PRICE:
Frommer's Very Highly Recommended

When the fatalities attributed to Katrina are tallied, the number will not be accurate, and not just because of post-storm confusion, but because there are many deaths that can, in their way, be blamed on the stress of the storm. Surely the death of Joe Casamento, whose father founded this oyster bar and who was, for 50 years, the best oyster opener in the city, can and should be counted. Joe spent his whole life above the shop, and never took a vacation. Joe suffered from emphysema, and died at age 80, the night he evacuated for Katrina, possibly in a panic over the fate of his city and the store that was his world. So eat here for him. Not that you shouldn't do so on its own merits, because it probably is the best erster joint in the city. The family restaurant takes oysters so seriously that it simply closes down when they're not in season. The oysters are cleanly scrubbed and well selected. You might also take the plunge and order an oyster loaf: a big, fat loaf of bread fried in butter, filled with oysters (or shrimp), and fried again to seal it. Casamento's also has terrific gumbo -- perhaps the best in town.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's New Orleans 2009, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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