NEW ORLEANS - This city always satisfies my appetite for fun — of course I’ve been known to overindulge on Bourbon Street nightlife, gorge myself on jazz and blues, gobble up its incredible history and totally devour the genuine joie de vivre of its people. But what I really crave when I come to this city with the smorgasbord of nicknames — NOLA, Big Easy, Crescent City, Birthplace of Jazz, Mardis Gras City — is the food.

No city in America does food better than New Orleans, where the classic Creole and Cajun cooking styles intersect at the mouth of the mighty Mississippi.

Food is a religion here and historic restaurants like Brennan’s, Arnaud’s, Commander’s Palace and Antoine’s are culinary cathedrals where visiting foodies come to worship.

Only Paris has produced more world renowned chefs than New Orleans — the late Paul Prudhomme, John Besh, Susan Spicer, Tory McPhail, Sue Zemanick, Adolfo Garcia, Emeril Lagasse, Slade Rushing, Nina Compton and Frank Brigtsen are just a few of the legendary “cooks” who learned their skills in NOLA kitchens.

But the real food experts are the residents — “We Noo aw-LEE-nee-ans know something about food,” says Jeff Richard, the Louisiana tourism representative who picks me up at the airport.

“Hope you’re not on a diet,” says Richard in a drawl as sweet as the powdered sugar that falls off my Café du Monde beignet later that day.

If the people here aren’t eating or talking about food, they’re making it.

“My wife and I made a new version of gumbo last night — we love trying new twists on classic Louisiana dishes,” says Richard, who tells me the main difference between Cajun and Creole cooking is tomatoes. “Creole cuisine uses tomatoes and proper Cajun food does not.”

The strength of New Orleans’ culinary scene is that it’s continually evolving — new restaurants, like Nina Compton’s fabulous Compére Lapin open with her “modern” take on traditional southern cuisine, while well established rooms get better with age.

Above: Ralph Brennan has put new life into a New Orleans icon at his world famous restaurant.

My few days in New Orleans are spent visiting some of the city’s iconic restaurants and trying some of the new ones suggested by friends.

First stop, Brennan’s.

There’s no better proof than Brennan’s that NOLA’s older restaurants are getting better with age. The landmark room on Royal St. in the heart of the French Quarter is where Ralph Brennan continues a legacy started by his legendary family almost 70 years ago.

Brennan’s, which moved to its present location in 1956 — the original Brennan’s, known as Owen Brennan’s Vieux Carre, opened in 1946 on nearby Bourbon Street — underwent a major reno in 2014 and the results of the 18-month, $20 million makeover to one of New Orleans’ most cherished buildings — circa 1795 — is nothing short of miraculous.

While much has changed at the “new” Brennan’s — the wine cellar where over 12,000 bottles of the world’s best vintages are stored can now host intimate dinners and the legendary private rooms (King’s, Queen’s, Havana and Morphy) have all been been restored to their original elegance — much, like the restaurant’s legendary menu featuring iconic dishes, like Bananas Foster, remain the same.

The Executive Chef torch at Brennan’s has been passed to Slade Rushing, who, while respecting the culinary traditions of Brennan’s, has added some new treats that have diners raving. His Octopus A La Creole that comes swimming in a delicate sauce highlighted by San Marzano tomatoes, chaurice sausage, Spanish olives and fresh herbs, is only outdone by his BBQ Lobster appetizer — the lobster is covered in Creole spiced butter, lemon confit, thyme and comes on a toasted baguette. Oh, and did I mention Brennan’s Oyster Soup occupies a spot on my Top 10 Best Meals Ever list. Yum!

The 110 seat Chanteclair Room is the main dining area at Brennan’s and flows off the restaurant’s popular Roost Bar, where rooster replicas really do rule the Roost. Guests in the chic Chanteclair look out onto a romantic courtyard scene and the room’s soft green painted trellis and walls remind me of some of the fine dining restaurants I’ve eaten in on the French Rivera.

A night at Brennan’s is a night to remember — for a long time!

Above: Arnauds and its Mardi Gras museum and fine dining is the place to be seen in New Orleans.

Next stop, Arnaud’s.

Just as impressive as Brennan’s is Arnaud’s, the second oldest restaurant in New Orleans —it opened in 1918 while nearby Antoine’s dates back to 1840. Located on fabled Bourbon St., Arnaud’s remains one of the places to be “seen” in New Orleans — through its “private entrance,” U.S. presidents, Hollywood elite and mega sports stars have been ushered up back stairs to second storey rooms overlooking Bourbon St. where guests enjoy the Mardi Gras atmosphere that prevails in this area of NOLA most evenings.

