Big, bold island-inspired flavors supercharged chef Thomas “LoLo” LoPresti’s menu at this fetching, funky spot. The Shack riffs on LoPresti’s Caribbean roots - he met his partner and wife Christine Clouatre when she was in St. Croix post-Katrina. Think comfort food with Latin flair, including a fine Cubano, lime tequila-glazed shrimp and carne asada tacos on house corn tortillas. Bonus: there’s a nice backyard, making for a super family friendly scene.

Newish Japanese restaurant Aki rolls the freshest and prettiest sushi on the Northshore. Wowing even sushi snobs and L.A. transplants, chef Oui commands the counter and his wife Lin runs front of the house. Pristine sashimi and sushi are the draws here, served au natural or in dishes like the Atlantic salmon, with a fan of striped fish swabbed with ponzu and a hint of truffle oil. Try a bento box for lunch.

Lola chefs Keith and Nealy Frentz have been upping the culinary bar in Covington for a decade, creating game-changing New Louisiana fare at this stylish downtown train depot-turned-restaurant. At lunch, tuck into homespun baked goods and from-scratch platters (tip: get the chicken salad). For dinner, expect a white tablecloth setting with crispy wild catfish with collards or seared scallops with a silky sweet corn veloute.

You’ll need at least two napkins, maybe three, after a gravy-soaked roast beef po’ boy at Bear’s, a local institution and the gold standard for po’ boys on the Northshore. Really all the po’ boys are just about perfect, served on Leidenheimer French bread, natch. Get the hand battered onion rings, fried to order.

Chef Jeffrey Hansell and wife Amy are the talent behind white-table cloth eatery Oxlot 9 in Covington’s posh Southern Hotel. Hansell, a native of Waveland, Mississippi, dishes creative coastal-inspired Southern fare, supported by an impressive cocktail program. The restaurant is pricy but worth it, thanks to polished dishes such as Royal Red shrimp ceviche with avocado, pan-fried Louisiana rabbit with house tasso and mozzarella. Sunday jazz brunch is an affordable way to enjoy this special spot.

Chef Pat Gallagher, one of the Northshore’s favorite chefs, produces top-notch steaks and seafood at Gallagher’s Grill locations in Covington and Mandeville, with a third restaurant coming soon in Slidell. Gallagher’s warmth and hospitality radiates at his neighborhood grills, serving one of the best steaks on either side of the lake. Don’t miss the key lime pie.

Don’t go to Pho Cong Noodle & Grill for the ambiance, because there’s none. But this new Vietnamese place in a highway strip center is the real deal, owned by members of the Dong Phuong family, of New Orleans’ Dong Phuong Bakery fame. There’s good pho, and the bacon wrapped torpedo shrimp isn’t traditional but it’s damn good.

The Northshore’s oldest fine dining restaurant can come off a tad stuffy, but the food coming out of the Dakota kitchen is lit, thanks to chef Kim Kringlie’s creative heft in the kitchen. Jackets are suggested (but not required), but in any case, it’s a menu worth gussying up for. The lump crabmeat and brie soup is ridiculous good, but you can’t go wrong with anything on the seasonally forward menu.