New Orleans has a way of being different things to different people. Part European, part American. Part modern, part Colonial. Part laid-back, part cutting-edge. It's a world wrapped up in its own identity crisis.

While in New Orleans, dine as locals do. Which means, knowing your Cajun from Creole, Roux from Remoulade and Beignet from.you get the drift. The very multi-cultural influences that make New Orleans cooking delectable can also make it a lot more confusing.

Across the centuries, New Orleans has borrowed from French, Spanish, English, Mexican, African and American influences to emerge tastier each time. But you don't have to learn all these languages to place your order!

If you don't want to gag on a plateful of tongue-twisters, carry our easy alphabetical cheat-sheet while dining out at New Orleans:

Andouille (ann- doo- wee) are lean pork sausages spiced with garlic.
Beignet (ben-Yay) are square donuts sprinkled with powdered sugar.
Cajun once referred to French-speaking people who moved in from Britain, but today it has come to represent a delicious way of cooking seafood, which lends it a blackened crust and richer flavor.
Café au Lait (café -oh- lay) is, quite simply, chicory coffee with milk.
Creole cooking combines French and Spanish and African influences with lip-smacking effect!
Etouffee (ay-two-fay) is prepared with crawfish or shrimp cooked over a slow fire.
Jambalaya is a spicy rice dish with meat and vegetables.
Remoulade (rem-ou-lard) is a sauce usually served with seafood.
Roux (roo) is a flour-and-oil mixture that adds body to Cajun food.

You're now ready to start your culinary journey of New Orleans. As the Cajuns would put it, "Laissez les bon temps rouler" (Let the good times roll!)

Start at the entrance to the French Quarter at the Ritz Carlton New Orleans (Canal Street). Here you can enjoy a 5 Star caliber dinner or a bowl of gumbo champagne or Bloody Mary made to order. Give in to a chard of chocolate from the chocolate cart or a cigar from the walk-in humidor.

Hotel Maison DeVille and the Audubon Cottages (Rue Toulouse) offers one of the most romantic locations to dine in North America. The hotel is home to The Bistro, adjudged one of the best restaurants in America by Zagat. The Bistro serves French Creole cuisine and lets you choose from the city's most extensive wine list. The historic Audubon cottages set the perfect mood with their laid-back private courtyards and rare antiques. No wonder Playwright Tennessee Williams picked a room here to complete "A Streetcar named Desire". So did James Audubon, who painted much of the famed "Birds of America" series during his stay here.

Monteleone (Royal Street) has been home to the world's most colorful characters including Tennessee Williams, William Faulkner and Truman Capote. It offers incredible fine dining options nearby with the famous Arnaud's just outside the door.

Sample the Cajun and Creole delights at Protocol, the onsite Restaurant at Hotel Ambassador (Tchoupitoulas) or stoke up your appetite with the lip-smacking seafood at La Chatelaine or the Red Fish Grill ( Chateau Sonesta , Iberville Street)

Iberville Suites , adjudged New Orleans' finest French Quarter hotel offers a host of options for fine dining (Victor's Restaurant), casual dining with live weekend entertainment (French Quarter Bar), traditional afternoon tea (Lobby Lounge) and the cigar-friendly lounge with a unique liquor selection (Library Lounge).

Nestled between the business of downtown and the French Quarter, the Pelham Hotel (Common Street) marks the original plantation of Jean Baptist Lemoyne De Bienville, founder of New Orleans. Their savory Bayou-inspired restaurant Maxwell's is THE place to enjoy an authentic Cajun-style Omelet, Northern Pacific style Omelets, Gumbo Soup Du Jour or Maxwell's signature Crab Cakes.

Pay a tribute to the America's longest-running streetcar line as you tuck in at the Holiday Streetcar restaurant ( Holiday Inn Superdome , Loyola Ave). The restaurant serving incredible American and Creole cuisine is a full-scale replica of the New Orleans streetcar and features some of the original streetcar artwork.

Feast your eyes and your taste buds at the Top of the Dome Steakhouse ( Hyatt Regency , Poydras Plaza). As New Orleans' only revolving restaurant it offers amazing panoramic views of the Crescent City. Whitney on Poydras Street offers intimate dining at The Vault, its private dining room at the onsite restaurant 56 Degrees.

Built in 1857, Magnolia Mansion (Prytania Street) serves as an elegant gateway to the Garden District - with its massive oaks, magnolia-scented courtyards, double-galleried balconies and a rejuvenating complimentary breakfast with coffee, juice, fresh fruit, bagels, cereal and pastries.

If you love to be indulged by celebrity chefs, head for The Garden District Hotel (St. Charles Avenue) where discerning locals love to dine. Enjoy a leisurely Sunday Brunch at Lulu's, though weekdays are equally exciting. Chef Corbin Evans has worked with the nation's hottest restaurants including Bayona, Mr.B's, Jack's Firehouse in Philadelphia, TomCat Bakery in New York City and Jacques Cagna in Paris.

The award-winning Intercontinental New Orleans on the historic St. Charles Ave streetcar line upholds the Sunday Brunch tradition with the Ver dan a Restaurant. Enjoy a heady brew at the Streetcar Coffee Shop, onsite at the Intercontinental.

In the midst of New Orleans' raucous Bourbon Street revelry, Royal Sonesta offers a tranquil reprieve with The Beque's Restaurant overlooking a secluded tropical courtyard.

There's simply no better way to sum up the New Orleans experience. Loud and exuberant on the outside, warm and intimate on the inside. Live it to believe it!