re: Where would you rank New Orleans for dining in the U.S.?

There are good higher end restaurants in New Orleans and it can be difficult to distinguish the best of different cities. The strength of New Orleans restaurants aren't the high end places specifically but the how good the city is top to bottom. Stuff like Katie's, High Hat, Toups Meatery, Matt and Naddies, Boucherie, etc that would be highly celebrated restaurants in other cities but in New Orleans are "mere" well respected neighborhood places that don't attract a lot of tourists.