Ian McNulty: 24 dishes at New Orleans restaurants to try in 2024

There are many ways to sum up a year in the New Orleans dining scene. Below, I'm giving you 24 of them, snapshot style, with tastes that contributed to the tale.

As a tumultuous year comes to an end, I’ve been looking back at restaurants we lost and also new additions that should be on your list.

For this story, I’m spotlighting dishes from restaurants that opened before 2023 to take in a fuller spectrum of flavors and finds around town. Together with my earlier stories on new restaurants and the many that changed hands, I hope this gives you a full roster of ideas for your next outing.

Let’s be clear, and I feel I must in this age of endless aggregation and no-context “best of” lists: This is not a ranking of top dishes, and there is no pecking order behind the way they are arranged.

Instead, these are dishes, experiences and memories that have stayed with me through the year, tastes of new ideas and enduring traditions in our restaurant community.

I could have included many more, but you have to stop somewhere. I picked 24 because that gives you two per month for the year ahead.

Now let's dig in:

Fried oysters with brie at Clancy’s Restaurant, 6100 Annunciation St., (504) 895-1111: It’s always a toss-up at this Uptown institution between fish or one of the smoky meat entrées (duck or pork chop), which are always handled so well here. There is no wiggle room when it comes to appetizers, though. This odd-sounding, utterly compelling dish is a Clancy's signature that should always be in rotation. Just watch as the melted cheese oozes out from its rinds to glaze the oysters and pool between them, then devour.

Salt and pepper blue crabs at TD Seafood & Pho House, 1028 Manhattan Blvd., Harvey, (504) 302-1727: Boiled, hacked into pieces, deep fried then danced around the wok, here’s a dish that blends the Louisiana boil with seafood traditions from Vietnam (from a style called rang muoi). The crabs come out edged in crusty ridges of seasoned batter — not encased, more like a thin lacing — which has picked up the flavor of the wok, that mixture of seasoned oil and iron. It’s a glorious mess of flavor to make you roll up your sleeves and get after it.

Fish a la Florentine at MaMou, 942 N. Rampart St., (504) 381-4557: This art nouveau-esque bistro, opened in late 2022, is a feast for the eyes before you even get to chef Tom Branighan’s French and Creole dishes. This fish matches the delicate beauty of the restaurant with the intricacy of its flavor and execution. Flounder when I tried it, it's a roulade of fish bathed with a beurre blanc, dappled with different fish roes and topped with parmesan tuile, crisp and golden and shaped into a wreath that could be on the head of a nymph from an Alphonse Mucha poster.

Dry-aged bluefin tuna rib-eye at GW Fins, 808 Bienville St., (504) 581-3467: This upscale French Quarter seafood restaurant is a pioneering showcase for dry aging, more familiar from steakhouses but here applied to the finest tuna and other fish from the Gulf. The process concentrates the umami flavor and gives a dense but also melting-tender texture. It’s unlike any other fish dish in town. It’s not always on the menu (the aging takes time) but it's well-worth making specific plans around this dish’s availability.

Ham and brie sandwich from Bellegarde Bakery, 8300 Apple St., (504) 827-0008: I spent some time over the hot summer pining for foreign travel and searching for local versions of the European train station sandwich. The example from this old world, stone mill-driven bakery hit every note: good ham, thick slabs of brie, fantastic baguette and ready to pluck from the counter and eat moments later. Can we have more grab-and-go perfection like this around town, please?

Shrimp kitfo at Addis NOLA, 2514 Bayou Road, (504) 218-5321: I like a dinner outing that is a two-part proposition, and along Bayou Road, it just feels natural to start with a drink at the lounge Whiskey & Sticks then cross the street to this vivacious and flavorful Ethiopian showplace. I always want the traditional kitfo (minced, deeply spiced raw beef) but it was a newer dish that was the star one night. Chopped, cooked shrimp and roasted beets combine for flavor that’s both sweet and fresh, deep and savory, and dynamite with a sweep of the sour injera bread.

Banana cream pie at Emeril’s Restaurant, 800 Tchoupitoulas St., (504) 528-9393: The new Emeril’s is a game changer for upper-echelon dining in this city. It’s tasting menus only now with the celebrity chef’s son E.J. Lagasse at the helm. It is very expensive (menus start at $170), and it is unforgettable. There are two different menus each running through seven courses. By way of recommendation for the whole experience, I’m looking to the banana cream pie, a new rendition of the Emeril’s classic, reduced to one-16th of its original scale to fit a tasting menu but hitting every flavor memory. In its precision and blending of past and future, it shows the vision and intent of this restaurant’s new course.

