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181 Articles
Knives move fast, timers count down in full view of the audience, plus the pressure in the room is thick enough to taste. The competition…
By Laura Benton · Jul 16, 2026
Louisiana
You would drive right past it if you did not know better. The building is unassuming, the sign…
By Laura Benton · Jul 15
Louisiana
The doors open at eight in the morning and by half past the dance floor is already packed…
By Laura Benton · Jul 15
Louisiana
Tucked above one of the French Quarter’s most storied dining rooms lies a collection that most visitors walk…
By Laura Benton · Jul 14
Louisiana
Every August, a warehouse arts district turns into the kind of street party that makes you forget the…
By Laura Benton · Jul 14
Louisiana
Baton Rouge does not try to outshine New Orleans because it knows its own kitchen speaks loudly enough.…
By Laura Benton · Jul 13
Louisiana
Getting there requires a bridge, a long stretch of highway that narrows to two lanes, plus the kind…
By Laura Benton · Jul 13
Louisiana
Louisiana does not need to compete with Texas on barbecue, but it does anyway, and the results speak…
By Laura Benton · Jul 12
Louisiana
Leaving the tourist district behind is where the real Louisiana plates live. They are sitting behind a gas…
By Laura Benton · Jul 12
Louisiana
Downward dog takes on a literal meaning when a kid the size of a sneaker decides your spine…
By Laura Benton · Jul 12
Louisiana
National rankings have a way of changing a restaurant, but a pizzeria in the Bywater neighborhood of New…
By Laura Benton · Jul 11
Louisiana
A restaurant that opens in a converted soap factory on a residential street in Central City has two…
By Laura Benton · Jul 11
Louisiana
Nobody leaves Philadelphia talking about a cheesesteak they had somewhere else, but a small counter on a residential…
By Laura Benton · Jul 10
Louisiana
Most plant shops make you in and out in twenty minutes. A garden center in Metairie operates on…
By Laura Benton · Jul 10
Louisiana
A half address on a narrow street in the French Quarter is the only clue that a shop…
By Laura Benton · Jul 9
Louisiana
Louisiana knows how to keep a carousel spinning, and the one inside City Park has been turning since…
By Laura Benton · Jul 9
Louisiana
Crossing the Causeway takes almost an hour, and by the time the shoreline appears, the city behind you…
By Laura Benton · Jul 8
Louisiana
City Park has a way of swallowing the noise of the city whole, and this garden inside it…
By Laura Benton · Jul 8
Louisiana
The buffet line stretches longer than you expect, and every tray holds something that was made in the…
By Laura Benton · Jul 8
Louisiana
Louisiana truly does not do ordinary restaurants well. The dining rooms here double as museums, the kitchens serve…
By Laura Benton · Jul 7
Louisiana
Downriver from New Orleans, the food changes tone without losing any confidence. The dining rooms become more local,…
By Laura Benton · Jul 7
Louisiana
Some restaurants serve food. Others serve a view that makes the food secondary. These thirteen Louisiana patios fall…
By Laura Benton · Jul 6
Louisiana
Walking through the front doors feels like stepping into a library that lost its catalog and decided to…
By Laura Benton · Jul 5
Louisiana
Cars line up along the highway before the doors open, which is saying something for a restaurant that…
By Laura Benton · Jul 4
Louisiana
Nobody believes the photos at first. A white sand beach, cabanas lining the shoreline, plus water so clear…
By Laura Benton · Jul 4
Louisiana
Biscuits do not typically justify a two-hour drive, but the ones coming out of this kitchen have convinced…
By Laura Benton · Jul 3
Louisiana
Road trips fall apart when the receipts start piling up, but Louisiana makes it difficult to overspend. The…
By Laura Benton · Jul 3
Louisiana
Plenty of pasta dishes arrive on a plate and leave on a plate. The gnocchi at this kitchen…
By Laura Benton · Jul 2
Louisiana
The sign outside says food store. The menu inside says wings. Everything else on the short list is…
By Laura Benton · Jul 2
Louisiana
Nobody arrives at this reservoir park on the Fourth of July without a plan. Some come early to…
By Laura Benton · Jul 1
Louisiana
Louisiana does not do fireworks halfway. The same state that turns Mardi Gras into a weeks-long spectacle brings…
By Laura Benton · Jul 1
Louisiana
The drive to this legendary restaurant feels like a proper Acadiana setup before dinner even begins. Rice fields,…
By Laura Benton · Jun 30
Louisiana
Rising 199 feet above the flat terrain where Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas converge at the river, this cross…
By Laura Benton · Jun 30
Louisiana
The display case tells the story before anyone behind the counter says a word. Cannoli lined up in…
By Laura Benton · Jun 29
Louisiana
A neighborhood where shotgun doubles outnumber high-rises seems like an unlikely place to find pizza that locals rank…
By Laura Benton · Jun 29
Louisiana
Sliding off the riverbank into water just cool enough to make July air feel manageable is how tubing…
By Laura Benton · Jun 28
Louisiana
Standing on a ridge that curves gently toward the sky, it takes a moment to register what you…
By Laura Benton · Jun 28
Louisiana
A butcher shop that opened when Grover Cleveland was president does not survive by accident. It survives because…
By Laura Benton · Jun 27
Louisiana
Thousands of books under one roof is not a metaphor or a rounding error. It is a literal…
By Laura Benton · Jun 27
Louisiana
Driving past the city line does something to your expectations. The signage gets smaller, the parking lots get…
By Laura Benton · Jun 26