Drago's is the place that convinced generations of New Orleans food writers that Metairie was worth driving to. The charbroiled oysters — split, topped with garlic butter and parmesan, and blasted over a wood fire — are among the most copied dishes in New Orleans food history, and the original remains the best version. The rest of the menu is solid Gulf Coast seafood cookery: gumbo, crawfish étouffée, fried shrimp.
The restaurant is unpretentious, loud at peak hours, and has exactly the comfortable confidence of a place that knows it has been doing this right for decades. 3232 N. Arnoult Rd. Reservations recommended for dinner.