Had a couple of days in New Orleans with Mrs S between Xmas and NY. First time there, but loved it. Have visited a lot of the US over the years, but think this town has to have consistently the best food in the country.
Despite only being there a couple of days we managed to do:
Herbsaint for dinner. Excellent cooking, nice space, good service - probably the highlight for us.
Coquette for lunch. The smoked catfish was fantastic. We also had a small plate of carrots that were incredible (and yes, I never though that I'd be saying that about carrots). I somewhat stupidly had a burger which was fine, but probably doesn't really highlight what they do best.
Patois for dinner. Food was good, but service a little patchy. I know Americans are in general happy to be rushed through a meal, but this was way too fast and completely unecessary as there was no further sitting for our table. E.g. we ordered a half bottle of champagne as an aperitif and had barely started sipping it before the first course arrived. When we asked the waitress to slow down, she became a little snippy with us which spoiled the experience a little.
Le Petit Grocer for lunch. Worth it for the blue crab beignets alone.
Only disappointment for me was Cafe Du Monde. Coffee was terrible, the beignets so-so (and yes I know I'm likely to get scorned for saying that), and saw no reason to queue for half an hour or more.
All-in-all, though loved eating there and will definitely be going back.