Cajun fare close to the airport, Williams offers fried seafood, gumbo and generously filled half and whole po’ boys. Try the alligator sausage and crawfish pie for a taste of the bayou. Grilled chicken and shrimp is an EatFit Nola option.

This family-run Mexican cafe goes beyond nachos, tostadas, and birria tacos. Tuck into platters of garlicky shrimp, chicken mole, fried fish, and steak and onions. For breakfast, try Taqueria Mi Rancho’s chilaquiles, with chile-seasoned ground beef, eggs, or both.

Popular for both Central American and Mexican fare, this pupuseria specializes in the flat griddle cakes, usually made with corn, popular in Honduras and El Salvador. Stuffed with pork, cheese, squash, beans, and even crawfish, these are traditional and homestyle. The bargain lunch specials dish huge portions of rice and beans and proteins like fried chicken, fish, and pork chops.

Desi Kitchen serves fragrant Indian fare, outstanding flaky naan, and fresh biriyani rice dishes studded with chicken, veggies, or goat. The chicken korma is especially rich and creamy. Ask about the thali menu, a combination meal that includes apps, veg, a small portion of an entree, rice, naan, salad, and dessert.

Sandwiches come in regular or large at Ted’s Smokehouse, a pint-sized downhome barbecue joint with the scent of smoke perfuming the parking lot. Platters of ribs, beef brisket, pulled pork, smoked chicken, and turkey breast come with sides like baked beans, garlic mashed potatoes, and corn. Open noon to 7 p.m. every day but Monday.

A fixture on Williams since 2010, this family-owned Chinese restaurant offers traditional and outside-the-box authentic cuisine. For starters, this is one of the few places that offers roasted duck, a two-course feast that can easily feed three. Beyond the fried rice, kung pao, and lo mein, Chinatown offers the likes of conch with ginger and scallions and duck congee with preserved egg.

Chilangos Seafood Restaurant is another Mexican option among the robust offerings in Kenner. Besides traditional favorites like chilaquiles and tacos, mariscos dominate, with dishes like ceviches and seafood cocktails, seafood soups, and sizzling seafood platters. Mole is available on weekends, so plan ahead.

This small, woman-owned restaurant offers a mix of made-to-order Honduran and Mexican dishes in an elegant and airy setting, with parking out front. From Honduran tacos and pupusas to enchiladas and fajitas, the menu is vast. Taco Tuesday offers discounted tacos and two for one margaritas. There’s karaoke most Fridays.

This sleeper just off I-10 begs discovery, if Brick Oven Cafe isn’t already on the radar. Don’t mind the Statue of Liberty replica out front; inside, the place is polished and understated, date-night worthy. The wood-fired pizza is excellent, not-too-thick or thin, blistered crust topped with the likes of kalamata olives, roasted garlic, and Italian sausage. But the menu is vast, ranging from pasta specialties, to steaks, chops, chicken, veal, and seafood. Pasta lunch specials come with salad or soup and a soft drink.

This family-owned Tex-Mex tavern next to the Econo Lodge is the kind of place to come as you are, kick back with friends, have a few drinks and watch the game. Don Jose’s menu is a litany of greatest hits, like nachos every which way, gooey queso peppered with chorizo, fajitas, and grilled chicken and salmon. Try the tortilla soup, it’s A-plus.

This little freestanding taqueria sits back from the road a bit, with plenty of parking out front. The marinated proteins — carne asada, pastor, chicken, beef tongue, and tripe — can stuff a taco, torta, burrito, tostada, and on and on. Taqueria Sanchez offers specials too, like the chili-fueled tripe soup menudo, sure to kill that hangover.

Debbie on the Levee is around the corner from Gendusa’s, a bakery and breakfast lunch cafe from Doberge queen Charlotte McGehee. She does the sweets and her partner/husband Charles Mary IV handles the cafe’s creative menu. Come for pastry and fried-to-order beignets, sweet or savory. Or try a sandwich like a grilled caprese stacked with tomato, basil pesto, garlic olive oil, fresh basil, and shredded mozzarella. Great coffee and dessert cocktails too.