If you only have one night to dine in New Orleans, go to De Ville Bistro.    In the neighborhood community of Metairie, only 15 or 20 minutes from the French Quarter, there is a jewel of a bistro. Small, quiet, unpretentious, and open only for dinner Monday through Saturday, DeVille Bistro is worth flying to New Orleans to experience.             Owner-Chef Christy Fisher is uniquely talented and one of my favorite chefs. She manages to cook everything to perfection at the two-year-old bistro. At 28, she qualified as one of the best young chefs in America and still deserves the title. Dedicated and serious about her food, she is a marvel. I’ve eaten everything on the menu at least twice and have always found it to be flawless. Christy is unusually gifted. Her sauces have just the right touch—neither too heavy or light, but complementary and of proper consistency in all respects. The carefully selected ingredients have a harmony a symphony would envy. Items on the plate are balanced and in accord, with the appropriate enhancement to accentuate the well-melded flavors and textures.             There are 20 tables (only 75 seats) at DeVille Bistro and Christy and her husband Brian run the establishment. One wall has been illustrated by a would-be Toulouse Lautrec—lively enough to be convincing.      Chef Fisher calls her cooking Contemporary French. I call it fabulous.          She prepared a degustation of the first order for our dining party. It included Shrimp and Squash Tempura on Risotto with Beets and Onions; Gnocchi, Fennel and Arugula with Duck Confit on Mustard Greens; Escargots and Shallots with Thyme and Tomato on Garlic Crhme Brulei; Sautied Fois Gras on Savory Bread Pudding with Sweetbread Sauce; Duck—slow roasted three hours, boned and rubbed with five spices, pressed and recooked; Speckled Trout Sautied in Brown Butter with Jumbo Lump Crabmeat, and Filet Mignon Stuffed with Roquefort and Pan-Seared in Bordeliase. I’ve never had better.           The wine list offers about 60 selections of mostly California and French wines—including nine sparkling wines and 16 wines by the glass.

        Most cities, no doubt, have a mix of sleazy and reprehensible establishments. New Orleans has a concentration of them in the French Quarter. Locals never venture near them. Nonetheless, theyre unavoidable when located next to restaurants--Galatoire’s is one. So dash to the restaurant’s front doors, ignoring the surrounding businesses, and you’ll be rewarded once inside.        Some dining occasions are events, like Friday luncheon at Galatoire’s. It’s a local tradition.       The first come, first served policy is still part of the Friday tradition—no exceptions--and desirous diners wait patiently and jovially in line for their table.      Similar to a modern replay of the scene at Maxim’s in "Gigi," Friday at Galatoire’s finds the local cognoscenti table hopping, chatting and laughing with friends of long standing. Some stay through dinner.      "We’re history," says John Fontenot, a waiter for 30 years. "Jean Galatoire bought the old Victor’s Restaurant, established here in 1830. Jean’s three nephews moved from France to join him and bought the restaurant from him in 1919. They represent the Creoles—colonial children of their European ancestors. Gabriel, who never married, maintained an opulent residence on the third floor until his death in 1945.  His two brothers, Leon and Justin, had children who took over. Today, David Gooch (grandson of Leon) and Justin Frey (grandson of Justin) manage Galatoire’s."        Fifth-generation children now enjoy their first grown-up meal at the Bourbon Street food emporium like their parents and grandparents before them. Many come annually to celebrate another year. A resounding birthday song from staff members and guests accompanies a candle atop the Cup Custard Maison for the birthday boy or girl, man or woman. The singing entourage frequently congests waiters who must juggle plates and drinks along the two narrow rows that separate tables, but it’s acknowledged as de rigueur. Locals, invariably better dressed than tourists, can be depicted—especially on birthdays.       Until 1992, credit cards were not accepted. Regulars have accounts and sit at the same tables so their drinks await them when their turn comes to be seated.  Menus aren’t necessary either--their waiters know their preferred selections.         The dicor might have been staged for "Gigi" as well. Tulip-shaped-glass cups cover light bulbs in fixtures that once burned gas. Waiters in black tuxedoes drape a white linen towel over their arm. Silently inconspicuous, ceiling fans have a wafting lull that shares delicious aromas. The no-nonsense tile floor and plain wooden chairs for the cozy 120 seat restaurant invite a friendly repartee.     French Creole food is also a tradition, having remained reliable and true to patrons’ demands. Even the cooks are apprenticed from family members of previous cooks who teach Galatoire’s art in the restaurant kitchen. There is respect for the tried and true—Shrimp Rimoulade, Oysters en Brochette, Potatoes Souffli, Crabmeat Maison, Chicken Financihre, Shrimp Clemenceau, Trout Meunihre, Cafi Br{lot (tableside fanfare with a silver bowl)--with no diversion from such impertinences as pasta dishes or blackened meats and the sort.        A very adequate wine list offers 23 French wines, 36 American wines and 16 American wines by the glass.

