The brainchild of Chef Russell Davis and his wife Sally, five-month-old Eliza Restaurant & Bar serves Louisiana-inspired dishes in a quaint and charming setting on Jefferson Highway. The vibe, like the menu, feels hip yet familiar, the kind of place where it’s equally okay for flaky poboy crumbs to fall into your lap (it’s Leidenheimer bread, after all), or where you sip a French 75 in your best jeans at the bar. One of the standout dishes is the yellowfin tuna melt, prepared under the deft direction of Davis, a longtime New Orleans-based chef and restaurateur. He quick-sears a yellowfin tuna steak to medium rare, adding fresh avocado slices, melted provolone, red onion slivers and fresh greens. A slather of herby ravigote sauce inside the plump brioche bun is the final touch. The sandwich is served with fries, chips, delicately flavored cabbage slaw or refreshing homemade tabbouleh, a favorite in the Davis family household.

Eliza Restaurant & Bar
Tue.-Sat., 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
7970 Jefferson Highway, Suite 1
225-349-8895
elizabatonrouge.com