Deanie's Seafood Restaurant & Market

John and Alma "Deanie" Livacari added restaurant service to their seafood market in 1961. The address is 1713 Lake Avenue in Bucktown—market on one side, full-service restaurant on the other. Three generations of the same family still operate both. This is the oldest continuously operating seafood market in the New Orleans area. New Orleans was the largest port in the Southern United States through the nineteenth century, exporting cotton and farm products to Western Europe and New England. The city was founded in 1718 on a bend in the Mississippi River that offered control of the entire river valley and access to the Gulf of Mexico via Lake Pontchartrain. What the port brought in—and what the lake and gulf still yield—shows up on the table at Deanie's. The fried seafood platter and BBQ shrimp are what the restaurant is famous for. This Bucktown location is the original. A French Quarter outpost came later. Cash and cards accepted. Expect a wait on Friday nights.