        Broussard’s also presents classic Creole cuisine. Although christened in a time of great restaurants—Arnaud’s, Antoine’s, Galatoire’s--the 78-year-old Broussard’s suffered kitchen neglect for several years, so guests ignored it too. However, well-respected restaurateurs Gunter and Evelyn Pruess became sole proprietors in 1993 and have restored Broussard’s as a venerable dining institution--working diligently to re-establish its elegance and fine cuisine. They have succeeded. Now multiple awards and newly earned admiration from food critics has New Orleanians returning to its tables.      Broussard’s historic setting is located next to the Hermann-Grimma/Gallier Historic Houses and was once part of them. It seems namesake Joseph Broussard, a Louisiana Creole who trained in Paris as a chef, opened the restaurant in 1920 in part of his wife’s childhood home. Of the three major dining rooms, the oldest one previously was the Hermann-Grimma stable (the Magnolia Room) and the other was a laundry room (the Josephine Room). Beautifully appointed, only history records such prior uses. The renovation has added the word handsome to the dicor and the patio has been described as the loveliest in the French Quarter. Open nightly, many enjoy a beverage at the piano bar and the tropical garden view. It is a luxurious dining experience of food and place.        In an era of larger-than-life restaurant owners such as Count Arnaud and Antoine Alciatore, "Papa" Joe Broussard still stood out. A small fiery man of imperial temperament, he possessed equally imperial standards. If a dish failed his expectations, he hurled it out the kitchen door, where it often landed at the feet of startled pedestrians. If diners complained about his food, he tore up their checks and escorted them out of the restaurant. Perhaps his most peculiar quirk was an obsession with Napoleon Bonaparte. He had his hero’s statue placed in the courtyard (which he named Napoleon Patio) and ordered his waiters to gather round the statue to sing the "Marseillaise" each time a customer ordered Napoleon brandy.        Just like other noteworthy restaurants, Broussard’s has its specialties: Sweet Potato, Corn and Shrimp Bisque, Veal Broussard, Crab Cheesecake Imperial, Oyster Trio, Pecan Stuffed Salmon de la Salle, Pompano Napoleon, Delice Rravigote and Bananas Foster.     The 12-page wine list includes entries from America, France, Italy, Germany, Australia and South Africa.

