For the holidays here in the subtropics, the seasonal cues we get are often more subtle than the snowy scenes from Christmas central casting.
But when I see green garlands edging on our streetcars, when I see live oaks swirling with light strings, or just let me hear the whistle from City Park’s miniature train drifting down Bayou St. John — well, that’s when I feel the holiday spirit in my bones.
Not surprisingly given this town’s preoccupation with the dinner table, it’s all enough stir cravings for hearty comfort food and cozy settings, no matter what the thermometer says.
You want cozy cuisine? Consider the beef Wellington, essentially a tenderloin bundled up in a sweater of pastry dough. They’re doing a great one at the Husky on Freret Street and a colossal one for sharing over at Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse.
How about a turducken, Cajun country’s triple-stuffed feat of poultry? It’s on a holiday menu this year at Gabrielle restaurant, along with daube glace, a Creole antique of a dish that stages an annual return this time of the year.
Not coincidentally, Gabrielle is one of about 50 New Orleans restaurants serving réveillon menus this month, part of a tradition that brings out many of these seasonal, even nostalgic dishes. Find all the menus at neworleans.com.
This year, more are making seafood the star of réveillon, in the Italian holiday tradition of the feast of seven fishes. You’ll find examples at Donald Link’s restaurant Gianna, at historic Pascal’s Manale, at Avo (which sadly is closing for good just before around Christmas) and at Domenica in the Roosevelt Hotel, where the lobby is a glittering, Sazerac-soaked holiday wonderland.
And if you go to Arnaud’s in the French Quarter, for réveillon or just a French 75 cocktail, bring along a newly purchased teddy bear. The restaurant collects them in December for New Orleans police officers, who hand them out to children on their beat, a meaningful addition to your dinner in synch with the giving spirit, no matter what the weather at the moment.
