The Feast of the Seven Fishes, aka “la Vigilia,” is an Italian-American tradition that stems from the Roman Catholic observance of abstaining from eating meat on the eve of a feast day. The meal, consisting of seven seafood dishes, is traditionally served on Christmas Eve in most homes and restaurants, though some venues extend the offering to Christmas Day as well.
While the trappings of the holiday, with its emphasis on abstinence, might lead some to expect humble fare, many restaurants use the occasion to pull out all the stops. The tasting menu at Ai Fiori, for example, opens with oysters with sea urchin and trout roe and continues on to Peconic bay scallops and black truffle. The main event is butter-poached lobster. Prices for the seven courses (one of which, nota bene, is tiramisu) are predictably high: $245 per person for the food, optional wine pairing $175. Ai Fiori, 400 Fifth Avenue, at W. 37th St., 212-613-8660.
Don Angie, which rose to fame partly on the strength of its reinvention of Italian fare, will serve “beloved classics” (think Don Angie’s Meatballs) and “luxe specials” (think a special version of Don Angie’s famous Pinwheel Lasagna topped with lobster) as part of its four-course extravaganza. The event, scheduled to take place on Dec. 15, is described as a “charity dinner,” which is their way of saying that all proceeds from the evening will benefit City Harvest — which is another way of saying that dinner will set you back $675 per person(!). Don Angie, 103 Greenwich Avenue, 212-889-8884; San Sabino, 113 Greenwich Avenue, 212-970-8808.
Seven courses may constitute a lot of food for some diners — an obstacle restaurants may overcome by attenuating the number of courses in their Feasts of the Seven Fishes to four or five. At Oceana, in Midtown, the first of the five courses is a carpaccio of octopus with black winter truffle and black garlic aioli. The per-person charge for five courses is $125, $100 for the optional wine pairing. Full-table participation is required for the feast. Oceania, 120 W. 49th Street.
At Roman’s, in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, the four-course Feast menu will include shared antipasti, pasta, main course, and dessert. The holiday menu will be available both on Christmas Eve (Dec. 24), and Christmas Day (Dec. 25). Roman’s, 243 Dekalb Avenue, Brooklyn.
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