Submitted by Lisabeth Tunell

I don't know about you but I am always looking for a new restaurant to try out especially one that sells different varieties of beer and has an extensive wine list.

"Restaurant" and "Bistro" we are all familiar with which were long ago adopted in the English lexicon, and  which are ably represented by a number of area establishments serving French fare. Well Coquette Brasserie, at North Hills, opened late last month, is the first restaurant in the Triangle to bill itself as a brasserie. Like the bistro, the traditional brasserie is an establishment that serves inexpensive food and drink. Usually a bistro is typically small and by definition serves wine, the brasserie can vary widely in size and if it remains true to the "brasserie" name, which means "brewery" in its original sense, serves BEER! Then it remains to say that it may or may not serve wine, this one does! The exclusively French wine list offers 120 selections, 14 by the glass.

Coquette taps dispense half a dozen beer, all of them Belgian or French. The menu serves up a broad sampling of traditional fare, from rustic cassoulet and coq au vin to lavish seafood platters to bistro classics such as steak frites and charcuterie plates.

The dining room delivers brasserie atmosphere from embossed tin ceiling to black and white tile floors to zinc bar to chanteuse singing on the stereo. It is open for lunch and  dinner daily and Sunday brunch (added this weekend). Breakfast service will follow next week. For more information you can call 789-0606 or www.coquetteraleigh.com.