I was a broke grad student so can't speak much to restaurants, although I know my foodie friends have lots of favorites in New Orleans (I was in BR). I was just fortunate enough to make some local friends with cajun families, and the dinners I was invited to were always a flurry of new foods, spices, etc. I got to try new things I had never had before, like okra or catfish or pecan pie, and there was just a very strong food culture.

This was all very different from the more "corn on the cob & chicken nuggets eaten in front of the TV" USA I had known until then.