re: Is food disappointing outside of La?

Louisiana food is great and unique and that's the biggest feature. Gumbo, etoufees, shrimp and grits, po' boys, jambalaya etc. Outside the state or the immediate gulf coast its hard to find places that actually do it well.

With that said, Louisiana itself absolutely lacks variety. Yes there places that do Thai, Italian and indian etc well and you can find them. But just like we enjoy the mom and pop shop that cooks our local cuisine, a lot of the bigger cities and other places have those places as well with different cuisines.