cheap eats:
crabby jack's (jefferson)
casamento's
central grocery
tower of pizza (metairie)
morning call (metairie)
plum street snoballs
GB's
betsy's pancake house
liuzza's on bienville
five happiness

i agree that taqueros-coyoacan is very good, but too authentic for most people, with servings that are more delicate and not smothered in cheese and sour cream. i have never understood the fascination with santa fe - the food is just not that good. taqueria corona isnt my favorite, either, unless you are a BIG fan of cheese. juan's flying burrito is ok, but nothing to write home about. mexican is just not that great around here.

bourbon house on bourbon street is excellent for BBQ shrimp. also like the BBQ shrimp at grillot's in mandeville, but the service is pretty slow.

definitely mosca's near avondale, but call for a reservation. sal and judy's in lacombe, also call first. dont care for la provence, doesnt compare to real french food. also on the northshore, dakota and longbranch. mary mahoney's in biloxi is popular.

i have never been to pizza gourmet, but my absolute favorite, hands down, is tower of pizza on veterans between causeway and bonnabel. order a plain cheese and an italian salad for two - you wont be disappointed!

my favorite is haydel's also. on the northshore, try krummel's mandeville bake shop. almost as good as haydel's. by the way, goodchildren's relocated to covington after katrina under the name nonna randazzo's because of a legal dispute. same owners, same recipe.

Best Breakfast - betsy's pancake house on canal st. pretty basic but classic new orleans. also try elizabeth's in the bywater, bluebird cafe on prytania.
Best Brunch (Jazz) - people seem to like commander's a lot. i dont brunch much.
Po' Boy (where and what kind) - crabby jack's is amazing. my husband loves the smothered duck. also, anything fried, and the fried green tomato and remoulade po-boy is cool. get the oyster loaf at casamento's. debris at mother's. fried shrimp at domilese's.
Muffaletta - central grocery. its the ONLY muffaletta.
Gumbo - i like gumbo shop, as trite as that sounds.
Dinner Spot - Old School and Newcomers - love jacques-imo's, clancy's, brightsen's, mosca's, irene's, drago's, dick and jenny's, bayona, morton's.
Dessert - bananas foster at brennans, chocolate souffle at morton's, banana cream pie thing at emeril's, white chocolate bread pudding wherever you can find it, gelato at angelo brocato's, snoball at plum st. snoballs, beignets at morning call (preferred) or cafe du monde.
Cocktail Purveyor - columns hotel (bloody mary), napoleon house (pimm's cup), pat o's (hurricane), lafitte's blacksmith shop (ambiance), cooter brown's (beers of the world).
Place not to miss (no matter what!) - jacques imo's

mandina's is now open on the northshore in mandeville, though i have heard the canal street location will be reopening in the next few months. went to the one in mandeville last week and thought it was as good as ever. place looks a lot different, newer, than canal st., so that's kind of weird. but it's worth the trip if you are craving.

get the oyster loaf at casamento's. you would have to take the magazine st. bus to get there, however, but its the best oyster place in town. i also like the shrimp po-boys at mothers, and i am local.

i think the most popular and common chocolate mint candy are frango's, available at marshall fields. they look all chocolate but have mint whipped into the inside. the store also has a huge chocolate department with all kind of fancy candies in the basement.

i agree. piece is the closest you will come. i lived in chicago for three years and my new york-native husband and i tried like hell to find good pizza. we were never very happy with the choices, although we liked a place called bricks on north lincoln.

we ate at topolobampo recently and were told it would be a 2 to 2 1/2 hour wait (friday night about 8:30). they seemed surprised when we said we would wait. then, we had a table in about 1 hour, 15 minutes. i think they use that inflated timeframe to discourage some people from waiting.

just got back from paris and went to a few places with good food but still relatively inexpensive. i highly recommend sandra gustafson's great eats paris book, in which she lists restaurants at all prices, including cheap eats. we loved a cool little restaurant called polidor in the 6th, not too far from the odeon metro stop. the patrons share long tables and it's kind of rustic, always crowded and very lively. food is not fancy but tastes really good. i had a wonderful chicken breast in a pureed mushroom sauce with rice for about 10-12 euros. in the marais neighborhood, you should try l'as du falafel for lunch and go to sacha finkelstajzn (?) across the street for a great dessert for a total of less than 10 euros. you will know l'as when you get there because there will be a huge line out front. and if you havent heard of berthillon ice cream yet, be sure to stop by the shop on ile st. louis. really delicious ice cream, though the portions are pretty small.