Gumbo, king cakes and dive bars: A New Orleans expert’s picks for Super Bowl week food
I’ve heard more than a few people say that Ian McNulty has the greatest local journalism job in America. I am inclined to agree.
McNulty is the go-to food writer for NOLA.com, the New Orleans Advocate, the Times-Picayune, and Gambit, which have all merged into one big news gumbo down here in the Big Easy. He has a salary and an expense account for eating out in New Orleans year-round. Nice work if you can get it.
And he knows his stuff. McNulty moved from Rhode Island to New Orleans in 1999 and never left. He lived through Hurricane Katrina, covered the hospitality industry’s recovery afterwards, talks about the city’s food every week on a local radio station, and has written a couple of books about New Orleans and Louisiana. He has a solid Instagram follow, too.
I met up with McNulty on Tuesday at Liuzza’s by the Track for an early dinner of po’boys, gumbo, beers and barbecue shrimp. Among other things, I wanted to shake some New Orleans food recommendations out of him. For me, but also for Kansas City readers who might be in town for the Super Bowl this week.
He delivered. Here’s what McNulty told me, broken down by category.
Po’boys
These sandwiches served on New Orleans French bread are a hallmark of the city. He is fond of the one at Liuzza’s by the Track, the corner bar in Mid-City where we met. He also likes Parkway Bakery and Tavern in Mid-City.
“Liuzza’s is a bar, and it has more of a mom-and-pop feel, which I love,” McNulty said. “Parkway Tavern is bigger and does tons of business, and it’s pretty much 100% po’boys. So, it doesn’t have that tiny feel to it. But it’s just so consistent and delivers excellent po’boys all day long.”
King cakes
This seasonal delicacy — it’s only supposed to be served between Jan. 6 and Mardi Gras Day on March 4 — can be found in endless variations. Generally speaking, king cakes are part cinnamon roll, part coffee cake, and usually iced with the Mardi Gras colors of purple, green and gold.
McNulty likes the one at Tartine, in Uptown.
“There are super old-school traditional king cakes, which are sort of unadorned, plain cinnamon roll type of things that you can dunk in your coffee,” he said. “And then there are all these super creative ones that go all over the place. The one at Tartine threads that needle to me. It follows the classic format but takes it to another level where it’s so dense, moist, and just loaded with pounds of cinnamon cream cheese.”
Gumbo
“Gumbo is often used as a cliche or metaphor for New Orleans: As a people, we’re a gumbo, a blend of Black and white and Indian and Spanish and Italian and French,” McNulty said. “But in truth it really is the dish of New Orleans. It’s the defining dish, and the one everybody cooks. For holidays, for Mother’s Day, in the summer, in the winter.”
The best gumbo, he said, is always at somebody’s home. Short of that, he likes what they serve at Liuzza’s; Lil’ Dizzy’s Cafe in the Treme; Brigtsen’s, a white-tablecloth restaurant in Uptown; and Willie Mae’s Scotch House, which is otherwise known for its fried chicken.
“Willie Mae’s just added gumbo to their menu from an old family recipe, and it’s lights-out good,” McNulty said. “It just goes to show you that a new gumbo can come along and really move the needle in this town.”
Old-school fine-dining
The grand, old-school French Quarter restaurants that have been around for more than 100 years — Antoine’s, Galatoire’s, Arnaud’s — still occupy a really important spot in the New Orleans culinary scene, McNulty said.
“They are these kind of time capsules that are famously unchanging, and they’re sometimes criticized for that,” he said. “But a lot of tradition lives there, especially during Mardi Gras and carnival season. They’re almost like part restaurant, part event space, part stage for New Orleans customs to play out. They don’t function the way your neighborhood bistro or upscale chef-driven restaurant does.”
One classic French Quarter restaurant that has evolved is Brennan’s, McNulty said.
“It’s got all the stuff you’ve been promised about New Orleans dining: huge courtyard, waiters wheeling food up to your table, the whole experience, but they’re pursuing a very 21st century Creole cuisine there, as opposed to maintaining exactly what has always been done.”
Modern high-end restaurants
McNulty is a fan of Mamou, a French restaurant that opened a few years ago on the edge of the French Quarter on Rampart Street.
“If New Orleans spent a little more time as a French colony, this is what Creole cuisine would taste like,” he said. “You’re definitely still in New Orleans here, but it veers more French.”
Coquette, on Magazine Street in the Garden District, has a seasonal Southern menu McNulty likes. “It’s been around 15 years but still feels very modern,” he said.
Palm & Pine, also on Rampart Street in the French Quarter, is a “casual, modern New Orleans restaurant that feels very tied to the Gulf Coast and what comes here,” McNulty said. “It’s a very next-generation look at Louisiana food.”
For big spenders, there’s the famed Emeril’s in the Warehouse District.
“It’s changed a lot in the past few years,” McNulty said. “The son is in charge now, and he’s been steering things toward a Michelin Star experience: tasting menu, fewer seats. It’s a phenomenal experience, but it’s an all-night type of thing.” Tip: the bar is accessible and has a food menu, if you’re interested in a taste of Emeril’s but don’t have $400 to drop on dinner.
Dive bars
I dared to make a few New Orleans dive-bar recommendations in a story I wrote before arriving here this week.
So I was pleased when McNulty, without prompting, co-signed on one a few of them: Pal’s Lounge in Mid-City.
He also mentioned Corporation Bar and Grill in the Warehouse District. “It’s not especially grungy, just a no-nonsense place that serves staff from the convention center, which is nearby,” he said.
Also on his list: Parkview Tavern on Carrolton Avenue (which is not the same as Parkview Bakery and Tavern, the aforementioned po’boy spot) and Snake and Jake’s, a falling-down shack in Uptown near Tulane University and Loyola University New Orleans.
This story was originally published February 6, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
