Many nights after the sun had set this winter, I’d walk from my office to a parking lot near the Italian Community Center. Strings of white lights draped around the windows inside the Third Ward’s Holiday House sent out a flare to the convoy of hungry people heading to their cars and home to their dinners.
A holiday from any vantage point sounds awfully appealing, and in a lot of ways, I find Holiday House awfully appealing. Owner Joe Volpe, the 36-year-old owner, drew inspiration for his 7-month-old restaurant from another Holiday House – the same-name supper club his grandfather operated Downtown from the 1940s to early ’60s. Other than the name and some Rat Pack-era photos on display, Holiday House 2006 is thoroughly modern: white table linens, flickering votives, fresh flowers, bottles of olive oil and servers who are professional without the residue of overdoing it. Volpe shows at Tess, the cozy East Side restaurant he co-owns (named in honor of his grandmother), that a high-end restaurant doesn’t have to be stuffy. Holiday House isn’t either.
The menu’s “contemporary world cuisine” is a mouthful, but don’t be daunted. It’s just Volpe’s heterogeneous approach to dining. For example, appetizers on the winter menu looked like this: Louisiana-inspired seared diver scallops étouffée and Thai seared shrimp with a green curry-coconut milk sauce and basmati rice. A Korean braised beef short ribs entrée was followed on the menu by roast duck leg and breast in Door County cherry and brandy sauce. Volpe expects to have his spring menu out by late March. Live entertainment is coming, and expect sidewalk dining in the summer months.
I was initially skeptical about the location (its lack of foot traffic), but Holiday House has made a foothold in the Third Ward. It attracts a healthy, varied age group – 20s to 60s – and the circle-shaped bar appears to have strong magnetic ability.
Like me, the bar flies are learning that there are magnetic properties to the menu, too. Let’s begin with appetizers. Firm though fragile raviolis are filled with a creamy mixture of mascarpone, watercress and spinach ($8). I saturate each pillow in brown butter sauce, savoring the elegant richness of truffle oil. Thai shrimp ($9) is about chewing slowly and reflecting on cream. The coconut curry sauce travels over the baby corn and wild mushrooms before settling into the basmati rice, giving it the richness of savory rice pudding. It even slightly masked the firmness of the shrimp, which were a shade overdone.
Green options range from the peppered smoked trout salad ($9) to a toss of Thai basil with Lolla Rossa (a red-edged green), cucumber and heart of palm ($8). I’m jazzed on the subject of beets and dried apricots. One earthy, the other sweet, they tumble together scrumptiously in the Jazz salad, along with clumps of soft goat cheese, whole walnuts and buttery Bibb lettuce ($8). The Holiday Blue is a winning combination of blue cheese (Roquefort), toasted pine nuts, Bibb and radicchio and a few cherry tomatoes in cherry and red wine vinaigrette ($8).
When on Holiday, gravitate toward the water. The salmon filet is wrapped in a sheet of prosciutto and roasted ($19). The fish reveals disparities (crusty and juicy, firm and supple) and complements (salty and suggestive of an open fire). A prim, multi-layered parsnip gratin and marinated asparagus provide delicacy. The seared scallops ($22) have a gorgeous tanned top and that perfect solid-tender texture. The golden lemon-butter sauce might be lighter and the marinated asparagus firmer, but I love the sticky rice suffused with lavender – it reminds me of summer fields in Provence. The flaky, creamy black bass, with its bronze patina, is probably my favorite ($21). The cooked lentils, fried capers, sautéed green beans and sharp olive tapenade complete the French countryside picture.
Of the meat entrées, the pork tenderloin reminds me of fall apples – the tender slices of pork acquire their perky sweetness from a vin santo sauce and golden raisin-apple compote ($18). The Port wine reduction is the defining element of my seared beef tenderloin, marinated in cocoa that deepens the meat’s beefy flavor without imparting a bitter cocoa bean flavor ($26).
The motto at the original Holiday House was “every day is a holiday.” That’s a message one can always carry over to desserts (all $9) in this new enterprise. The two best – a breathtaking frozen gateau (silky hazelnut mousse encased in chocolate ganache with dramatic fresh mint ice cream) and a buttery, subtly sweet pecan tart – make up for an underdone (i.e., wet) flourless chocolate cake.
This is a Holiday I want to take again.
Holiday House
525 E. Menomonee Street
414- 272-1122
Hours: Sun-Mon 5-9 p.m.; Tues-Thurs 5-10 p.m.; Fri-Sat 5-11 p.m.
Prices: appetizers $8-$14; salads $8-$9; entrées $14-$26; desserts $9
Service: unaffected, attentive, friendly
Dress: You call it
Handicap access: yes
Nonsmoking section: yes
Credit cards: M V A DS
Reservations: recommended
