"Take the streetcar to Camellia Grill. It's like one big soda fountain counter with the best breakfasts and hamburgers. I crave it. They're famous for their omelets. I've never been a po' boy person, but Mother's has the best. I like their breakfasts with the grits and 'debris' [gravy with bits of beef] and blueberry muffins. People stand in line there for their breakfast. It's down and dirty, and you could be sitting next to a banker in a suit or a guy in his overalls. You just have such a mix of clientele there. It's real southern Louisiana."

Sights
"I love the French Market. It's been there for 200 years, and you can always find somebody selling something interesting that you haven't seen, like little shoes some guy had that I just fell in love with and bought for all my friends. I saw them at a boutique a couple of months later on Montana Avenue in L.A. The French Market has that European flavor. I'll always stop in Jackson Square and watch the street performers, who are incredibly entertaining. I was in Barcelona recently, where there are a lot of street performers, but I have to say, New Orleans probably has the best I've seen."

Shopping
"I always peek my head in at Moss Antiques, Keil's Antiques, Royal Antiques, Dixon and Dixon, and other shops along and near Royal Street. They have a lot of antique jewelry, really interesting pieces. I never shop for clothes in New Orleans, but I'm always picking up another cookbook or more Zatarain's spices or shrimp boil or things for the kitchen. The shops at Jackson Brewery - they took that whole brewery and made it into a little mall - have a lot of that stuff now. But if I could only buy one thing in New Orleans it would be the beignet mix and chicory coffee from Café Du Monde."

Lunch