Pierogi at Zasu, 127 N. Carrollton Ave., (504) 267-3233: Returning to chef Sue Zemanick’s Mid-City jewel box with first timers, I wanted to show them why this is one of my favorite restaurants, so we shared every appetizer (sans soup, salads) and then drafted the pierogi entree into the standout role of another shared plate. A long-time signature from the chef’s Czech family heritage, they’re butter-crisp and tender, this time with creamy feta and a bright, lemony creme fraiche.

Meatballs at Meme’s Bar & Grille, 712 W. Judge Perez Drive, Chalmette, (504) 644-4992: Chalmette’s upscale casual restaurant and bar has been around for more than a decade but now is run by former Emeril’s chef de cuisine Doug Braselman (a Chalmette native himself). He’s been raising the culinary profile, while mindfully keeping intact Meme’s multifaceted roles for its community — including happy hour destination, oyster bar and neighborhood steakhouse. It’s trimmings from those steaks that go into these meatballs, for a dense but also very giving texture and beefy flavor, plated over a rich mozzarella fondue cooked down with wine and shallots.

Banana and curry ice cream at Palm & Pine, 308 N. Rampart St., (504) 814-6200: This has become one of my favorite restaurants, from the buzzy, welcoming atmosphere to the (also buzzy) cocktails, and on through appetizers to dessert. Ice cream at a restaurant is usually not the most thrilling dessert, but Palm & Pine is different, with a program worthy of its own ice cream parlor somehow operating from the small kitchen. This flavor is a not-so-standard house standard, an earthy-sweet adventure of brûléed sugar and spice that has a beguiling similarity to creamy, rich chocolate.

Jollof rice at Dakar NOLA, 3814 Magazine St., (504) 493-9396: Uptown’s modern Senegalese tasting menu restaurant has been the talk of national food circles and with good reason. Chef Serigne Mbaye has created a unique expression of his journey and his roots and we’re lucky to have it in our backyard. The menu changes frequently, but this rice dish, so indicative of the connection the chef weaves from Africa to Louisiana, is a staple and it helps illuminate the overall story of Dakar NOLA. Fluffy and aromatic, with the flavor of tomato rendered down into its grains, it's a grounding, home-style yin to the yang of the chef’s more contemporary and composed riffs.

Whatever is next at Sukeban, 8126 Oak St., (504) 345-2367: How many times in the past year have I been drawn to chef Jacqueline Blanchard’s izakaya for some special that has come along? The appearance of raw razor clams last spring abruptly changed my own plans for the evening. The lineup should always be changing at a small place that sources like this, so my recommendation here is whatever comes next, maybe more of that recent special of blue runner sashimi, a local fish we should find more often on our menus.

Red beans and rice at Mandina’s Restaurant, 3800 Canal St., (504) 482-9179: The comfort food quotient is always high at Mandina’s, but there was a different dynamic here after a brazen shooting last spring that took the life of one of its waiters, Hilbert Walker III. People turned out in force when it reopened in a way that felt supportive and maybe even defiant. That happened to be a Monday, so of course it was meaty red beans and rice with a link of Italian sausage, which is Creole Italian all over.

Jerk chicken sausage po-boy at Vaucresson’s Creole Café & Deli, 1800 St. Bernard Ave., (504) 267-3850: A name many know as the longest-running food vendor at Jazz Fest has its own deli again in the 7th Ward, reviving a multi-generation family story in the business. You can get Vaucresson sausage here by the pack for home or in po-boys. This one has a distinctive snap, then a juicy, lighter-tasting bounce to the chicken within and a peppery jerk flavor against house-made sweet mango mustard and thick-cut pickled red onions.

Shrimp snow pea dumplings at Miss Shirley’s Chinese Restaurant, 3009 Magazine St., (504) 354-2530: When they sold Royal China in Metairie in 2021 it looked like the Lee family was finally stepping away from the restaurant business. But soon they returned with Miss Shirley’s, and it seems like they’re having a ball. These dumplings, one of many dim sum choices, and filled with sweet shrimp and ignite beautifully with a dose of the house chile oil.

