Christmas Eve Eats

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, thoughts were turned to dinner. In my house, dinner is an inspired compilation of takeout from countries with red, white and green flags. My favorites are usually the spaghetti and tamales. If you'd like a more spirited Christmas Eve celebration, book a table at one of these fine restaurants.

Talented chef Scott Bryan has earned raves during his brief stint at 2941. He'll leave the restaurant during the first week in January, so Christmas Eve is a perfect time to catch him working his magic. The restaurant will serve a six-course (hey, it's Christmas!) prix fixe meal ($95) with the most luscious ingredients around. There is a choice of two options per course, so you'll be forced to decide between foie gras with quince confit and sweetbreads with black truffles, pan-roasted turbot with melted leeks and caviar or pan-seared salmon with cabbage, bacon and red wine. Duck breast with spiced pumpkin puree or wild mushroom and truffle ravioli? Prime beef with truffles or pan-roasted pheasant with Brussels sprouts? Dessert offers the choice of a peppermint patty sponge cake or a buche de Noel. Wine pairings are an additional $65.

For dinner on Christmas Eve and from noon until 8 p.m. on Christmas Day, Morrison-Clark Inn will serve a five-course holiday menu ($75). The prix fixe meal features a gratin of scallops, roasted squash bisque, roast rib-eye with chanterelles, creamed spinach and popovers and sticky toffee pudding or a buche de Noel.

The Carlyle Club will be also open Christmas Eve from 5 to 10 p.m. serving an a la carte menu and a few chef-selected Christmas specials. Traditional holiday decorations and seasonal music will be abundant throughout the art deco-inspired restaurant.

Equinox serves up a seasonal a la carte feast on Christmas Eve. Choices include a cream of chestnut soup, prime rib, duck breast, lobster ravioli, egg nog creme brulee and yule log.

Chevy Chase's Famoso offers a Christmas Eve menu of foods traditional in Emilia-Romagna. The four-course prix fixe menu ($55) includes a rabbit salad, cappelletti (or little ravioli) in a capon broth, slow-cooked dried salt cod and a panettoni souffle with white chocolate.

Oceanaire Seafood Room will serve its full menu on Christmas Eve from 11:30 a.m. until 9 p.m. The restaurant features sustainable seafood along with a few festive winter dishes like walnut-crusted barramundi with fig, trout stuffed with Eastern Shore stuffing and scallops with cherries.

The Mandarin Oriental offers two options for Christmas Eve feasting. The more casual Cafe MoZU will offer Christmas Eve dinner. The three-course prix fixe menu ($68; $35, ages 12 and under) offers choices for each course. Options include Christmas-inspired sushi rolls, coffee-cured duck breast, warm pumpkin salad and chestnut cream with chocolate blinis. On Christmas Day, the restaurant will offer an elaborate buffet for brunch from 11:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. and dinner from 5:30 to 10 p.m. For a more extravagant celebration, CityZen offers a seven-course prix fixe dinner ($150) from 6 until 8:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve. The menu offers ribbons of grilled wagyu beef, filet of cod with smoked cod hash, pan-seared Pekin duck with braised Swiss chard and foie gras, chestnut bavarois and CityZen grasshopper pie. The pie is a tradition dating back to chef Eric Ziebold's childhood when it was served each Christmas. At CityZen, he reinvents the dessert each year. This year, the dessert is a transcendent pave of Valrhona chocolate in a fresh garden mint broth with an Oreo cookie tuile.
--Erin

By Erin |  December 14, 2007; 2:50 PM ET Restaurants
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Posted by: scripto | December 23, 2007 5:27 PM

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