Over the next couple of SideDishes, we’ll highlight some of the specials and multi-course dinners that restaurants are offering for the holidays. Today it’s Christmas Eve dining. Next up this Friday will be New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day specials. Need more suggestions? Want to offer one yourself? Click here to see several more restaurants serving dinner on Christmas Eve — including Rainbow Lodge, Mockingbird Bistro, TQLA and Damian’s. The list keeps growing!
Max’s Wine Dive
Busy on Christmas Eve with traditional family stuff? How about a nice wine dinner for just you and your sweetheart (or best friend) on December 23? Chef Michael Pelligrino at Max’s Wine Dive on Washington Avenue will be preparing “a signature surprise dinner, with handpicked wine pairings perfect for the holidays” that will “reinvoke the beliefs you had as a child and help you rediscover the magic of this holiday season.” Talk about setting high expectations! It sounds like fun, though, and we’re game. The cost is $75 per person (not bad at all for a dinner with pairings) or $250 for a package of four tickets.
Nosh Bistro
My Table magazine recently visited Nosh Bistro, and we think Christmas Eve dinner and wine gets a lot more interesting when you throw a little non-traditional spice in the mix. This new eatery just off Kirby and the Hwy. 59 South feeder road is offering a four-course meal for $65 per person. Temptations include tuna tartare with fried kale greens, masala salmon and chai tea cake with fresh mint cream.
Étoile Cuisine et Bar
“Étoile” means “star” in French and our recent visit to this restaurant left us with stars in our eyes. Chef Philippe Verpiand will serve a three-course prix-fixe Christmas Eve menu for $56 per person, as well as a children’s menu for only $25. Appealing selections include Bisque de Homard (lobster bisque) and Plat de Côtes de Boeuf Braisés, the braised beef short ribs that we recently raved about in SideDish. We may have a new favorite, though: Magret de Canard à l’Orange (roasted duck breast, beech mushrooms, daikon with blood orange spiced gastrique) is absolutely gorgeous. Close everything out with a traditional Christmas log of vanilla ice cream and crème anglaise for dessert.
Steak, Steak and Fish
If nothing but a fine steak will do for your family’s Christmas Eve meal, the Landry’s group of restaurants is providing plenty of options for the evening. Downtown’s Vic & Anthony’s will be open 5 to 9 pm, while Morton’s the Steakhouse (newly acquired by Landry’s) is open all day, from 11 am to 10 pm. Westside residents might be interested in Brenner’s on I-10 near Beltway 8. In more of a seafood mood? All of the McCormick & Schmick’s locations are ready to serve you 11 am to midnight.
Line & Lariat
Line & Lariat in the Hotel Icon downtown sounds like they have a fun time planned for Christmas Eve. From 5 to 9 pm, tamales, wild game summer sausage, artisan cheeses and house-made crackers will be served. There will be Christmas movies playing in the lobby and wassail on hand to keep you toasty warm.
Philippe Restaurant + Lounge
Philippe Restaurant + Lounge on Post Oak Blvd. will be open Christmas Eve for dinner service only 4 to 10 pm. To celebrate the evening, they’ll have a few special a la carte dishes that aren’t regularly available, including creamy lentil soup with fresh black truffle shavings; crab ravioli with Pernod shrimp broth, thyme, saffron, orange zest, crab claw and basil; Cornish hen with roasted fresh chestnut, walnut mustard sauce, fricassee of salsify and chanterelle mushrooms; and a Christmas log, a mousse of dark chocolate and caramel milk chocolate layered with vanilla crème brûlée and gingerbread sponge cake.
RA Sushi
Saving your pennies for those after-Christmas sales? Both locations of RA Sushi will be offering all-day happy hour pricing on December 24 from 11 am to 4 pm. The happy hour menu features more than 35 appetizer, sushi and drink selections ranging from $2.25 to $7.25.