From The New Orleans Menu Daily By Tom Fitzmorris Originally published March 12, 2008 Etoile 3$ Covington: 407 N. Columbia Reservations 985-892-4578 Lunch Mon.-Sat. Dinner Tues.-Sat. AE MC V Etoile appears to have been built out of junk. Broken ceramic tiles, corrugated steel panels, roughly-welded ironwork, wire, plywood, and other secondary pieces come together in an advanced version of the treehouse a 12-year-old boy with an eye for design might construct out of scrap. Except that the treehouse would not likely feature a substantial collection of original paintings by James Michaelopolis. Nor would it have food good enough that its French name (it means "star," of course) seems unpretentious. Even in downtown Covington, where it's hard to put on airs and get away with it. Etoile opened a dozen years ago as an adjunct to a wine and gourmet shop called Louisiana Star. Over the years, the restaurant grew and the wine shop shrank. You can still find bottles of wine in there, but most people who darken the door come here to dine. From the beginning, Etoile's menu defied category. Lot of diversity. Every new chef left behind his own collection of miscellany. The eating gets better as time (and chefs) go by. This is a good restaurant for starting dinner with more appetizers than you really need and passing them around. Certainly you should get the homemade duck terrine, rich and light (but not too), sent out with a fine miscellany of garnishes (cornichon pickles, balsamic syrup, mustard, caper berries, sea salt, two kinds of croutons, etc.). Mussels are good here either as a starter or a finisher, served in big bowls with lost of broth and herbs. The frogs legs' are just about perfect, little crisp ones dripping with butter redolent with garlic. Vietnamese dumplings of gingered shrimp and pork come in a deceptively light, clear, colorless sauce that turns out to pack a decent jab of red pepper. The hummus is rough but good. It's unlikely that a restaurant with only one Italian dish would turn out a good risotto. But they do here. Indeed, the risotto of the day is one of the best dishes here, consistently. It's just on the dinner menu now (lot of work to make it to order), but it's worth a special trip.    The roast chicken is one of the best around, done in a French-Creole style with herbes de Provence and tasso. Its juiciness is abetted by a natural jus (read pan gravy). Yum. Only slightly heavier, in a country-politan style is the pork chop, whose garnish changes but is never less than marvelous. Among the seafood dishes is an impressive tuna steak is quite impressive, thick and crusty, but rare in the center. The sauce combines ginger and orange in emulsified butter: right on the money. The wine list--owing, no doubt, to the wine store, whose signs are still up--provides glasses and bottles of interest. The dessert list is abbreviated but very good; the thin apple tart with almonds is very good, and the creme brulee and bread puddings are decent works. Etoile doesn't get into ceremony or circumstance. Most of the tables are unclothed. Few items of decor match, but that's the charm, of the place. The service staff is effective and accommodating, but they don't bother recommending their food enthusiastically. The Michaelopolis paintings add much to the environment. The artist is a partner in the business, which explains the visuals as well as the presence of his New Orleans Rum in a few dishes. And, probably, the kicky, not-too-serious feeling of this very good café in the heart of Covington's charming downtown. Click here for an index of all restaurant reviews. © 2008 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com.