During the mid-1800’s, New Orleans’ Creole families celebrated the “Reveillon” (French for “awakening”) twice during the holidays. The first Reveillon came after Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, when families returned from St. Louis Cathedral to break a daylong fast with an elaborate meal. New Year’s Eve brought another Reveillon, usually shared among several families. This more festive meal featured eggnog, fancy pastries, meringues, sugar sculptures, and crystallized fruits.

Today’s Reveillon is celebrated nightly during the Christmas season in restaurants throughout the city. Menus combine ageless Creole cuisine with more contemporary New Orleans dishes, but the spirit of the past remains. Revel in nostalgia. Join us for the Reveillon at any of the fine locations below.

7 on Fulton – Reveillon menu offered throughout the month of December during dinner from 6-10pm. The Reveillon menu will be the only menu offered on Christmas Eve & New Year’s Eve.

Bombay Club – The Bombay Club’s Reveillon menu is available all month long.

Broussard’s – Broussard’s offers a German approach to the Reveillon dinner throughout December.

The Pelican Club – The Pelican Club once again offers their fantastic 4 Course Prix Fixe Reveillon Menu.

Roux on Orleans – The Roux on Orleans at the Bourbon Orleans Hotel offers their Reveillon menu on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays throughout December.

Also Offering Reveillon Menus

Visit the following restaurants’ websites to inquire about their 2011 Reveillon menus.

Antoine’s Restaurant
Since 1840, Antoine’s has been noted for its excellent French-Creole cuisine and numerous historical dining rooms. Antoine’s has long been a tradition for both locals and visitors to New Orleans. An unmatched dining experience in the heart of the French Quarter.

Arnaud’s
The ultimate New Orleans dining experience featuring award-winning Creole cuisine, friendly service and charming French Quarter ambiance. You won’t be disappointed!

Brennan’s
A legend in New Orleans — and a dining experience not to be missed. Enjoy the famous breakfast at Brennan’s .. and lunch and dinner, too! Located in the heart of the French Quarter.

Court of Two Sisters
The Court of Two Sisters is known for its festive daily Jazz Brunch buffet and large, picturesque courtyard. Dinner, which is served nightly and features a four-course dinner and an a la carte menu, is also an experience not to be missed when visiting the French Quarter.

Galvez Restaurant
Galves Restaurant is the French Quarter’s best Riverfront dining facility featuring continental Spanish, French, and Creole cuisine and an outstanding array of mouth-watering Tapas.

Royal House Oyster Bar
Need to plan a special event? Creole Cuisine Entertainment combines the delicious cuisine of Royal House Restaurant in an exclusive balcony room setting.

Tujague’s
New Orleans’ second oldest restaurant! Located across from the French Market in the heart of the French Quarter, Tujague’s has retained its reputation for providing an unforgettable dining experience in the original Creole tradition.

Get ready for The New Orleans Wine and Food Experience, ranked in the Top 10 Food & Wine Destinations in the U.S. and fourth in the World according to the TripAdvisor Annual Travelers’ Choice Destination Awards. The 2011 event will kick off on Tuesday, May 24th with the Ella Brennan Award Dinner & Live Auction. On Wednesday, try a wine dinner at some of New Orleans’ most notable restaurants. The traditional Royal Street Stroll and Vinola Tasting takes place on Thursday, and the Grand Tastings provide the grand finale on Friday and Saturday, May 27th-28th.

Event Highlights: Chef John Folse and renowned Chef Rick Tramonto will present a revolutionary take on Creole cuisine inspired by their new local venture; and the Culinary School at Badia a Coltibuono will offer special tastings from the Chianti Region.

Other featured seminars and events of the 2011 schedule include:

Effervescence Everyday: Discover world-class sparkling wines made in the Champagne method
Eat, Stay, Love: Local chefs from nearby hotel restaurants demonstrate their culinary skill
Kindred Ingredients: Chef Donald Link presents a seminar on Louisiana Crawfish and Rice
Honing your Craft: Spiegelau & local brewmasters invite you to change the way you think about serving and enjoying draft beer
Bubbly Personalities: A comparative look at the Champagne House’s style and vintages

– New Orleans Restaurants

Bananas foster, barbecue, shrimp, crawfish, alligator and more will be available for feasting upon. You can enjoy your hearty meal to your choice of sweet sounds from gospel, jazz, funk, classical, cajun and zydeco, brass bands and much more.

The French Quarter Festival runs from Thursday, April 7th to Sunday, April 11th.

Check out what some of our favorite restaurants will be serving at the upcoming festival…

Broussard’s Restaurant & Courtyard

• Crawfish in Puff Pastry with Mustard Dill
• Slow Roasted Pork in Onion Stew Poboy

Bombay Club

• Beef Brisket Sandwich
• Gulf Shrimp Escabeche

The Court of Two Sisters

• Turtle Soup au Sherry
• Crawfish Louise

Tujague’s

• Shrimp and Crabmeat Stuffed Mirliton w/ Creole Sauce
• Brisket of Beef w/ Horseradish Sauce

Antoine’s Restaurant

• Oyster Bonne Femme over Bow Tie Pasta
• Shrimp Regua
• Baked Alaska

Oceana Grill

• Tempura Battered Softshell Crab Poboy
• Chargrilled Oysters Oceana

Ralph and Kacoo’s

• Crawfish Jambalaya
• Cajun Pasta

Red Fish Grill

• Alligator Sausage and Seafood Gumbo
• Smoked Crawfish Poboy

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.

