Best Cajun restaurant in New Orleans
 

First time traveler to New Orleans would like some options on the "best" Cajun restaurant in New Orleans. By "best", maybe you can give me some options, like best authentic food, best atmosphere, best scenic view, or whatever.

Also, if you had one day in New Orleans for a bus tour of some type, which tour would you recommend? I'm not sure what is available. Thanks!

First of all, the "best" of anything, whether it be food, atmosphere, or whatever, is always in the eye of the beholder. You will get many suggestions.

Scenic view: I believe you won't find any "views" in New Orleans other than across the river, so that will limit any possible selections.

Authentic food: Not even the real Cajuns deep in the swamp would know what the "best authentic food" is. All they know is what they cook. Remembering that original Cajun food is pretty simple, you won't find it at many N.O. restaurants like Emeril or Commander's Palace. Newer restaurants like Bayone, Cobalt, and August have taken off on their own in a direction a bit oblique from true Cajun food.

Atmosphere: Again everyone has his choice, but real Cajun atmosphere is even harder to find than authentic Cajun food. A real Cajun atomosphere is better found in one of the small towns along a bayou in the Cajun country.

For my money, your various criteria cannot be satisfied at any one restaurant. But to me, the best Cajun restaurant is the one that serves the most authentic Cajun food. Those restaurants are actually the lower priced ones such as Acme Oyster house, Mulate's, Maspero, Old N'Awlins Cookery, Mike Anderson's, and a number of others. For a higher class restaurant that has truly authentic Cajun style food, I vote for Broussard's or Galatoire's.

If I had a whole day, I'd try to find a bus tour down into the Cajun country with some stops at authentic Cajun towns along the way. I think there are some of those available. And if you are really interested in Cajun food and culture, that's a lot more interesting than a plantation tour or a swamp tour or a ghost tour or many of the other tourist-oriented tours.

Good info, Wayne, thanks for the detailed reply. I appreciate it!

John

John,

Wayne did provide wonderful information in my opinion. For true Cajun food, I would second Mulate's which originated in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana and add Paul Prudhomme's Kitchen.

Zydeco breakfast at Cafe des Amis in Breaux Bridge--food, music, dancing--arrive before 8am to get a seat. Did this just last week!!

http://www.cafedesamis.com/

The question was about Cajun Restaurants in New Orleans. You need to understand that Breaux Bridge is at least a two hour drive from New Orleans, just outside Lafayette. Don't know why anyone would suggest that unless they really aren't familiar with the area. Good luck.

Options Wayne options

Please pardon me if you realize this already, John from Kansas, but as a first time visitor to New Orleans you might not realize the difference between Creole and Cajun. Most of the menus at the old guard restaurants owe more to Creole cuisine than to Cajun, but many folks who don't know the difference think the two terms are interchangeable. Galatoire's, Antoine's, Commander's, Arnaud's, Alex Patout's -- they're all more Creole.

Though it's neither Creole nor Cajun, I think Bella Luna on the riverfront in the Quarter offers the best views. Lovely Italian restaurant with local seasonings that offers a nice atmosphere with views over the river and to the Cresecent City Connection (just the big ol' bridge, but lit up at night it looks pretty).

Unless traveling during the dead of summer, I'd personally opt for some kind of walking tour of the Quarter, or better yet, grab a guide book and DIY. You can dart here and there on your own schedule.

Hope you have a wonderful time in New Orleans. And pardon my intrusion on the Creole vs. Cajun.

try the bon ton cafe or prudhomme's.

What is the difference between Cajun and Creole?

You folks are great! Thanks to everyone that took the time to provide this wide variety of ideas. I really appreciate it.

John

cd,

Here is a link that does a nice job of explaining the difference between cajun and creole.

http://www.landrystuff.com/cuisine.html

Thanks Betsy, that was an interesting article.

Don't forget....there's also plenty of "Southern" food too!

Any suggestions for "Southern" food -- casual, reasonable, within FQ or within walking from FQ?

Many of the restaurants in N.O. will have a few of the more popular "southern" food items such as fried chicken, black-eyed peas with okra, red beans and rice (yes, it's a southern food also), po-boy sandwiches, and lots of other stuff.

try the praline connection on the edge of the quarter in the faubourg marigny neighborhood.

Yes, the Praline Connection is good as well as Mother's and The Trolley Stop. Wayne is right in that most of the restaurants in N.O. will have some southern/soul food.

John, you can go to this site that has New Orleans people talking about New Orleans and ask some questions there.

http://phorums.neworleans.com/foodfe...forum.php?f=11