Best restaurant bargains in New Orleans

— -- Cost-conscious travelers can enjoy bountiful pleasure at mealtime if they choose their itinerary carefully and order smartly. To help with the planning each month, USA TODAY's Jerry Shriver offers a menu of suggestions from a major destination.

Down-home dining: Profiles of cheap-eats classics

1. Parkway Bakery & Tavern 538 Hagan Ave.; 504-482-3047; parkwaybakeryandtavernnola.com

One of the many glories of this city is that it offers so many definitive cultural experiences for a pittance. At this beloved Mid-City tavern, diners can plunk down about $12 and enjoy one of America's greatest sandwiches (the po-boy); a bag of regionally produced potato chips (Zapp's); a glass of regionally produced beer (Abita) or root beer (Barq's); a sense of history (the building dates to the 1920s); easygoing New Orleans-style hospitality; and a cast of quirky neighborhood characters. The menu boasts more than 20 types of po-boys ($3.65-$12.95), all served on locally famous toasted Leidenheimer French bread, and the roast beast/gravy, shrimp, oyster and Italian sausage versions are among the city's best. Invest an additional $3 to $3.95 and top off that meal with banana pudding or bread pudding with rum sauce.

• Top treat:Hot roast beef po-boy with gravy, $6.65-$8.85

2. Casamento's 4330 Magazine St.; 504-895-9761; casamentosrestaurant.com

In a city abounding in few-frills oyster bars, cozy Casamento's in the Magazine Street corridor is one of the oldest (it dates to 1919) and, judging from the lines that regularly form outside the door, most popular. Raw oysters from nearby Gulf Coast beds ($9 a dozen) are the stars, but close behind are the beautifully simple and amply portioned oyster stew ($5.50-$9) and loafs stuffed with fried seafood ($6.45-$12.90). The restaurant is closed during June, July and August, but when the locals begin flowing back into the pearl-white-tiled dining rooms, there's a sense of renewal unmatched elsewhere.

• Top treat:One dozen raw Louisiana oysters, $9