Something I like to do when I visit a city, is find out what they are famous for and then try all the local recommendations to find the best one for myself. For instance, in Cincinnati I did Cincinnati-Style chili and in Baltimore I did Marland-Stlye crab cakes.

So when I recently visited New Orleans I figured I would find out who had the best seafood gumbo in the French Quarter. I posted on Facebook to hear others favorites and then mapped them out and off I went. Here is a breakdown of what I discovered in order from good to the best from my taste test. And I only room for 5 bowls in me :)

• Stanley: Dark Roux kinda watery good mix of seafood. B
• Mr. B’s Bistro: Classic dark, thick roux, could use more seafood in it, the flavor was bold, but not as complex as I like it. B+
• Coop’s Place: (as a note, be ready to wait in line outside, even for bar seats.) The atmosphere was fun, and the gumbo looked perfect. Dark roux, but a tad thin, but good chunks of various seafood Needed just a little more umph to get an A. A-
• Lebayou Oyster Bar: Dark mustard color Roux. Lots of crab meat. Kinda thick. Big strong flavors! A
• Royal House Oyster Bar: Dark Roux, thick, big complex flavor. Perfection. This was also a top pick by Southern Living Magazine A+

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