Reveillon Tradition Continues
Réveillon is a New Orleans tradition dating back to the mid-1800s. Back then, Creole families celebrated Réveillon twice during the holidays, Christmas Eve and again on New Year’s Eve. Now it’s celebrated on a nightly basis with rich, indulgent and very delicious multi-course meals, from Dec. 1 to New Year’s Eve at premier restaurants throughout the city.
Traditionally, the Christmas Eve meal celebrated the Christian faith. When families returned from St. Louis Cathedral, they broke their daylong fast with a large, extravagant meal that included egg dishes, sweetbreads and Creole dishes like daube glace, which is a jellied stew made with seasoned beef and veal stock molded and served cold as hors d’oeuvres with crackers. The meal typically ended with a cake filled with fruit confection, drizzled with wine or rum and topped with whipped cream.
While Christmas was spent only with the family, New Year’s Eve was celebrated in a large group that also included friends and other loved ones. This fun-filled meal featured delicious treats like eggnog, fancy pastries, meringues, sugar sculptures, and crystallized fruits. Afterward, families would return home and enjoy a light meal before an evening of dancing and singing.
Today, restaurants in New Orleans serve both traditional menus inspired by the Creole tradition and contemporary menus using modern-day ingredients and techniques not available when the tradition started.
Here are our favorite New Orleans restaurants participating this year. Click on the name of the restaurant to start the reservation process.
ANNUNCIATION Restaurant – Celebrate the holiday with four heavenly courses at ANNUNCIATION Restaurant in the Warehouse District. The Housemade Cheesecake Tarte with Orange Liquor Drizzle is calling our name. View complete menu. $69.
This great restaurant will also be offering special Holiday Jazz Brunches with live piano music on December 15th, 22nd and 29th. Visit annunciationrestaurant.com for info and to make reservations.
Commander's Palace – A five-course feast awaits in the Garden District in one of the most beloved restaurants in the South. Come taste delights such as Plaquemens Parish Citrus Glazed Pork and Oysters and North Dakota Bison. View menu. $135.
The Pelican Club – This restaurant on Exchange Alley serves one of the best Reveillons in town every year. We can’t wait to try the Louisiana Cioppino. View menu. $67 and up.
Tujague’s – The second oldest restaurant in New Orleans blends traditions of the old with the new with a four-course Reveillon guaranteed to get you in the spirit of Christmas. View complete menu. $65.
Read: Santa's Must Do List in New Orleans
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