The unstoppable Brennan family has done it again! Ralph Brennan, the family's casual-dining impresario and the brains behind the celebrated Mr. B's Bistro and Bacco, has launched his latest venture, the Red Fish Grill, to sustained applause. Tables at this comfortable, funky restaurant are rarer than catfish teeth these days, and the young foodie community is fighting for reservations because in a town of serious seafood, Devlin Roussel, the Red Fish's hot young chef, is cooking up fabulous fish like nobody's business.

Roussel is a New Orleans native with deep roots in the French Quarter. He found his way to the stove with an after-high-school summer job at the Hotel Intercontinental. Four years later, he graduated from New Orleans's Delgado Culinary School and took up a whisk as a lead cook at the critically acclaimed Mike's on the Avenue. In 1996 he left Mike's to run the stoves as chef de cuisine at the eclectic bistro Bizou. That year, John Mariani, writing in Esquire, called the restaurant one of the year's best newcomers. Then Roussel landed a partnership at Chicory Farm, an organic farm and cheese creamery, and created a namesake restaurant for the company, earning kudos from foodies and critics. When the company moved to Nova Scotia, Devlin bowed out, and Brennan snatched him up.

Roussel's way with seafood comes from a lifetime of fishing on Louisiana's Gulf Coast. His natural affinity for Creole cuisine comes from his heritage and the rich French Quarter air that he has breathed all his life. Last year, Where New Orleans named the Red Fish Grill the city's best seafood restaurant-heady praise in a city where seafood reigns supreme. At 25, Roussel is the second-youngest Brennan chef ever (a certain Emeril Lagasse set the record at 24), and he's proving to be a culinary star ascendant. Snap up a reservation for this Flag Day dinner, which Roussel is celebrating with his menu. It may be your last chance to say you knew him when...!