Coquette

Coquette is a French bistro located on the corner of Magazine and Washington, in the building which formerly housed Table One and more recently Takumi. With the past two failures in this location, you would think that Coquette would just be the next one to bite the dust. I hope that's not the case because the restaurant seems to have all of the important attributes of a successful establishment. The layout is inviting. Downstairs has a white tiled floor with large windows looking out onto the streets, with the tables set next to the windows and a long bar running along the opposite wall. (I hear the upstairs dining room is equally welcoming, but I did not make it up there.) There is ample parking in a next-door lot accessible by an entrance on Washington.
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Oh, and the food is pretty damn good too. The Folk Singer and I tried Coquette last week, after deciding against Boucherie because... well ... everyone else has been writing about it lately. (Though I am greatly anticipating my inaugural meal at Boucherie. I just want to plan ahead so that I can bring my own bottle of Makers.) And in a last second surprise, our friend Vandy Vicky happened to be in the area and made the meal a menage a trois.

Coquette's menu includes some creative cocktails, one of which is cleverly entitled the "Katrina." Both of the girls ordered one of these, and they seemed to really enjoy it. I am not really sure what comprised this concoction, but when I asked TFS she said, "I don't know, but it was a whole bunch of deliciousness." (We need to stop letting her hang around The Pope.)

I started with a quintet of baked oysters topped with fennel, ham, and horseradish cream. Yeah, these tasted as good as they sound.

Next up was pumpkin cappelletti served in a shallow pool of duck au jus and topped with shreds of duck confit and shaved parmigiano reggiano. Pasta stuffed with squash has been a pretty big fad this year (I had it at The French Laundry in November), but it works.

Sometimes you can't get much better than steak frites. At Coquette their version is a flat iron steak with carmelized shallots and fresh cut fries. Brought me right back to my summer in France. As did...

Profiteroles stuffed with Nutella ice cream and drizzled with caramel. You had me at Nutella.... You had me at Nutella.

Coquette - Birdie.