Mixed oyster platter at Cooter Brown’s Tavern, 509 S. Carrollton Ave., (504) 866-9104: More Louisiana oysters are coming through modern cultivation, sometimes called off bottom oysters. Small growers, especially around Grand Isle and Bayou Lafourche, have been building the niche. Sidecar Oyster Bar & Patio downtown is the leading destination to explore this, so perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised to see them appear upriver at the venerable Cooter’s Brown oyster bar, since the two share ownership. So here they are now at another, very casual outlet, further spreading awareness of a promising new piece of Louisiana’s oyster culture.

El tradicional breakfast at Mawi Tortillas, 5050 W. Esplanade Ave., Metairie, (504) 644-2624: I’m always on the lookout for a good breakfast and when it’s the Latin American type, I am all over it. Mawi Tortillas is both a wholesale tortilla maker and a full-fledged restaurant. The breakfast plate with eggs, chorizo, the rice-and-beans mix casamiento, crema and, of course, fresh tortillas hits the spot, with perhaps just a dash of that incendiary hot sauce from El Salvador they keep on the tables.

Black bean burger at Liberty’s Kitchen, 300 N. Broad St., (504) 822-4011: The cafe is the most public side of this nonprofit, which works in youth development and leadership. That cafe's reopening after a long pandemic hiatus brought back its black bean burger (and cowboy caviar too, a salad made with black-eyed peas). The burger has a crisp sear on the edge and a bite that’s genuinely juicy with a cilantro-lime mayo and tomatoes pressing into the cheese above.

Curried goat at Compere Lapin, 535 Tchoupitoulas St., (504) 599-2119: There is the Creole tradition of Louisiana, and there is the Creole tradition of the Caribbean and chef Nina Compton’s first restaurant has always illuminated their interplay. The goat curry with sweet potato gnocchi is as vivid a demonstration you’ll find, bursting with a global mélange of flavor between contrasting textures.

Patacon Currambero from Curramba la Bella at the West Bank Flea Market, 1048 Scotsdale Drive, Harvey: Strolling through the West Bank Flea Market entails a tour of mostly Latin American flavors from the small booths arrayed in a shared, open-air hall. One was particularly familiar. Bleidys Lobelo started cooking here years ago before opening a New Orleans restaurant, Golden Gate Bistro, serving dishes from her native Colombia. The restaurant didn’t make it through the pandemic, but Lobelo is back at the market with a new stand. This massive, family-sized sandwich brings an entire barbecue buffet of grilled meats between a pair of a thin, fried planks of plantain, each the size of a palm frond, all bound together by a cap of melted, stretchy queso blanco and streaked with creamy sauces.

Crawfish boil fried chicken at Picnic Provisions & Whiskey, 741 State St., (504) 266-2810: Carnival time is the unofficial fried chicken season in New Orleans, and last season this standout style was a highlight. Picnic fries boneless thighs with crawfish boil seasoning in the batter and the flour to give the essence of a seafood boil. The key condiment is pepper mash left over from Crystal hot sauce production, and it brings a smoky, earthy heat. They call this stuff Picnic pulp; I call it the grappa of the spice world and it's just as potent.

Brisket breakfast burrito at LA 23 BBQ, 9661 La. 23, Belle Chasse, (504) 657-3693: An early morning drive from the fishing docks of Venice back to the city one day took me past this fantastic barbecue spot hard against the levee just in time for a quick breakfast. The brisket was redolent of smoke, and the meat ratio was generous, with lots of crusty salty, juicy fatty bits pressing into the soft tortilla. I’d cross any number of bridges to have again.

Shrimp and grits at Atchafalaya, 901 Louisiana Ave., (504) 891-9626: Shrimp and grits has become synonymous with brunch, a meal that is synonymous with Atchafalaya as this Uptown restaurant serves the weekend meal all week long. It also happens to make the finest shrimp and grits I’ve tasted, with smoke and pepper from andouille and smoked tomatoes imbuing both the plump, shrimp and the pleasingly textured, cream cheese-enriched grits.

Jamón Iberico at Costera, 4938 Prytania St., (504) 302-2332: One day last spring, when I was feeling a severe need for self-care, I took myself to the bar at Costera for a solo happy hour. I started with a plate of the very fine Spanish ham, which I always associate with good times. I had a few more tapas. Then, contemplating something sweet to end, I just went ahead and got a second order of ham as “dessert” instead. It was a victory lap and it really did the trick.

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