Creola’s debut menu includes elk steak dusted with blackberry jerky seasoning, a pot-like consommé, panises– Fried chickpea flour sticks – served with kale aioli. When I visited, she had switched to a menu inspired by the summer picnics of her childhood. Despite the austere theme, the dishes are equally sophisticated: The opening “canapés” include oysters in Tasso ham mignonette, tender oxtail croquettes, and little cheese dream sandwiches (a Southern forerunner of modern grilled cheese, slathered in tomato sauce). Succotash is reimagined as a frozen corn soup that’s rich and flavourful, studded with sweet corn kernels and tiny chunks of colorful tomato. There is a ring of basil oil and a tangle of fried okra strips on the surface. With humble mashed potatoes laid out next to generous amounts of crispy lard, gooey caramelized onions and celery shreds, plus a dollop of canary-yellow hollandaise made with bacon fat, it’s a riff on potato salad that’s just as fun to eat bit by bit as it is to mix the elements together. There was the option of adding a bit of osetra caviar, but I didn’t think the dish—earthy, salty, dense—needed to be beefed up.
In a less personal restaurant, this kind of deconstructed, fuss-free, French-style food might have made me roll my eyes. But it works here, in part because of the creative promise that comes with the idea of a supper club. Many restaurants change their menus seasonally, but such regular, complete overhauls are rare, especially for a small eatery like Criolla, which has a small staff — just Lago Marcini, a sous chef, a dishwasher and a front-of-house person who is host, waiter and busboy all in one. Is this a crazy way to do business? perhaps. With so many new dishes, are there any missing items among the popular dishes? inevitable. (that meat sauce in the earth’s crustWhile it looks gorgeous, it’s dry and a bit boring. ) but it also makes the restaurant feel like a worthy long-term investment. I know many people who, after their first meal at Creola, decide to come back for every new menu item, just like you buy season tickets for the opera or regularly check out the re-enactments at the Metrograph.