Top 5 New Orleans Restaurants You Won’t See on the NYT List

Recently the New York Times published a list of the top 25 places to eat in New Orleans right now, or something to that effect. Written by longtime Times-Picayune food critic, Brett Anderson, it provided a current snapshot of dining in the city. Now anyone who knows me knows that I eschew lists of these sorts. I also dislike the use of “best” when it comes to writing about the dining scene. Inevitably these lists carry more weight than they should and reflect the list maker's preferences more than anything. They also don’t really account for class or race, as it’s almost guaranteed that a Black or Vietnamese New Orleanian would have a totally different understanding of best in many cases than a white New Orleanian. Of course, this doesn’t invalidate the list, but qualifies it. And inevitably some really good places get left off and left out. And as someone who has spent almost half their life in a professional kitchen, I know how it feels to be on the wrong end of the press. So, I’m not going to tell you what the “best” restaurants are, but I will tell you about some places that I think are worthy of mentioning.

Gabrielle is my favorite restaurant in the city. I say that without any qualifications. It is a throwback of sorts, a family-run restaurant that is deeply rooted in the ingredients and flavors of New Orleans and Louisiana. Chef/owner Greg Sonnier, along with his wife Chef Mary Sonnier, and their daughter Gabrielle, the namesake of the restaurant, provide a casual yet elegant dining experience. And the dishes are iconic. The slow-roasted duck in a sherry sauce over shoestring potatoes and the smokey, silky pheasant and andouille gumbo are two of the best dishes not just in this city, but any city. And the fairly-priced menu and eclectic wine list give good value. But more than anything, this is a neighborhood joint run by locals for locals. Chef Greg came up under Chef Paul Prudhomme and carries on his legacy in every bite while forging his own. It is a can’t-miss dining experience.

Richard Rose, a former refinery worker, and his wife Jackie Diaz, started out by selling jerk sauce to his coworkers at Marathon Oil. It was so popular that they began contemplating opening up a restaurant, and did in the former Sneaky Pickle spot on St. Claude Avenue. Rose, a native of Kingston, Jamaica, serves generous portions of smoky, spicy, jerked chicken and jerked ribs, smothered oxtails, and other Jamaican classics alongside some creolized New Orleans-style dishes. The portions are easily enough for two meals, and the ebullient Diaz and laid-back Rose add flavor and charm to the neighborhood.