The Wonders of Willie Mae's in NOLA

Many visitors head to the French Quarter when they want to sample the famously flavorful New Orleans cuisine but I prefer to eat where the locals go. So I asked Zydeco star and foodie Sean Ardoin
for his recommendations and he insisted that Willie Mae's is the ultimate NOLA restaurant.

We rolled up to Willie Mae's restaurant in Treme and the long line of patient customers outside the spot demonstrated that Sean told no lies. We waited for about 35 minutes as a waitress came out to estimate how many tables could be filled every 20 minutes.

But once we were inside the historic restaurant that opened in 1957, we could see that the wait was worth it. There's a homey feel to Willie Mae's, like you're eating at your grandma's house. The food arrived quickly and the crunch and flavor of the fried chicken helped me understand why Sean called it the best in New Orleans. We shoveled in green beans, beans and rice and biscuits and my family, all of whom are rarely quiet, was really quiet as we concentrated on the feast.

Willie Mae's owner even won a prestigious James Beard Award for "America's Classic Restaurant for the Southern Region"  and the Travel Channel has declared the chicken as 'America's Best Fried Chicken." I didn't know all this before I visited  but it just goes to show you that it pays to go beyond the glitzy tourist hangouts to discover the real heart of a culture.