What are the best ethnic restaurants in Baton Rouge? And by that, I mean partly what restaurant do you enjoy the most AND which restaurant is best at its genre.

Here's an example of what I mean. Generally, I like Viet food more than Indian, but I'd rank Bay Leaf No. 1 because it's a better Indian restaurant than any of the Viet places I've tried are in their genre.

Also, I know "ethnic food" is vague. I would generally say direct foreign origins. This would rule out things like Cajun food and soul food but I might be OK with Americanized Chinese or Italian (for those who want to vote for PF Changs or Olive Garden).

Anyway, here are some of my thoughts

1. Bay Leaf (Indian) - Had some Chicken Tikka Marsala there yesterday and dreamed up this thread while eating. I was thinking how it would probably be the best Indian in New Orleans too and that makes it unique among our ethnic restaurants.

2. La Reyna (Central American) - Really good paella and horchata got me hooked. Might be the most mom and pop place in town. Just make sure a Dora the Explorer ball doesn't get kicked into your paella (almost happened to us).

3. Albasha (Greek/Lebanese) - We have tons of these greek/lebanese places and this is my favorite. I just wish we had some other variety of middle eastern. There's a great Persian place in Omaha for those headed out there (Ahmad's in Old Market).

4. Duang Tuwan (Thai) - Sort of a secret place for those of us in the Sherwood/Coursey area, but we shouldn't be so selfish. We should preach its gospel because I don't know how the poor fella stays in business. I never see more than one or two vehicles parked there and usually one is that yellow FJ Cruiser the owner drives. It's been my favorite of the five local Thai places, though I admit living off Coursey, I haven't had much motivation to make multiple trips to Rama and/or Thai Kitchen.

5. Little Saigon (Viet) - Good, not great, Viet food. I've heard of other places that have better Pho I need to try. I wavered over which Viet place I liked more. There were times I liked Pho Quynh more and other times where I actually preferred the vermicelli bowls and Pho at Drunken Fish. But then I'd have a strong visit to Little Saigon and it would shoot back to the top. That I waver so much on it makes it drop down the list for me. I'd like to make a Viet restaurant No. 1 because I love me some Pho and vermicelli bowls.

6. Pocorello's (Italian): Good little Italian market kind of place. Love the roast beef po boy and it has some solid pasta.

7. India's (Indian with some Indo-Chinese): I LOVE the Hakka Noodles off the Indo-Chinese menu. I can order those once a week. They'll skimp on meat quality sometimes, which hurts their consistency and makes them a notch-and-a-half below Bay Leaf.

8. Ichiban (Japanese sushi/hibachi): I really struggle to rank this place because I am NOT a sushi connoisseur. In fact, I only recently (finally) developed a taste for it. We have a bazillion sushi joints in this town, most of them mediocre and generic like our Tex-Mex joints. Ichiban is pretty good though. I feel comfortable enough saying that to include it in my list.

Places that just missed the cut - Hunan (to me our best Chinese by far, but still just better-than-average typical Chinese), Dream Berrie (Pho's a bit bland, but it's a clean place, spring rolls are great and you can always add some Hoison and what-not to give the Pho a little more kick); Rama (I'd probably have a higher opinion of the place if I'd gone more to strengthen my appreciation); Chinese Combo King (only been there twice, but it's the best take-out in town); Viet Garden (seems like an upgrade); Himalayas (maybe it's good stuff, but I just struggle getting into that genre of food).

Notable places I haven't tried - Gino's (I hear it would be on my list if I'd give it a shot), Maison Lacour, Little Village ... I'm sure there are others. All AUTHENTIC Mexican restaurants. I simply have not given those a shot. I had one bad experience with a place on Jones Creek (El Limon) and have steered clear of the entire genre since.

One more note: No Tex-Mex. Too much "Tex" to call it ethnic. And none of it is good enough in this town anyway.

RIP to Ronnie's Ribs, which might have been on the list. Tasty Casian may have been an HM too.

This post was edited on 6/15/12 at 1:51 pm