In the restaurant below, diners are treated to some incredible Creole cuisine and one of the most sinful but delicious side dishes you’ll find anywhere — Soufflé Potatoes. The fried (in cottonseed oil) puffed pillows of goodness are hollow in the middle and come accompanied with a tangy béarnaise sauce. After two full plates, we ask for more!

Asking which of the dishes at Arnaud’s is our favourite is like asking which of our kids we love most. However, the room’s signature Shrimp Arnaud (Gulf shrimp marinated in the restaurant’s famous tangy Creole sauce) and Crawfish O’Connor (featuring a brandy-infused Creole sauce) will live in our memories for many years to come.

Before or after dinner, diners can enjoy Arnaud’s famous upstairs museum, which traces the restaurant’s rich and storied history — it was opened by French wine salesman Arnaud Cazenave in 1918 and has been run by the Casbarian family since 1978. The museum, which opened in 1983, contains Mardi Gras artifacts accumulated by Arnaud’s striking daughter Germaine Wells.

The old-world charm that surrounds you at Arnaud’s is as special as the food they serve.

Now it’s on to Compére Lapin.

While NOLA’s culinary history is being well preserved at Brennan’s and Arnaud’s, new chapters are being written by chefs like the incredible Nina Compton, whose Compére Lapin room has become the talk of the town since opening in June of 2015. Located in the Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery in the city’s revitalized Warehouse District, Compére Lapin showcases Chef Compton’s amazing talents, which, she tells me, were learned primarily “at the apron of my grandmother.”

The delightful and playful Compton, a native of St. Lucia, named the restaurant after a mischievous rabbit, Compére Lapin, featured in the childhood books she read. While she honed her skills in some of America’s top restaurants and earned worldwide fame as a popular participant in the Top Chef television series, Chef Compton is now the star of her own show and each night is applauded by the patrons who dine on dishes unique to Compére Lapin.

By mixing the traditional cooking ingredients and techniques of New Orleans with her Caribbean roots, Compton creates some truly spectacular dishes — Pici Pasta with lobster and summer squash; Roasted Carrots Almondine with salsa verde; Conch Croquette with pickled pineapple tartar; Spiced Pig Ears with smoked aioli; Roasted Jerk Corn (amazing!) with aioli and lime; Amberjack Crudo with fennel and oranges, to name juts a few. Ironically, there’s not a rabbit dish on the menu — maybe out of respect for Compére Lapin?

Chef Compton excites our palettes with an explosion of rich, clean flavours that dominate each of her dishes and the only thing more exciting and enjoyable than the food is meeting the delightful Compton.

Next reservation: Lüke

Mention the name John Besh in New Orleans and eyes light up and wide smiles part lips. If there’s such a thing as a rock star chef, it’s Besh, owner of the brasserie-style Lüke and a number of the city’s most revered restaurants where Hollywood celebrities, many of whom own homes in the city’s lovely Garden District, can be seen enjoying his amazing cuisine.

I’m told it would be easier to get an audience with the Pope than to get a reservation at Besh’s chic August restaurant, located in NOLA’s Central Business District, where his classical European training and his appreciation for the southern Louisiana cooking of his youth results in some of the finest dishes this side of Paris.

Okay, so I’m not famous enough to get a table at August so I elect to have breakfast at Besh’s Lüke, a cross between a French bistro and a German brew house, and it’s the best breakfast I’ve ever eaten.

Petit Dejeuner is served at Lüke between 7 and 11 a.m. and then around 4 p.m. the restaurant transforms into one of New Orleans’ best seafood restaurants. While my dining partner and I devour a delicious Southern Breakfast (ample helpings of eggs, bacon and sausage) and creamy shrimp and grits, we see staff stocking the raw bar with shellfish that was swimming in the Gulf of Mexico just a few hours earlier.

John Beasley, the manager at Lüke, offers to show me around the vast restaurant that drifts off into an area next to the kitchen where diners can eat while watching some very impressive chefs work their magic.

Many of our fellow patrons are enjoying some of Lüke’s famous southern biscuits that come with fried chicken smothered in a tabasco honey sauce and sausage patties topped with cheese and scrambled eggs.

“John’s only ambition is to make you (diners) happy,” says Beasley.

It’s been weeks since my meal at Lüke and I haven’t stopped smiling yet.

Other foodie “pit” stops we make:

• Grand Isle: Located very near NOLA’s Casino and Convention Centre, is a casual dining spot that specializes in fish and seafood — we are very impressed with the whole fried fish that’s delivered to our table. The area around NOLA is a great gathering spot at night.

• RedFish Grill: Perfect for lunch, the French Quarter restaurant’s BBQ oysters and blue crab claws are devine!

• Café du Monde: No visit to NOLA would be complete without a visit to this legendary doughnut shop off the city’s main square and it’s well worth the wait to acquire a serving of these airy pillows from heaven.

Now I know why people who visit New Orleans always say it leaves you hungry for more!