Venison leaps onto seasonal menus

Nation's Restaurant News, Oct 28, 1996 by Carolyn Walkup

Maxaluna in Boca Raton, Fla., adds a Latin American twist to its roasted rack of venison with calabaza and potato pie. The pan-seared, preferably rare rack is centered on the plate and accented by a wedge of calabaza pumpkin, which has been baked with cinnamon, brown sugar and honey and a wedge of potato torte layered with Parmesan and rosemary. Green pumpkin seed oil and seeds garnish the dish.

Michael Weinstein, chef at Riviera in Dallas, features venison as a special when cooler weather arrives. He sautes the leg, which he finds to be as tender as the loin, and flavors it with sour cherry and red-wine foie gras sauce. Sometimes he serves the venison in combination with guinea hen or pheasant.

"For a while everybody jumped on the ostrich bandwagon. Now they seem to be going back to venison," he says.