We're going through the different parts of Metro New Orleans, giving our top ten restaurants in each. As we've skipped through the neighborhoods, we've learned a little about the history of that place. Today, we visit Treme and the 7th Ward. Treme has become an internationally known name, thanks to the HBO television show of its namesake. The actual neighborhood is a tiny several square block enclave known as the first African American neighborhood in America. That title is a misnomer, as the neighborhood, after being subdivided from its plantation tract beginnings, was as diverse a neighborhood in America as we would see until the late 19th century. Many of the free black Creoles were refugees who came to New Orleans from Haiti to escape the slave rebellion there. The economy, language, and culture of New Orleans were nearly identical to that in Haiti, so the transition was not difficult. Many of these free black Creoles owned slaves themselves and were highly educated. This cultural dissonance has always been a divider between them and New Orleans African Americans who descended from Southern slaves. Some people called the area the Back o' Town, acknowledging that this area was behind the city, the French Quarter at that time. On the gentle descending slopes of the New Orleans topographic map, this land was cheaper and more prone to flooding. Like the Free State of Jefferson on Jefferson Highway after it, Treme, owing to its location away from the courts and police stations, became a paradise of vice. Storyville opened here, and with it, the birth of jazz and lots of venereal diseases. Music has always been at the heart of these neighborhoods. Even when slaves walked the streets of New Orleans, there was music here. On Sundays, slaves were given permission to congregate and play music at Congo Square, now Armstrong Park.

In the name of progress, the elevated Claiborne was built around 1970. This construction showed two things: first, that the African American community always would get railroaded by the politically powerful whites. Whites would never allow such an overpass through the heart of their neighborhood. Imagine an elevated St. Charles Ave. And second, that the neighborhood was already dying. Did the overpass kill the neighborhood or was it evidence of the neighborhood's death? That's a debate left to historians and urban planners. But before the overpass was made, well-to-do African Americans had already begun that perpetual move to suburbanization, moving to the back of the Back o'Town, the 7th Ward and Gentilly. It was during this time that the scourges of heroin and crack cocaine would ravage much of the life left there. Still, the area was known for its music, the vibrant parish of St. Augustine Catholic Church, and the Mardi Gras Indians meeting beneath the elevated expressway.

As a new millennium dawned, the neighborhood riverside of Claiborne received yet another infusion of immigrants, this time, mostly wealthy and liberal whites from the North. They saw the area as a cultural and architectural gemstone. This gentrification continues today, while much of the 7th Ward, on the other side of the expressway struggles to overcome the plague of drugs.

The food of this neighborhood is and, let us pray, will for a long time be defined by black Creole cuisine. Fast food restaurants have tried to invade the area, but have not been as successful as other similar areas. For purposes of this tour, the borders of these neighborhoods will be the Pontchartrain Express way to the southwest, Rampart St./St. Claude to the southeast, Elysian Fields to the east, Broad Street to the west, and I-610 to the north (understanding that Sammy's Deli is considered part of Gentilly).

Top Ten Restaurants by NOLA Metro neighborhood:
Kenner
Metairie
Lakeview
Gentilly
River Ridge & Harahan
Carrollton
Mid-City
Old Metairie & Old Jefferson

As with all lists, you are invited, even encouraged to formulate your own list and critique this list.

10) Espe's Kitchen - It's nothing fancy and won't appeal to many who like fads like gourmet burgers, yogurt, or wasabi in their soy sauce. However, if you enjoy a good, simple, homestyle breakfast, I challenge you find one more like your mama's for cheaper.

9) Los Portales - This restaurant may be the one of the strangest in the city. It doesn't fit in the neighborhood at all and if you can get more than ten words of English, good for you. I've eaten here but once, got the tacos, and thought it was great. Look at the 7th Ward going international.

8) Danny's Seafood - It's not the best boiled seafood in the town, maybe not even top ten, but I like it more than the place on Broad and the new place on Carrollton and Bienville. It's very authentic to the tastes of the neighborhood.

7) Buttermilk Drop Bakery - When rating the best donut shops in NOLA, I had yet to eat here. My loss. I have corrected that and Buttermilk Drop may have the best donuts in NOLA. Their Creole food is really good too, so don't count them out for lunch if you can find them.

6) Dooky Chase - Apparently it was fantastic, before my time, and when they really try. But it doesn't seem like they've tried when I've gone. It's been adequate, but hardly worth the price. If you can call a place like Fenway Park or the Golden Gate Bridge a tourist trap, you could call this place one as well.

5) Coco Hut - I don't think I've heard this place mentioned once on the forum. A shame. They have the best Jamaican BBQ in town. Great value as well.

4) Willie Mae's Scotch House - After its Katrina story hit the news, this place became so talked-up they'd have had to serve chicken fried in gold and narcotics to live up to its reputation. Of course, it doesn't. The food is excellent, without a question, but the line and service can make it an unappealing experience.

3) Lil Dizzy's - I might be willing to give it the title of NOLA's quintessential black Creole restaurant. The two favorites everyone raves about are the stuffed bell peppers and gumbo. You never know who you'll find there.

2) Crescent City Steak House - I've heard it said that Ruth Fertel essentially recreated Crescent City Steak House and then commercialized it. There are many similarities. The steaks still are good, the menu elegantly simple, and the service attentive. It easily could be #1 on most lists.

1) McHardy's Chicken - It may be a surprise, but I have never had better fried chicken. It's only to-go, but City Park and Bayou St. John are nearby. Part of becoming a best restaurant on this list is value for money, because anyone can make great food if money is no matter. McHardy's may offer the best value per bite of any restaurant in the Metro.