Top Notch New Orleans restaurants?

[LittleOldLady]

Domelise's uptown for po'boys definitely
Jacques-Imo's uptown--but go early since it gets very busy
Sid-Mar's in Bucktown for a real New Orleans non-tourist seafood joint (better than Deanie's)
Commander's and Bayona for the fancier meals (Peristyle is not what it used to be since it changed hands)
Herbsaint
No to the Court of Two Sisters (overpriced and touristy)
Bywater BBQ (really really good fried seafood--it isn't really a BBQ restaurant)
I wouldn't touch the Camellia Grill with a 10-ft pole
Cafe Degas on Esplanade
Ralph's on the Park (has a full vegetarian menu for those who are interested, plus of course a full normal menu and a beautiful view of the live oaks in the park)

I've lived in New Orleans 25 years and eaten all over town, including the suburbs. This is a big-league restaurant town, and people who live in New Orleans are very picky about food--it has to be good and it has to be (relatively) cheap. Locals do not patronize most of the "famous" restaurants you have heard of. Locals do go to Commander's (a bargain at lunch--I always ask for the Garden Room) and Bayona. There are a lot of good neighborhood restaurants (well, joints) which have real New Orleans atmosphere. Get out of the Quarter and see the city. It's like no place else in North America.