Installment #33 in Monolisticle's Ongoing Campaign Against the "Internet of Endless Listicles."
There are more famous restaurants in New Orleans.
There are older restaurants in New Orleans.
And there are fancier (and more expensive) restaurants in New Orleans.
But you will not find a better restaurant than The Gumbo Shop.
If, like me, it's all about the food for you, and you couldn't care less about hype or how many celebrity chefs and foodie influencers have raved about it, then this is the place to eat. There are a few highly-celebrated New Orleans restaurants I wish I had taken a pass on and had gone to The Gumbo Shop instead to eat that same dish.
The Gumbo Shop is best known for its delectably okra-thickened concoctions of shellfish, stock, and the "holy trinity" of celery, bell peppers and onions: gumbo. But everything on their menu is world-class. Their non-gumbo dishes don’t get the attention they deserve because, marketing-wise, they've clearly gone all-in on gumbo. Which is not a bad thing to go all-in on.
However, it’s not a big leap to assume that the restaurant that New Orleans locals claim makes the city's best gumbo (the most quintessential of all creole dishes) might also do a pretty decent job with other creole dishes as well. Just sayin'.
Equally superb highlights of their menu: Jambalaya. Red Beans and Rice. Crawfish Etoufée. Blackened Catfish. Chicken Espagnole. Po Boys. Smothered Turnip Greens. Creamed Spinach. Macque Choux Corn.
And for dessert? Wait for it, wait for it...
...Warm Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce.
Drop the spatula.
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