The scene: Central Grocery is in fact a grocery store. Its windows display pyramids of canned plum tomatoes, boxes of pasta and a fake wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, a dusty arrangement that appears unchanged for decades. It's the kind of timeless mom and pop shop you'd more expect to find in New York's Little Italy, Boston's North End or San Francisco's North Beach than opposite the French Market on bustling Decatur Street, the main drag through the French Quarter of New Orleans. Yet Central Grocery has been here for more than a century, and it is as much a city landmark as Jackson Square, the streetcars or the Superdome.
The greatness of Central Grocery would be well disguised were it not for the line often snaking out the door. Only a small sign next to the door hints at what awaits inside. The plaque reads, "For Three Generations Home of The Famous Italian Muffuletta Imitated By Many But Never Duplicated." It is not the canned tomatoes or pasta that the customers stand in long lines for. They come to Central Grocery from near and far for the best sandwich in the world.
Reason to visit: Muffuletta Sandwich
The food: Central Grocery does sell groceries, but from a restaurant point of view, they offer only one thing, and they do that one thing very well. The muffuletta sandwich was invented here 60 years ago, and while found throughout New Orleans and on more adventurous menus elsewhere, it is Central Grocery's version that makes first timers swoon and longtime fans come back, often straight from the airport with luggage in tow, and again on their way home, ordering several to go.
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