In 2008, Michael Stoltzfus, a semi-finalist in the 2013 James Beard “Best Chef in the South” award, opened Coquette in a two-story Garden District building with gleaming floors, crisp linens and warm exposed brick walls. Built in the late 1880's, the stately home morphed into a grocery, auto parts store and several restaurants before Stoltzfus turned it into his culinary playground. From here, Stoltzfus offers innovative Southern cuisine with locally sourced produce. Awash in tender mustard greens and salty bacon goodness, Chef de Cuisine Mason Hereford polishes his riff on the classic southern Louisiana stew with strips of crispy pig ear and a poached egg. This is not a traditional gumbo. It’s a masterpiece. Similar to the Spanish lechón, don’t miss out on Coquette’s decadent version of Cochon de Lait, in which a roasted, suckling pig arrives with Brussels sprouts, sweet potato and apple marmalade. The menu changes frequently at Coquette (like a lot of modern restaurants), but it would be surprising if this dish doesn’t surface again and again.