Meat

New Orleans is so famous for seafood that one might assume it’s not the place to eat meat. This is not the case. New Orleans is a steak town on a par with New York and Chicago, with a long tradition of using top grades of aged beef. Beyond that, the city has a distinctive style of serving a steak: in a sizzling pool of butter on a hot plate. Ruth’s Chris Steak House, one of the major players in the deluxe steak category, started in New Orleans—and it wasn’t the first great steak place in town.

Beyond beef, Creole chefs cook everything else from the butcher shop. The local cuisine includes many unique sausages and dishes made from them. There’s even a meaty, traditional breakfast dish. All of this, of course, is done with a free hand with the seasonings and big, flavorful sauces.