One restaurant that is a must for me whenever I visit New Orleans is Mother’s. It is only 3 blocks from La Belle Maison, in the Warehouse District, and it is a very unpretentious cafeteria-style restaurant that in high tourist season often has 30-minute line-ups. It dates back to 1938. Click on the link above to see the history of this New Orleans institution.

It isn’t really a cafeteria, because you don’t select your food as you go down the line. You get your menu on the way in, go to the front counter, place your order, and wait while they fix it on the line or cook it to order in the kitchen. If you’re eating in, a server will bring your food to you, and there is a big sign in each room that says employees are not allowed to accept tips.

My favorite dish there is their Oyster Salad – about two dozen large and succulent oysters on a mountain of salad. I had eaten most of the oysters by the time Randy reminded me to take a picture. Another photo requirement on my next visit.

There’s a whole lot more that is very New Orleans – red beans and rice, gumbo, jambalaya, seafood anyway you want it, and a dozen different kinds of po’boys, including a house special – the Ferdi: ham, roast beef, the original debris, and au jus gravy. (Debris is the meat that lands in the gravy when theNew  roast is sliced.)

I guess this shows just how popular they are. But they are closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas, Easter Sunday, and – naturally – Mother’s Day.