• Fried Seafood Cakes
• Cajun Shrimp Bowl

House of Blues

• BBQ Ribs

Hard Rock Café

• Angus Burger w/ Chips
• BBQ Shrimp Po Boy

GW Fins

• Gulf Fish Tacos
• Bananas Foster

Even if you are not able to make tonight’s opening, the festival has events every Tuesday and Wednesday night over the next seven weeks and a closing reception on Friday night, May 13th. But don’t wait too long on purchasing tickets. The night’s festivities for March 23rd are already sold out!

Wine connoisseurs will certainly not want to miss out on these fine collections from around the world.

For more information, visit the official site of the French Quarter Wine Festival.

Our table in the dining room looked out onto a spacious courtyard edged with trees. We had a nice view through large archway windows, and the building’s brickwork created a lovely, historic atmosphere. The wait staff was very friendly and took care of our every need.

Many of us opted for the Tanglewood Half-Roasted Chicken, described on the menu as “oven-roasted with Southern Comfort chipotle glaze and Bourbon sweet potato mash, spiced pecans, and vegetables.” The resulting dish was a fantastic combination of sweet flavors tempered with spice. Others had the flavorful Shrimp & Grits, which had creamy grits, peppers, shrimp, and Andouille sausage.

We enjoyed a variety of desserts to wrap up the meal with a nice cup of coffee.

We highly recommend Broussard’s for a company party or just for a fantastic dining experience in the French Quarter.

Join Chef Duke LoCicero at Café Giovanni in a celebration of the season on Friday, December 3rd, at 7:30pm for an evening filled with food, fun and festivities to benefit Chef Duke’s Foundation for Kids. Tickets are $75 per person, and each attendee is required to bring a $20 Best Buy, Walmart or Toys R Us gift card or a $20 donation. All money raised will be used to buy gifts that will be delivered to children receiving care at Tulane Hospital and the Children’s Hospital.

The evening will feature a savory selection of Chef Duke’s signature cuisine, premium wines, live entertainment by local performers, and live and silent auctions to raise money for toys for underprivileged children. WWL Channel 4’s Eric Paulsen, Greg Reggio and Chef Duke LoCicero will emcee the live auction.

Call 529-2154 for tickets, or simply pay at the door on the evening of the event. Dress for the festive soiree is cocktail attire.

Café Giovanni is located at 117 Decatur Street in the French Quarter.

Founded in 1992 by Chef Duke LoCicero, chef/owner of Café Giovanni and host of radio talk show “DIG IN” on WSMB 1350 AM, The Chef Duke Foundation for Kids focuses on providing much needed funding (typically for education purposes and health related issues) for children in difficult financial circumstances. This Holiday Season, Chef Duke and his merry clan will visit children at Tulane Hospital and Children’s Hospital, delivering toys and holiday wishes.

Click here to view Antoine’s Restaurant December Revellion menu.

While walking in the French Quarter this past weekend, my wife and I decided to try something different for dinner. We checked several menus posted near front doors for selection and pricing, but we were on a mission. We were looking for something affordable and intriguing.

Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville proved to fit our requirements exactly. Margaritaville is a restaurant bursting with character with colorful designs and beach style rock music by Buffett and other bands. The restaurant offers live music on occasion, but we were not there during a performance.

Looking at the menu, we noticed a special currently running entitled the “Recession Recess.” The restaurant offered a selection of meals for only $7.95 to help people out during a tighter economy. We each ordered the red beans and rice with smoked sausage links. When the food came out, we were blown away by the size of the portions for the reduced price. In fact, we were too full for dessert, and we had leftovers to take home. And, of course, no discussion about Margaritaville would be complete without mentioning that our frozen Tropical Fruit Margarita was absolutely fantastic.

The restaurant is likely geared more for tourists, but as locals to the area, we received a special discount card. Not only will our future meals be marked off, but we were also able to enjoy savings on the same night!

Great food. Great service. Great price.

Margaritaville is a blast!

–By Michael Roberts

With recent news of a tomato health scare, we at NewOrleansRestaurants.com think that it’s a perfect opportunity to shed some light on our beloved Creole tomatoes.

Grown only in certain parts of southern Louisiana, Creole tomatoes are revered in a city known for good food. This tasty fruit – yes fruit – has become the basis for so many southern dishes that locals have created an event in which to celebrate it – the annual French Market Creole Tomato Festival, held every year in June.

At the festival this past weekend, people took in cooking demonstrations, tasting sessions, recipes and even got down to some local music. There were even people dressed in giant tomato costumes looming about.

As we assure you, our local tomatoes are perfectly safe to eat, we invite you to support our Louisiana farmers by cooking up some pasta, seafood stuffed tomatoes, or even some salsa. You’ll be doing a good deed, and hey, your taste buds will thank you.