Frankie last wrote up Coquette in Sept of 2015 and it remains a favorite of hers. The lovely corner building has 2 floors for dining, with well spaced small wood tables, lots of dark wood, fun tile floors, lowered lighting and high ceilings. Downstairs has mirrors on many walls, music in the background and a large bar that is used just for storage now. The evening menu offers a la carte options as well as a 5 course surprise tasting menu -composed of things not on the menu. Wine pairings are available. We chose to do the tasting and pairings and were very happy with the choice. The staff who brought the food out from the kitchen were knowledgable about the food and happy to share information. Servers were masked and also very friendly and efficient.
While we enjoyed a Negroni cocktail we munched on a slice of their warm bread and butter. The butter was lightly softened and perfect for the crusty doughy bread.
Grand Isle oysters were first and served with beef broth, English peas and Espelette pepper. The plump oysters were great with the almost jellied broth. The good strong taste of the peas proved to be an excellent blending.
A salad of pickled beets, nasturtium leaves, sunflower seeds and strawberries adorned with tarragon butter was the second course. It was a wonderful combination of flavors. The beets were only mildly pickled and the lovely cream proved to be delicious with all.
Snapper was paired with saffron, cauliflower, turnips, potatoes in a spicy sauce. The cauliflower was only lightly cooked and fun when paired with the soft potatoes and the perfectly cooked fish. Just a light bit of spice in the sauce completed this lovely dish.
Wagyu NY strip was aged for 21 days and served nicely rare. A chard gratin was alongside and topped with Gruyere cheese. It was chewy, cheesy and wonderful. The beef was buttery rich and terrific.
The palate cleanser was an abstract “Key lime pie”. Frozen yogurt was the lime portion atop crumbled graham cracker crust. Alongside were chips of meringue. All components had great flavor and a good mix of textures. The yogurt had a strong lime essence and mixed well with the buttery crumbs and sweet meringue. A version of the pie I’d love to have again.
Another abstract made up the final dessert – Chocolate Napoleon. Two mounds of chocolate mousse were on top of salted caramel as was the vanilla ice cream. A final touch were brisee cookies (buttery pastry). This dessert allowed multiple tasty combinations of flavors and textures. A perfect ending to a fine meal.
