Congratulations to the incoming Class of 2019. You made it to Tulane, but now you’ll be faced with a decision far more difficult than choosing school. You’ll have to figure out where to eat. In New Orleans, that’s no easy task, but The Arcade has a few Uptown staples for your consideration.

The Camellia Grill

The Camellia Grill on South Carrollton Avenue is known for its diner style, late hours and Southern hospitality. The food includes New Orleans dishes such as red beans and rice and gumbo, as well as breakfast options. Other than that, it has diner food such as burgers and sandwiches for a reasonable price. The only disadvantage to this restaurant is its space compared to its popularity. The wrap-around one-counter layout can’t seat a lot of people, so at peak dining hours the line for a spot usually spills onto the sidewalk outside and the waiting time can be substantial. It there’s an opening, however, it is a fantastic spot for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Bayou Hot Wings

Located along a strip mall across the street from Tulane’s Turchin Stadium, this restaurant is perfect for students. It’s fast, delicious, meant to be taken on the road and not too expensive. Bayou Hot Wings is a lesser-known hotspot for some great wings. In addition to chicken wings and tenders, it has local goods such as gator bites and fried frog legs. It was voted Best Fast Food in New Orleans by Urbanspoon and was visited by Travel Channel’s Adam Richman, who named it the “Best Wings in the World.” This is perfect food when considering taking a break from Bruff Commons or buying some finger food for a football game.

Dat Dog

Dat Dog is famous to all Tulane students, and must be visited before the end of freshman year. It serves hot dogs to a variety and quality that is uniquely awesome. Dat Dog has stylish indoor and outdoor tables, ping pong (available upon request), a full bar and great service. The hot dogs themselves and their extremely diverse toppings all taste great. The sausages come in a variety of forms from traditional pork and beef, to veggie dogs, to gator and crawfish sausages. The price is perfect for students and they recently started accepting credit cards as well as cash. As an added bonus, its happy hour has a great reputation too. It’s not just one of the best restaurants around campus, it’s one of the best restaurants in Uptown New Orleans.

Ba Chi Canteen

Ba Chi Canteen offers the best of Vietnamese and Korean cuisine in a laid back environment conveniently located on Maple Street. It’s one of the closest places to campus to get pho, the trendiest soup of the minute, while still offering a variety of other dishes. The real star of the menu are bacos, Asian style tacos using a steamed bun instead of a tortilla. The options range from Korean barbeque pork to tandoori shrimp. Each one is about $4, meaning ordering three or four makes for an affordable meal with a wide range of flavors. Ba Chi makes an ideal lunch spot for friends, especially when splitting an order of kimchi fries.

Liberty Cheesesteaks

As the name suggests, Liberty Cheesesteaks on Freret Street tastes like freedom and America. The Liberty style of cheesesteaks takes a simple and respectable approach: lots of steak, cheese and onions. It’s difficult to make such a trio taste bad, but Liberty goes above and beyond expectations, and even offers a variety of other subs. The hidden gem of their menu would be their steak fries. While these fries are cut steak-style, they’re also served with actual steak. The brave cooks at Liberty Cheesesteaks are true American heroes, who happen to deliver, too.