A fixture in Covington since 2015, this family owned Thai restaurant brings that country’s traditional regional specialties to the walkable downtown. From curries and stir-fries to green papaya salad and chicken satay, the balance of sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and spicy flavors prevails. Baan Thai’s varied lunch menu is a bargain.

Aki chef/owner Oui 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 the 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. There’s a plethora of rolls, traditional and non, to sample. Open for dinner every day but Sunday.

Lola chefs Keith and Nealy Frentz have been upping the culinary bar in Covington for more than 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, including a swell chicken salad croissant sandwich. For dinner, expect a white tablecloth setting with entree options like seared U 10 scallops with saffron risotto and bacon braised spinach,

This proudly queer-owned coffee house, wine bar, and sandwich, charcuterie, and sweets cafe was a hit from day one. Partners Anna Watkins and Amanda Birdsong opened Cured. On Columbia early in the pandemic and still managed to thrive. Open seven days a week, with live music on Sundays, fare includes a chicken chopped salad, a housemade veggie burger, and a chef’s smorgasbord meat and cheese charcuterie platter that’s a party waiting to happen.

Gavin Job creates some powerful good Neapolitan-style wood-fired pizza at his modern Italian eatery Meribo, a loose translation of “southern food” to Italian. That means you might see collard greens and local mushrooms on that wood-fired pizza and a crawfish boil gnocchi made with Louisiana crawfish tails and sweet corn. At brunch, the trashy tator tot hash with smoked pork shoulder and pimento cheese is epic.

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, of course. Get the hand-battered onion rings, fried to order.

The long wait is over. After being closed for 15 months due to storm damage, Butter Krisp Diner reopened in July. They sold more than 13,000 donuts on the first day back. A landmark diner since 1976, the family-owned spot dishes breakfast all day, sandwiches, wraps, and donuts, lots of donuts.

Situated in what was a Greyhound bus station — hence the name — The Greyhound is a modern gastro pub with a globetrotting menu, exactly the kind of food chefs Torre and David Solazzo love to eat. From house-made pastrami Reuben on rye to North African spiced lamb meatballs and Gulf fish and chips, the food satisfies.

The elegant Gloriette in the Southern Hotel just got even better. Southshore chef Alex Harrell is now at the restaurant’s helm. The airy, garden-themed space delivers classic French and contemporary Louisiana flavors, although Harrell promises to infuse the menu with more of his trademark Southern style. Expect full flavored dishes like pan roasted halibut with crawfish pecan meuniere and classic rib eye steak frites.

Take one bite of the house-made tagliatelle with lump crabmeat, garlic, and capers and it’s crystal clear why Del Porto chef/owners David and Torre Solazzo are three-time James Beard semifinalists for Best Chef South. Sophisticated, flavorful, and gorgeously composed contemporary Italian plates will please to no end, while the yellowfin crudo and slow-braised pork osso bucco are swoon-worthy.

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

Red Bird’s divine battered fried chicken is a lot to cluck about. Family owned and run, with a second location in Lakeview, Red Bird is all about chicken fried to order, following a closely guarded family recipe. The result is chicken that is astonishingly juicy, with a just-right crust that crackles with every bite. Fried chicken, seafood, and sides like red beans, onion rings, and gumbo define the menu, so don’t ask for a burger.