           For the weekend, diners look forward to Sunday Jazz Brunches, which abound throughout New Orleans. The number one destination, however, is Commanders Palace.         Spiffily-dressed brunchers, lively jazz and multi-colored balloons brighten the fancies of an international crowd at Commander’s Sunday Jazz Brunch. Nestled in the Garden District, the area locates where the first Americans settled in New Orleans after the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. The Garden District reflects an exciting and prosperous period for New Orleans when steamboat commerce and up-river plantations made New Orleans its most affluent. The Americans, shunned at first by the Creoles living in the French Quarter (Vieux Carri), developed their own lavish community, creating lush flowering gardens around elegant homes built in an unusual mixture of Spanish, French, English and Greek Revival architectural styles. In the 1880s, Emile Commander established the only restaurant patronized by the distinguished neighborhood families. By 1900, Commander’s was attracting gourmets from all over the world, but new ownership attracted new clientele in the 1920s.        Typical of the Roaring ‘20s, a different management earned a spicier reputation. Riverboat captains became frequent visitors and sporting gentlemen met beautifully enticing women for a rendezvous in the private dining rooms upstairs. The main dining room downstairs (which had a separate entrance), however, maintained impeccable respectability for families and after church diners.       Elinor and Frank Moran bought the restaurant in 1944, refurbished it and carried on its tradition of excellence with an expanded menu. Many of these recipes are still used. Thirty years later, the Brennan family (Ella, Dottie, Dick and John) took over the restaurant. In 1974 they gave the old landmark a new look, enhancing and complementing the outdoor garden setting. Glass walls replaced solid ones, trellises were handcrafted for the garden rooms and appropriate paintings were commissioned. Particular attention was given to the kitchen and the dishes created. Today, Lally Brennan is one of eight, third-generation Brennans involved in the restaurant industry. She joined Commander’s in 1982 as managing partner.         "Every dish we serve, whether it’s a meat, seafood, vegetables or dessert, is as fresh as the closest seashore, garden or local producers can grow it," she says.        The old turquoise Victorian house has multiple rooms for the diners.  The "Traditional Jazz Brunch" begins with a Bloody Mary—a home blend of horseradish, housemade Worcestershire, Commander’s pepper sauce and a vegetable juice blend, topped with a pickled vegetable in frozen vodka. Now you’re awake! "Eggs Sardou"—poached egg on creamed spinach and a fresh artichoke bottom topped with Hollandaise sauce—comes next and is followed by "Roasted Mississippi Quail" and "Creole Bread Pudding Souffli." Let the music play on!          Chef Jamie Shannon helped the restaurant earn its 1996 James Beard Foundation Outstanding Restaurant Award. Subsequently, it received the 1996 Reader’s Choice Awards # One City Restaurant from Southern Living Magazine and the 1997 Reader’s Choice Award, and Most Popular Restaurant in America, Food & Wine Magazine for two years in a row.

        Across the city of New Orleans there are restaurants that make excellent creations.  The Grill Room at the Windsor Court Hotel is equal to every culinary  task. Both the hotel and dining room have the grace and cultural refinement that international travelers appreciate. Furnished and decorated in a traditional British style, the decor is complemented by a European collection of 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th century arts and antiques, which includes works by Reynolds, Gainsborough and Huysman--many depict Windsor Castle or life of the Royal Family.       The Grill Room has received every prestigious award and esteemed recognition from culinary circles of the highest regard. They include the American Automobile Association's five Diamond award for fine dining, a Mobil 5 Star restaurant rating, and being listed as a top restaurant in the U.S. by Food and Wine Magazine, Zagat Restaurant Survey and as the # One restaurant in New Orleans by Gourmet Magazine. And the list goes on and on.        While visually stunning, The Grill Room pleases the palate even more than the eye. Everything is so tempting that diners are pleased to have the Chef’s Tasters Menu which offers an opportunity to try several items. In a city known for spectacular food, The Grill Room is recognized for a special brand of cuisine described as "New Orleans Grande Cuisine." Executive Chef Reni Bajeux was elected by his peers as a prestigious Master Chef of France, one of only fifty in America. He explains his cuisine.        "My chefs and I create a diverse style of food that pairs century-old methods and techniques with non-traditional ingredients," he says. "I was born in Alsace but my menu is a cross-cultural one--French, Asian and contemporary American--with an emphasis on fresh and seasonal ingredients. It’s a special blend of traditional southern and contemporary international influences. The intensity of the cooking here is incredible, but New Orleans treats their chefs like kings. "      The menu offers Chef Bajeux's world-famous Tuna Encrusted with Herbs, Ratatouille, Risotto Saffron Aioli, and truffle Jus--just one of his mouth-watering preparations. Others are the Bamboo-Steamed Halibut and Rice Stick Noodles, Lemon Grass Shiitake Jus; Corn-Fried Soft Shell Crabs (in season) and Smoked Tomato Compote, Horseradish Beurre Blanc; Grilled Pork Chop, Appaloosa Beans and Jalapeqo Cornbread, and Venison Tenderloin with Black Barley Flan and Blossom Squash.         The Grill Room wine cellar is one of the finest in the United States. There are 1,100 wines on the list, 25 served by the glass and a 10,000-bottle cellar. France is the main concentration with an extensive collection of Bordeaux. California wines also make up a large part of the 28-page list.

