Restaurant Beatrice serves fine Cajun fare with a personal touch

Something special is cooking on Beckley Avenue.

Driving the news: Restaurant Beatrice, which opened in North Oak Cliff this summer, brings a slice of deep-cut New Orleans fine dining to a city where Pappadeaux's passes for Cajun cooking.

Background: Michelle Carpenter, owner of Zen Sushi in Bishop Arts, wanted to pay homage to the Cajun side of her family and brought on executive chef Terance Jenkins, who started cooking Creole food at the storied Commander's Palace in New Orleans, to design the menu.

• Jenkins' bona fides include owning a Cajun catering company in Houston before running kitchens at AmberJax, Screen Door and Cedars Social.

The details: We started with the Louisiana Charcuterie ($26), a smorgasbord of housemade andouille and Tasso, fried boudin "lollipops," and biscuit crackers with ground mustard and pepper jelly.

• A Texas peach salad ($14) with cucumbers, pickled onions and baby greens was tangy and bright before the dark, rich Gumbo Yaya ($13) with chunks of chicken, crawfish and crab — a real treat.
• We spent a solid hour devouring the sweet and savory duck confit ($27) and picking over a smoked pork loin ($29) on a bed of beans.
• The praline bread pudding with praline ice cream ($12) was like our mouths took a walk around Jackson Square.

The big picture: The place feels refined but familial — the ice cubes come RB branded, yes, but Jenkins, who seems easygoing and earnest, twice came to our table to make sure we were enjoying ourselves.

The bottom line: That's the kind of care that'll keep us coming back.