Criollo
The brilliant, four-year-old dining room of the Monteleone Hotel inherited some fine Reveillon traditions the now-extinct Hunt Room Grill. The much more handsome Criollo presents the great old traditional food more richly. Here is your Christmas goose, for example. Notable are two desserts that date back to the Hunt Room: buche de Noel (the Yule log in cake form) and choux pastry crepes St. Honore. The price is a bit higher than most, but you get five courses with a lot of choices.Five courses, $75.
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Dining room at Criollo int he Monteleone Hotel.[/caption]
Grilled Lamb Rossette
Scallops, turnip greens, and red beet purée
~or~
Smoked Quail Risotto
Caramelized cranberries, sunny–up quail eggs, smoked olive oil
~or~
Fricassee of Rabbit and Sweetbreads
Wild mushrooms & hunter sauce
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Butternut Squash Soup
Brie & white truffle
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Beet Salad with Pecan Tuile
Grapefruit and pepper jelly vinaigrette
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Roasted Goose and Pears
Braised red cabbage, sweet potatoes, and pecan-bacon gastrique
~or~
Coriander-Crusted Lamb Chops
Foie gras, chestnuts & port wine reduction
~or~
Beef Cheek Tarte Tatin
Blue cheese and poached pear
~or~
Paupiette of Flounder
Jumbo lump crab, gulf shrimp, haricots verts, and salsify root
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Bûche de noël
Coffee & vanilla genoise, cocoa butter cream
~or~
Gateau Saint Honoré
Hazelnut profiteroles, chocolate mousse, and candied berries
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Criollo. French Quarter: Monteleone Hotel, 214 Royal. 504-523-3341.
FULL REVIEW
All the Reveillon menus can be perused here. We'll feature one every day throughout the Reveillon season, which runs in most of the Reveillon restaurants until December 31.The snowflake ratings are for the Reveillon menu, not the restaurant in general. Dishes marked with an asterisk are my recommendations.
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