Santa Monica hotels offering gourmet to-go meals for Christmas and New Year’s
While many holiday traditions look different this year, one Westside culinary option remains the same: Christmas and New Year’s dinner to-go meals from Santa Monica restaurants at Hotel Casa Del Mar and Shutters on the Beach.
“During these times, we want to bring joy to our guests. The Food and Beverage team of Hotel Casa Del Mar and Shutters on the Beach wanted to bring some of our favorite recipes to our customers. Let us do the leg work! Order your selection of food, beverage: pick them up at your convenient time or have them delivered,” said Franck Savoy, Corporate Food and Beverage Director of ETC Hotels.
The Christmas menu–available both Christmas Eve and Day–is sure to warm the soul of all types of eaters. For appetizers, diners have three options: Weiser Farms heirloom pumpkin soup; spiced pear salad, house-smoked duck and petite lettuce; wild white Mexican prawns served with grilled endive and passion fruit.
Moving onto the main course, guests again have three options. A timeless turkey, stuffing, sweet potato, cranberry sauce meal. Sage and rosemary gravy wagyu slow-braised short ribs served with mushroom and roasted vegetables. For a meatless option, the menu boasts a red wine sauce house-made winter vegetables lasagna.
“My favorite items on the Christmas menu are the Wild White Mexican Prawns – they are probably the finest shrimp in the world: light, flavorful and a wonderful way to start the meal and of course, you cannot forget the classics such as our Slow Roasted Boneless Mary’s Farm Organic Turkey with stuffing, whipped sweet potatoes and a cranberry sauce. Our vegetarian option, the House Made Winter Vegetable Lasagna is a cheese decadence that I love as well,” Savoy said.
And don’t forget about dessert.
“I have to be honest: I have a guilty pleasure on this menu: The Christmas Yule Log. This dessert brings me back to my childhood in France,” Savoy noted about the dessert menu which also includes a rustic apple pie.
The New Year’s Eve menu (also available on January 1) is equally as varied and elegant. The meal begins with three options: Main lobster bisque, roasted baby beets with burrata salad or house-smoked salmon and caviar. Moving on to the main course, wagyu slow-braised short ribs are back on the menu but this time served with creamy polenta. Joining the short ribs for main courses is a meatless option vegetable pavé and perhaps the star of the menu: roasted capon served with truffles.
“On the NYE menu, definitely the capon and black truffle. This is just the epiphany of the perfect celebration of the New Year. This moist, juicy and tasty chicken paired with Tuber Melanosporum (black truffle) makes you have a firework of flavor in your mouth. And don’t forget our smoked salmon and caviar to start with!” Savoy said.
Regardless of which of the varied options one picks, any dishes off the menu at Hotel Casa Del Mar or Shutters shares the same farm-to-table foundation.
“We are always inspired by the freshest and most in seasonal ingredients. But what stimulates us the most is our passion to please through amazing, organic and respected ingredients. We look to our local farmers and vendors to see what they are offering, and we curate our menus based on that. We couldn’t do anything without them. It starts with the soil, the water: the nature,” Savoy said.
While this is the first year that Shutters and Hotel Casa Del Mar have put out an official holiday to-go menu, Savoy notes that guests have been enjoying their meals at home for many years.
“We have been considering to go and delivery options for some time now. Many of our regulars who live nearby, prior to the pandemic, would stop off and pick up their family dinner on their way home. We offered our first Take Away on Thanksgiving and it was a big hit. Especially now, we want our guests to be able to enjoy our food in the comfort of their own home. We will also be launching a Take Away on a daily basis starting January 11th through Tock. Stay tuned for that!” Savoy said.
Orders can be placed through Tock at www.exploretock.com/shuttersonthebeach. Please call (424) 387-1258 if you have any further questions.
