Just steps away from one of the best views in the city at Crescent Park, Bywater American Bistro explores the ties between Cajun, Caribbean, Creole, and Southern cooking. While you can’t go wrong with sitting inside the industrial-meets-cozy dining room, the best option is to grab a spot at the high-top just outside the front door. There, you can watch the world pass by while you explore the menu with everything from roasted octopus and curried rabbit with coconut rice, to roasted snapper served with shishito peppers. As the younger sister restaurant to equally popular, but a little fancier, Compere Lapin, this place regularly fills up with visitors from anywhere in the world or neighbors from down the block - all of whom will be happy to give you their personal recs of where to go for a drink (or four) after dinner.