Where Y'Eat

If New Orleans was not specifically pining for a modern coastal Italian dining experience in a refurbished industrial space at the border of the Marigny and Bywater, well, you wouldn't know it by the scene at Mariza on any given night.

New Orleans restaurant culture is abuzz with different flavors, new fashions and even a new lexicon these days. Some places set the pace and others struggle to keep up. But then there are those that ignore them altogether, and in some cases stand apart, by essentially standing still. Leni's Café is one example.

By Ian McNulty

New Orleans, La. –
The procedure for ordering at Jazz Fest food booths is pretty straightforward: you name your dish and fork over cash. At some booths, however, it's common for festival-goers to try to make dinner reservations too.

At a clutch of nonprofit restaurants, the notion of service extends far beyond waiting tables.

A family-run po-boy joint where New Orleans beef meets Buffalo shrimp.

A hole-in-the-wall Peruvian cafe doesn't look like the next big thing, but it's still the spot in the New Orleans area to sample a poly-ethnic cuisine that has foodies across the country buzzing.

Some deeply-ingrained food traditions follow the seasons in Louisiana, and some dentists can read those seasons by the types of injuries they see in their patients’ mouths.

Taking the "West Bank shortcut" to get just a little closer to the source pays big dividends when it's time for a boiled seafood safari. 

It may be easy to practice meatless Lenten Fridays in Louisiana, but a lot of hard work still goes into the traditional fish fries at churches all across town.