        International House, a newly renovated hotel of distinction, is home to Lemon Grass. Its story is amazing. Owner-Chef Minh Bui arrived on a refugee boat from Vietnam and tells an incredible rags-to-riches narrative.           "I couldn’t speak English when I arrived here," Bui says. "I enrolled in a two-year, community college program and worked in a Chinese restaurant to pay expenses. After one year, I moved from dishwasher, to busboy, then to salads—but I saw waiters made more money so I became a waiter—moving to Commander’s, The Grill Room and others. But I really wanted to cook. I never had," he explains, "but I missed things my parents cooked in their restaurant in Saigon. After watching chefs in these respected restaurants, I cooked and experimented at home. I dreamed of owning my own place, but I didn’t know what I was getting into when I got a loan from a bank in August 1995—only in America could such opportunities happen. I did everything myself," he smiles. "I renovated used equipment and then sold it to buy what I needed. I went to a hardware store for material to build the tables. I bought some used chairs. Then I opened a little cafi in February 1996. Lemon Grass grows everywhere in Vietnam and is included in a lot of our foods. So I named my restaurant Lemon Grass and just opened it, without any advertisement or other notice. I had one waiter and two cooks to help me. The first day, a Thursday, I had 25 diners—and I had never cooked for more than 10. Friday I had 50 people and Saturday I had 90. I was so exhausted on Sunday that I closed and didn’t reopen until Tuesday. Moving to the new location in the International House is another dream come true."      Bui’s fiancie, Chef de Cuisine Cynthia Vutran, is also from Vietnam. They take turns in the kitchen and agree on the simple, straightforward foods they prepare. Too many American Asian restaurants blur dishes with sweet and sour extremes that over-react and detract. Fortunately, Bui and Vutran uphold the fresh, crisp, nutritious fare personified in their splendidly balanced French-Vietnamese cooking. The Spring Roll combines minced chicken, jicama and woodear mushrooms with minced carrots and onions. Scallops—sweet and succulent--are pan-seared and served with grilled eggplant. The Crab Cakes come with petit wonton and sweet-Creole mustard chili coulis. Oysters, perfectly prepared, are flash fried with crusted nuts and served in shell with wasabi leek confit. The Viet Bird Nest is filled with sautied shrimp and scallops with fresh shiitake and organic veggies, to name just a few of the delightful dishes.       The wine lists 60, mostly California wines--a nice selection modestly priced.

        Another Uptown favorite is Upperline—named for its street location. Owner JoAnn Clevenger is pleased that her restaurant gets so much good press and happily quotes some of her favorite lines.         "We’ve had amazing press," she says. "I’m delighted to quote the accolades--‘If you can eat at only one fine restaurant in New Orleans, make it the Upperline,’ was printed in Southern Living/Travel South. Another favorite was reported in Gault Millau: ‘Upperline straddles the cutting edge of contemporary New Orleans cooking, embracing whatever influences happen to fuse with its basically Creole sensibilities.’ I could go on and on," the proprietor smiles.        This trendy Uptown bistro is credited as one of the most influential restaurants in New Orleans. The setting is among the several rooms of an 1877 yellow wooden townhouse decorated with plentiful selections of New Orleans' most eclectic paintings. Considered an oasis of Southern charm, Upperline melds Creole tradition with contemporary freshness. It offers a friendly, delicious taste into the world of New Orleans Creole cuisine, culture, and art.         The local newspaper restaurant critic, Craig LaBan, named two Upperline dishes among the top 15 dishes in New Orleans for 1997. For starters, he selected the Duck Confit—"tender duck legs...perfectly crisp, irresistibly salty, and simply excellent next to glazed turnips and a sweet blackberry port jam." And as a main course, LaBan praised the Braised Lamb Shank—"a tribute to the virtues of slow cooking, it’s set onto a creamy saffron risotto, the sinewy meat remarkably tender after four hours of braising in red wine. And, added with subtle hand, gremolata--a fine dusting of minced raw garlic, lemon zest and parsley--brings nuances from the lamb's deep flavors like a shaft of light. To try some of the best of New Orleans, come by the Upperline."         The appetizers include Clevenger’s original Fried Green Tomatoes with Shrimp Remoulade; a soup made from roasted garlic--a little cream and some basil-tinged crostini, and Crawfish Cakes with garlic butter. Selections also include an excellent Crispy Soft-Shell Crab with Crawfish Mirliton Hash, and a Bronzed Catfish with Crawfish Dynamite.        Upperline offers a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence wine list at affordable prices. Among the 18 sparking wines, Mumm Cuvie Napa is the lowest priced at $24 while the 1990 Dom Perignon is $150. There are 40 white wines—lowest priced is 1997 Murphy-Goode Fumi Blanc Alexander Valley $25 and highest is 1995 Chalk Hill Estate Chardonnay, $68. For the 60 red wines listed, the 1996 Norton Malbec, Mendoza is $18.50, and the high-end priced red is 1990 Cos d’Estournel Grand Cru for $210.

