DeMarcus was a guard for the Blue Devils from 2004-08 and battled through multiple injuries and setbacks in his college career before becoming one of the best players in the ACC during his senior season.

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First, this restaurant is located in one of the coolest parts of the city. It’s on Freret Street, which is nowhere near all the crazy bars, hotels and attractions of the French Quarter. Instead, it’s a much quieter, artsy section of town that features a few bars, restaurants, coffee shops and other things that appear to be more geared toward locals.

Case in point - The Company Burger shares its building with an Anytime Fitness.

It took us a while to walk to Freret Street from the streetcar stop, but it was well worth it and I loved the vibe in this part of town.

The atmosphere at the restaurant is very casual.

You order at the counter and then it’s an open dining space with a few outside tables, which we took advantage of because of the beautiful weather. Most of the tables were full, and in what’s always a positive sign, it looked like it was mainly locals instead of the tourists you find at many other New Orleans restaurants.

For the food - this was the best meal I had in the entire city.

I ordered The Company Burger and sides of tater tots and onion rings and loved every bite.

The Company Burger is two beef patties, two slices of American cheese, onions and house made pickles served on house made bread. The restaurant describes it as “The Classic American Cheeseburger” and it certainly makes me proud to be an American.

The flavors come together perfectly. The beef has the proper texture and the great grilled taste I always look for in a burger. It’s the right amount of cheese, pickles and onions so nothing overpowers the beef, but you still pick up the other ingredients. And the house made bread really brings it all together. This is a gourmet burger at its finest and ranks right up there with the best burgers I’ve had around the world.

And while I’m not nearly as much of an onion ring connoisseur, the rings at The Company Burger were as good as it gets.

They were lightly battered to get that great crunch and crispiness, but not too heavy. You still knew you were eating an onion - something most restaurants aren’t able to accomplish. Most impressive, I could actually take a bite of an onion ring without the entire thing falling apart. The place deserves an award just for pulling off that feat!

New Orleans has a true gem in The Company Burger. It’s received numerous awards for having one of the best burgers in the country, and everything about our experience was fantastic.

This is a place I hope to have the opportunity to visit again...many times.

Have you been to The Company Burger? Let me know about your experience by leaving a comment!