Widely regarded as the best roast beef po-boy in all of New Orleans, R & O’s is actually in Bucktown near the lake. Open since the early 80s, it’s a family-friendly, no-frills Italian Creole spot that has longtime, loyal customers. It has reopened for dine-in and remains available for delivery via local third-party service Waitr.

Drago’s is the original home of chargrilled oysters, when the family-owned restaurant introduced the future staple in 1993. Tommy Cvitanovich’s mixture of garlic, butter, and herbs is brushed onto freshly shucked Gulf oysters, topped with Parmesan and Romano cheese, and fired on a hot grill until they bubble — a perfect bite (or slurp) of food. The dish has since spread throughout the city and is now on most bar and restaurant menus, but the original Metairie location remains open for dine-in, has added a large patio for outdoor dining, and offers takeout.

The po’ boy goes back to 1920s New Orleans, when striking streetcar drivers seeking affordable sandwiches from a local bakery gained the nickname. Airy, New Orleans-specific French bread gets stuffed with everything from roast beef to fried seafood to french fries and debris. Roast beef is an R&O’s specialty and Domilise’s is often associated with a shrimp po’boy, but the garlic oyster po’boy from Liuzza’s by the Track is one of the city’s all-time favorites. Best served with a frosty goblet of Abita. Here’s a list of some of the city’s best po-boys.

Considered by many to be one of the best fried chicken offerings in the country, this Treme landmark’s wet-batter recipe sets it apart from nearly every other fried chicken in town. Order through Willie Mae’s website for pickup or catering, also available from the Pythian Market location.

Though the Treme landmark lost its matriarch when founder and food world icon Leah Chase died in 2019, the new generation is innovating and keeping up her legacy, even amid a pandemic. Mrs. Chase’s grandson Edgar Chase is serving up the restaurant’s famous gumbo z’herbes on occasion, but some type of gumbo is always on the menu, via daily family meals and special occasion packages, announced on Dooky Chase’s Facebook and Instagram.

One of New Orleans’ most famous treats, Cafe du Monde’s version of the cloud-like, square doughnuts piled high with powdered sugar is worth the visit to the original in the Quarter. While it’s famous for being 24/7, hours are still currently limited to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays and until 10 p.m. on weekends. Keep an eye out for the upcoming Mid City opening of Morning Call, another longtime purveyor that is the preferred beignet destination for some New Orleanians.

First created at 175-year old Antoine’s restaurant, eggs Sardou is a tower of poached eggs, artichoke bottoms, creamed spinach, and hollandaise. It is named for the French playwright Victorien Sardou (1831-1908), who is best known as the author of ‘’La Tosca,’’ the play on which Puccini’s opera was based. — SC

Bananas Foster was born in 1951, when Owen Brennan asked his sister Ella to come up with a dessert for a dinner in honor of Richard Foster, who had been named chairman of the New Orleans Crime Commission. Spying bananas in the kitchen, Ella Brennan brought in the restaurant’s chef and headwaiter to experiment, a collaboration that resulted in the now-famous dessert of bananas sliced lengthwise and flambéed in dark rum, banana liqueur, sugar, and cinnamon, before being spooned hot over vanilla ice cream. The tableside show at Brennan’s is nearly as iconic as the resulting dish — but the dessert also does not disappoint.

This legendary New Orleans restaurant is 164 years old, and though it’s now in a new Decatur Street location six blocks upriver, it’s managed to maintain its iconic status in the city. It’s been serving a hearty, tender boiled brisket since the start on its table d’hote menu — a daily menu with changing soups and entrees but always featuring the boiled brisket and shrimp remoulade as appetizers (the menu was a butcher’s favorite thanks to the brisket). That brisket remains a customer favorite and a childhood memory for many, particularly around the holidays.

In 1889, Antoine’s (known as the second-oldest restaurant in America) created oysters Rockefeller when the escargot supply was low, naming it for the richest man in the world because of its green color. Restaurants take an oyster on the half shell and top it with a pureed blend of parsley and other herbs before baking it. Though Antoine’s version is great, Galatoire’s bright green version is a favorite.

Yes, Popeyes is a chain and its fried chicken is available in lots of cities. The Popeyes outlets in Louisiana, where it originated, are different. The menus are more robust, including seafood and seasonal items (fried crawfish during crawfish season and whole fried turkeys around Thanksgiving). The chicken is as much about where you eat it and the most iconic way to enjoy it is on the parade route during Mardi Gras. — SC

Found in restaurants throughout the city, New Orleans’s iconic dish of barbecue shrimp is not, actually, barbecued shrimp. Rather, it’s made by sauteing Gulf shrimp in butter, garlic, white wine, and Worcestershire on the stove — no smoke or pits involved. The original is from the 100-year old Pascal’s Manale, and it still tops the list.

An exercise in frugality, dessert pudding is made from stale bread soaked in a mixture of eggs, cream, and sugar before being baked and laced with whiskey sauce. Heavy traditional versions abound, but the ethereal bread pudding soufflé at Commander’s Palace is legendary. It’s probably big enough to share, but you’ll want it all for yourself. — SC

This economical tradition is the ultimate Louisiana comfort food, made with slow cooked red beans and spiked with ham hock and spicy sausage. Mondays at Joey K’s are all about the restaurant’s red beans, a consistent favorite of locals, and so good that they’re on the menu and all week long. The filling $10 plate is available for takeout, dine-in, or patio dining, and for delivery via D’livery Nola.

This family-run, 1920s-era oyster house decked in white and green tile has reopened its tiny dining room after many months, to the delight of its many oyster bar fans. That bar is a destination for conversation with the restaurant’s longtime shuckers in addition to a dozen of the raw delicacies accompanied by a bottle of Dixie. While Casamento’s typically closes for a time during summer (a tradition leftover from when there was limited refrigeration to keep the oysters cold), this year could be different, given that restaurants are only now getting back on track.

It’s sno-ball season again in New Orleans, designated by the gradual reopening of the many beloved stands devoted to the local specialty. Easily confused with snow cones but different entirely in texture, the New Orleans version uses finely shaved, fluffy ice made from a specific machine. No trip to New Orleans is complete without a visit to the James Beard Award-winning Hansen’s.