With locations in New Orleans and Houston, Neyow’s serves comforting Creole plates like red beans and rice, jambalaya, and shrimp Creole. There’s also hot sausage and stuffed crab po’ boys, crispy fried Gulf oysters, and perfect filé gumbo.

Head to Crescent City Beignets to experience a slice of the French Quarter in the heart of Uptown. Streetcar murals, exposed brick, and fleur de lis decor honor the New Orleans cityscape. Pair a plate of fluffy, powdered sugar-dusted beignets with a smooth cafe au lait. The menu also features seafood po’boys, stacked muffaletta sandwiches, and gumbo.

At this popular local chain, drink specials rotate daily and include hurricanes for $2 a pop and $5 daiquiris. Order shrimp or crawfish etouffee, fish Bienville, or creamy pasta jambalaya to help soak up all that rum.

The original Ragin’ Cajun location has been a staple on Richmond since 1974. Step inside this divey, no-frills joint for an expansive menu of boiled seafood, chargrilled oysters crusted with herbs and cheese, po’boys, Natchitoches meat pies, and more.

Louisiana transplants will feel at home at this Heights watering hole where the crawfish is steaming hot and the Abita is ice cold. Not looking for mudbugs? Order deep-fried gator bites, po’ boys loaded down with oysters or crawfish tails, and chicken and sausage gumbo.

Soul food and Cajun cuisine is a pretty obvious pairing, and it’s never felt more natural than at Esther’s. Feast on smothered oxtails, daily specials like crawfish and shrimp etouffee, and a truly excellent Italian cream cake.

BB’s fuses Texas and New Orleans flavors to create a popular chain that’s wholly Houston. The po’boys here are top notch, served on fresh and flaky French bread and slathered with a tangy remoulade. Hearty bowls of gumbo or red beans and rice taste just like Maw Maw used to make. Wash it all down with a to-go hurricane or daiquiri.

Brennan’s is the sister restaurant to New Orleans’ famed Commander’s Palace and has been serving Houstonians for over 50 years. This elegant Creole eatery is known for classic Creole favorites like Gulf fish Pontchartrain and shrimp Chippewa, along with its iconic, sherry-finished snapping turtle soup.

Cafe Rian is an unassuming spot with seafood baskets, battered boudin balls, gumbo, and other Cajun specialties. Original creations include the monstrous Mardi Gras stuffed potato overflowing with crawfish tails, shrimp, spinach, and cheese and the Zulu shrimp boat with barbecue shrimp and rice swimming in a blackened butter sauce.

Open in Houston since 2001, Abe’s is a family owned cafe and meat market bringing a taste of Lake Charles to Clear Lake. Dine on crab cakes, corn nuggets, fried okra, sandwiches, and stuffed potatoes or grab packages of boudin and sausage (like andouille, alligator, or venison) to cook at home.