After a few earlier flickers of fake fall in New Orleans, this is finally the real deal. You can sense the seasonal change as people dust off their sweaters, break out the boots and start talking about outdoor dining.

It’s a typically an all-too-brief window, so there’s not a meal to lose. You need to eat outside now. You need to drink outside now. You just need to be outside.

The range of places to do so has changed over the years, a trend greatly accelerated in the pandemic.

Here are some of my favorite places across a spectrum of styles, price ranges and locations, including a few standbys, new additions, hidden gems and sleepers in plain sight that never let me down.

Looking for more? Here's our mega list of outdoor dining options organized by location across the metro area, from

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