A Baquet family Creole soul food restaurant on Esplanade Avenue that operates as a blue-plate lunch institution — buffet-style during the day, table service for breakfast, and the kind of cooking that exists because a family has been making it the same way for generations and the neighbourhood depends on it. The fried chicken, gumbo, corn maque choux, and red beans are all built from scratch every morning and served until they run out. Li'l Dizzy's is not a restaurant that will surprise you with technique; it is a restaurant that will remind you why technique matters less than soul.
Location
Treme, New Orleans
Insider Intel
Hit the buffet line at lunch: fried chicken, gumbo, maque choux, red beans and rice — load the plate. The food is priced by weight, which rewards the strategy of trying everything. The fried chicken is the standout. Breakfast offers eggs, grits, and biscuits in the Creole tradition.
Breakfast or early lunch before the buffet gets picked over — the best items go first and the kitchen replenishes, but the early spread is the fullest. The restaurant closes mid-afternoon. Weekdays are easier; weekends draw brunch crowds.
The Baquet family is Treme culinary royalty — Wayne Baquet Sr. ran Eddie's, one of the city's legendary Creole restaurants, and Li'l Dizzy's continues the tradition. The Esplanade Avenue location is walkable from the French Quarter. The buffet format means you can try everything, which is the correct approach for your first visit. Cash and card accepted. A genuine hangover cure.