        Bayona Chef Susan Spicer has become somewhat of a legend in her own time. In a town frequently in love with its own food and style, Spicer is quietly different. Refreshing also comes to mind. There are no pyramids of stacked items that tumble at the sight of a fork or unrestrained splashes and dashes all over her plates. She concentrates on cooking and believes, modestly, that she has an instinct for putting together flavors. She attributes it to being adventurous as a young adult, and perhaps, traveling during childhood.       Coming from a military family, the youngest of seven children, she moved often and always enjoyed watching her mother cook something delicious from whatever local ingredients were available. The skill seems to have imprinted.       "It’s a talent I’d like to think I inherited," she smiles.             Inherited or not, the talent is there. Her cuisine, neither Creole nor Cajun, has guests clamoring for it. The honest and uncluttered, nicely balanced presentations are enticing. There’s her Sautied Salmon with Choucroute and Gew|rztraminer Sauce; Seared Sea Scallops and Sesame Aioli Pasta; Layered Crayfish and Spinach Crepe; Goat Cheese Crouton with Mushrooms in Madeira Cream; Pecan Roulade with Praline Cream (dessert) and the ever in demand Cream of Garlic Soup. Her popular French Quarter restaurant often takes reservations weeks in advance.    "I call my food contemporary global," she decides. "I think our style of cuisine is considered adventurous for New Orleans. It’s an eclectic mix in a town that’s known for its strong regional cuisine. I’ve always had to work hard to achieve what I want and technique is one thing I’ll always work on. I never want to stop growing."     Spicer seems to recall lack of successes more easily than her culinary expertise. She says she failed as a cocktail waitress, a secretary, and even lacked enough confidence early on in her cooking career to accept a position as chef. Instead, she went back to France to study, learning every station in the kitchen. When she returned to New Orleans in 1986, she was the opening chef for the Bistro at Maison de Ville hotel. Her food received resounding applause and it continued until she left to open Bayona in 1990.           The reluctant culinary star, whose awards include James Beard Award for Best Chef in Southwest, Robert Mondavi Culinary Award of Excellence, Ivy Award, Gourmet Magazine’s Number One Reader’s Choice, DiRoNa (Distinguished Restaurants of North America) and others, has been recognized constantly. She gives credit to her fellow staff members.        "It’s all about teamwork," Spicer says. "It’s nice to be the one who gets recognition, but you’re only as good as the weakest link. You can only come up with so many ideas by yourself. It’s important to know how much you depend on your staff—both the front and back of the house."      The name Bayona refers to a street during the Spanish period and to the 200-year-old Creole Cottage that occupies the space. The main dining area has three attractive rooms, slightly different in dicor, with terra-cotta-colored walls and dark green faux marble accents and a seating capacity of 100 seats at 25 tables. The private room upstairs seats another 30 and an enclosed courtyard and garden area are used in the spring and fall.