The plan was to bring in Hell's Kitchen personality Jennifer Gavin and serve Hyde Park the N'awlins eats and treats people once flocked to the late Dixie Kitchen & Bait shop for, with heavier hickory BBQ and pastry options and a fried green tomato starter that doesn't take a seasonal break.

Unfortunately, Gavin up and left a few days shy of Mardi Gras 2010 over a coup with the owner David Shapiro, leaving the popular cafe/bakery searching for other options.

The show impressively goes on with sous-chef Ronisha Preckwinckle, keeping the Southern hospitality and excess intact. Start off with a pre-order steaming basket of jalapeno cornbread muffins, followed up with Bourbon Street holy trinity samplers (ribs, jambalya, crab cake). The dishes come aside mean, ham hock-stocked collard greens.

And you'd be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't order some of Shapiro's savory crispy-chewy beignet.

Average cost: $10-$20

Centerstage Reviewer: Gavin Paul