Like many local restaurants, Liuzza's offers daily specials that add variety and interest to the otherwise pretty basic menu of po-boys, gumbo, and other classic dishes. Fridays are definitely worth a special trip: the daily offerings are a spicy, bisque-like shrimp stew and crab cakes so big they look like hamburger steaks at first glance. Delicious! This is the type of restaurant where neighbors who have lived side by side for years meet each other for leisurely lunches and nostalgic dinners. Don't expect anything fancy, but do expect food that doesn't disappoint on taste or presentation. Be prepared for a lunch rush and a possible wait, but it will be well worth it.

We started our lunch with the house-recommended "Killer Bloody Mary"--and "killer" they were. I could only manage one . . . but it was lethal. Gumbo, reputed to be the best in town, was my starter, while hubby went with oyster/artichoke soup. We split a blue-cheese house salad, which was enough for a meal. As if that wasn't enough, we each had a po' boy--his a catfish and mine the famous barbecued shrimp. Hard to describe, but it earned every bit of its reputation.

I could not move, literally, after this meal and had to head for home and a small siesta. I did not eat for the rest of the day. I went out that night, but didn't eat a thing! The total bill for all this decadence? Less than $40, including tip. A bargain in the Big Easy, where alcohol can easily eat up a huge portion of your bill. Teetotalers can eat on the cheap in this town!