become a hangout for the guys I sing with. Sometimes we colonize a table for a long time and hold forth. Who's in a hurry?

Backstory

New Orleans’ reputation as a twenty-four-hour town is gainsaid by the difficulty in finding a place to eat after ten or eleven at night. Dot’s is one of the few 24-hour establishments that does manage a respectable meal at all those hours. It's a small, locally owned chain with a particularly strong presence on Jefferson Highway. Its ambitions are not large; however, its prices aren't either. What will happen if you wander in here at two in the morning is the same as if you did that anywhere else: you'll be served, but at a leisurely pace. And the food will be less than the best you ever had. (I hope it doesn't surprise you that the best waiters and chefs do not work the overnight shift.) However, I expect that at late hours, and Dot's does better than most all-night places. Its breakfasts are without doubt the house specialty. They make especially good omelettes (although you'd better tell them if you like yours moist inside). The rest of the menu is classic diner grub, starting with hamburgers and other basic sandwiches, and continuing through a few platters of home-style cookery. All of this is very inexpensive. I find Dot's pleasant enough that it's become a hangout for the guys I sing with. Sometimes we colonize a table for a long time and hold forth. Who's in a hurry?

Bonus Information

Attitude 1
Environment 0
Hipness 0
Local Color 1
Service 0
Value 0
Wine 0