Fantastic Voyage
Christino's provides a tasty trip through Mediterranean flavors.
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CHRISTINO'S EXECUTIVE CHEF MARK GRAHAM HAS REVAMPED THE NEW RESTAURANT'S
MENU.
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WHAT: Christino's
CUISINE: Mediterranean
WHEN: Breakfast, Lunch and dinner daily
WHERE: 228 Camp St., 571-7500
CARDS: Major
On a sultry summer evening at sunset, my dinner companions nad I headed to
Christino's to enjoy a cool, quiet Mediterranean dinner, Walter Staib-style. It
was Saturday night, and we were anxious to check out the new chef and the newly
opened oyster bar on the corner of Camp and Gravier streets. We drove up to the
restaurant and found there was no valet, so we proceeded to park in the lot
next door. Our table overlooking Camp Street provided a bird's-eye view of the
new International Hotel across the street. We were immediately comforted by hot
bread served with a cool, earthy tapenade and a roasted tomato relish that came
with whipped butter. The mood was soothing, from the soft colors created by
floral scenes and clouds painted on the ceiling to the light jazz engulfing the
dining room. The food came out quickly in a steady profusion of small, delicate
courses, all artfully presented and each one more sumptuous than the next.
Christino's is another clever Walter Staib concept. The
globe-trotting restaurant guru has conceptualized and opened more than 300 fine
restaurants all over the world, including several other Christino's that
evolved from his Villa Christina concept in Atlanta. The last time I dined at
one of Staib's restaurants outside of New Orleans was several years ago in Ocho
Rios, Jamaica, at a fabulous, open-air beachfront cafe nestled in the posh
Ciboney resort.
The new restaurant, which opened last December, is an improvement
over the one formerly housed there, Sapphire, which closed last August and was
run by chef Kevin Graham and co-owned by renowned New Orleans artist Mario
Villa. (Graham is reportedly now hanging his toque on the West Coast.) Some of
the intriguing design elements implemented by Villa thankfully have been
preserved at Christino's, including the large windows etched with nudes facing
Camp. One of the most disappointing changes is the decision not to offer valet
parking.
The revised lunch menu, introduced last Monday, was created by the
new kitchen team of executive chef Mark Grant and executive sous chef
Harvey Loumiet. Several items on the dinner menu are slated to be introduced
this week. Dishes well worth a try include barbecue spiced oysters, wild
mushroom strudel wrapped in phyllo, shrimp and chorizo sausage lasagna, and
pistachio-crusted salmon.
The 29-year-old Grant, a 1994 graduate of the Culinary Institute of
America who was executive sous chef at Lindy's in Columbus, Ohio,
succeeds former executive chef Guy Dumaine. Loumiet is a New Orleans
native who worked under Kevin Graham at the Windsor Court Grill Room before
becoming the executive chef at Broussard's.
So we knew we were in good hands. Our Mediterranean voyage began
with a memorable barbecue spiced oysters. Before being cooked, the fresh
bivalves had been tossed in a dry mixture of ground cumin, curry powder,
coriander, chili powder and dry mustard, resulting in several fiery,
copper-colored oysters served on a bed of marinated red onions and spinach
salad, laced with a pungent, creamy gorgonzola dressing.
Another new item we enjoyed was wild mushroom strudel. The tiny
discs of phyllo filled with a duxelle of wild mushrooms laced with tarragon
were served on a bed of tart red onion confit and finished with a roasted
eggplant coulis touched with a dash of tahini and heavy cream. Masterful.
The tour-de-force was the new shrimp and chorizo lasagna. Fresh
shrimp and crawfish, blended with spicy chorizo sausage in a light cream sauce
enhanced by fresh basil and shallots, were nestled between two flat sheets of
pasta. Although the flavors were robust, the effect was delicate.
The best piece of fish we enjoyed that night was salmon, a fillet
dusted lightly with a pistachio and sourdough crumb mixture and then sauteed
and served with a creamy saffron risotto finished with a dill cream sauce. The
dish is accompanied by an assortment of sauteed, oven-roasted vegetables that
were perfectly browned -- a crunchy medley of healthful flavors.
After a superb cappuccino served in an oversized cup, I tasted
several fine desserts, the best of which was an unusual but excellent creme
brulee that had the consistency of sabayon rather than a custard, topped with
fresh blueberries. After dinner, we crossed the street to peek into Loa and the
hot new Vietnamese restaurant at International House, then returned to our car,
thankful for our peaceful Mediterranean evening far from the maddening crowds.
Christino's succeeds on every level, although valet parking would serve as an
added attraction for the dinner crowd.
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