New Orleans' Hottest New Trend: 'Modern Southern'

Modern Southern is taking over the New Orleans dining scene, Ian McNulty reports this week, with a handful of southern regional restaurants opening in the past few months alone.  While the trend has 'been building for sometime now'—since Boucherie, High Hat, Tivoli & Lee and others burst onto the scene—the new flock of new south eateries all tend to mix in global flavors—think Asian, Italian, Middle Eastern even—with the expected pimento cheese, grits, and rabbit-heavy fare. Here are the new Southern restaurants McNulty is talking about, and what to order when you go.

Angeline: "Harrell's menu is definitely Southern, but not predictably so, with an emphasis on its European roots and the chef's own interest in Mediterranean cuisine."
Must order: Butterbean tortellini; Rabbit Milanese.

Brown Butter: "Dayne Womax's dishes make bold statements in highly contemporary presentations."
Must Order: Paneed porchop sandwich; Rabbit roulade.

Carrollton Market: Chef Jason Goodenough's "takes [Southern] cuisine across much different turf... free from cliché."
Must Order: Smoked drum; Cavatelli pasta.

Oxlot 9: "Louisiana flavors and a contemporary Creole approach are prominent features of [Jeffrey Hansel's] menu, but they still form only a part of the finely wrought fabric here."
Must Order:  Oysters in puff pastry; Fried frog legs; Ceviche with red royal shrimp; Japanese udon noodle soup with black eyed peas and mustard greens

Purloo at SoFAB: "Chef Ryan Hughes applies a museum-quality mix of precision and originality to the task" of exploring " regional foodways."
Must Order: Grits and artichoke barigoule; Shrimp and clam boil; Curried goat; Fried chicken.