<< previous   next >>

the buzz

“Where to Celebrate Xmas and Ring in the New Year (an option for every budget)”

The season’s first heavy snowfall is blanketing the city just in time to put you in the spirit of the holidays. Still, it can be a stressful time of the year. You have gifts to buy and wrap, yet another party to attend, work is dragging and you’re beginning to plot that tropical destination getaway. At The Strong Buzz, we’re making it a little easier for you. We’ve compiled a range of specials that restaurants are offering to help you celebrate Christmas and ring in 2010. Whether you’re looking for a white truffle-filled dinner or a laid-back night with live music, we’ve got options for you. So make the reservations early and in no time you’ll find yourself sipping some bubbles and sharing dinner with loved ones. Happy holidays! 

— Bao Ong
 

Bar Henry
Where: 90 West Houston St. (near LaGuardia Place), 646-448-4559, www.barhenry.com
On the menu: Bar Henry is a good choice if you don’t want to deal with the trouble of securing a table at Minetta Tavern but still want similar food in a cozy setting that’s fun and intimate in Greenwich Village. Chefs Cosme Aguilar and Christian Ortiz are offering two seatings on New Year’s Eve. The first seating between 5:30 and 7 p.m. consists of a $60 a person three-course dinner that includes raw and fried oysters, a juicy grilled pork chop and traditional French desserts like an apple tarte tatin. Wine pairings go for $30 and $50. If you’d rather stay up late, there’s a 4-course dinner that begins at 8:30 p.m. for $80 a person, with $35 and $55 wine pairing options. The additional dishes here include pearls of caviar, silky chicken liver mousse and Manhattan dry-aged steak. The night ends with a Champagne toast.
 
Txikito
Where: 240 Ninth Ave. (between 24th and 25th Streets), 212-242-4730, www.txikitonyc.com
On the menu: If you’re a fan of tapas, you know Alex Raij is one to turn to. At her tiny Txikito in Chelsea, she’s got two seatings with prix-fixe menus and complimentary bubbles on New Year’s Eve. The $85 per person during the first seating from 6:30 to 9 p.m. gets you a choice of beer, wine or Zurra (a house-made cocktail) plus canapés that include foie gras with myrtle berries and croquettes of jamon Ibericao with truffles. The entrees include a choice of suckling pig or salt-baked seam bream. The $125 seating from 9:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. includes the same choices but there’s also the warm salad of king oyster mushrooms, steamed lobster with ginger ajillo sauce and pressed veal jowl with squid ribbons. Space is limited her, so call for reservations.
 
Klee Brasserie
Where: 200 9th Ave., 212-633-8033, www.kleebrasserie.com
On the menu: Chef Daniel Angerer’s experience with Austrian cuisine means he knows his way around venison. From 5 to 10 p.m. on Christmas Eve, you can order the charred Pennsylvania venison ($33) that’s served with a winter root vegetable pot roast, black walnuts and quince chutney. Or you can go for the whole Muscovy duck ($59) that’s slow-roasted and serves two, it comes with Jerusalem artichoke, kabocha squash spatzel and sour cherry sauce. Other specials include the cream-free roasted chestnut soup with porcini mushrooms schnitzel croutons and green market pear and chocolate strudel with pine cone ice cream. 

Bao Noodles
Where: 391 Second Ave. (between 22nd and 23rd Streets), 212-725-7770, www.baonoodles.com
On the menu: No, it’s not a Michael Huynh restaurant. But at this Vietnamese restaurant, you can have a fun New Year’s Eve without the hefty price tag. From 10 p.m. until 1 a.m., owners Chris Andrews and Chris Johnson will hold a “creative black tie” event with an open bar, hors d’oeurves and dancing for only $50 per person.
 
Carmine’s
Where: 200 W. 44th St. and 2450 Broadway, 212-221-3800, 212-363-2200, www.carminesnyc.com
On the menu: An Italian family-style meal is always bad news for your waistline — you just can’t stop eating. For Christmas Eve and Day, both location of Carmine’s will sere sharable portions of class like a marinated seafood salad ($26) teeming with shrimp, scallops, calamari and scungili tossed in lemon olive oil and fresh herbs. There’s also a Chilean sea bass cipino ($48.50) that’s dotted with sea scallops, clams and mussels dressed in a tomato-fennel broth and roasted rack of lamb ($60.50) with roasted vegetables and potatoes laced with a rosemary sauce. The menu is available from 11:30 a.m. to midnight both days. But you’ll definitely want to bring more than yourself. 

NICE, BUT YOU'LL STILL BE ABLE TO PAY THE RENT

The Vanderbilt
Where: 570 Vanderbilt Ave. (corner of Bergen St.), Prospect Heights, 718-623-0570, http://thevanderbiltnyc.com/
 On the menu: The Vanderbilt in Brooklyn is already one of the gems of the neighborhood. So if you want to avoid the crazy crowds in Manhattan but still celebrate in style, consider Saul Bolton’s latest venture. He’s put together a $68 four-course prix-fixe menu (with an optional $40 wine pairing) for New Year’s Eve, beginning with 5 p.m. reservations. Some of the highlights include seemingly simple dishes like the slow-poached egg served over wild mushrooms and spinach, a hearty roasted Colorado lamb loin and a dessert of chocolate peanut butter cake paired with Concord grape gelee and buttermilk ice cream.

Kampuchea and The Norry at Kampuchea                        Where: 78 Rivington St., 212-529-3901, www.kampucheanyc.com On the menu: On the fringes of the trendy Lower East Side, Ratha Chaupoly and Scott Burnett have revamped Kampuchea with a new pub next door called The Norry. Both play homage to Cambodian cuisine. So if you’re looking for a more ethnic twist to your New Year’s celebration, this is a great choice. The first seating is at 6 p.m. and you can order a la carte but at the 9 p.m. seating, there will be a $100 four-course prix-fixe menu with party favors and gifts. You’ll taste some of Kampuchea’s new, creative dishes like an eggplant terrine (with ginger sabayon and petite lettuces), crispy pork belly (glazed with honey and cider, scallions and toasted lemongrass) and hot chocolate (with coffee tapioca and meringue). 

Dressler                                                                             Where: 149 Broadway (between Bedford and Driggs) in Williamsburg, 718-384-6348, www.dresslernyc.com                     On the menu: Even emo hipsters like nice things for the holidays. And in Billyburg, one of the most popular neighborhood spots is Dressler, with its simple but well-executed food from Polo Dobkin’s kitchen. To ring in 2010, Dressler put together a four-course prix-fix holiday menu. The first seating from 6 to 8:30 p.m. is $105 per person and the second from 9 to 11:30 p.m. is $175 per person, which includes seating for the performance. Both seatings include choices ranging from fresh East Coast oysters and smoked sturgeon atop a potato galette to warm artichoke heart salads and prime sirloin. Before the midnight toast Tamar-Kali plays “Aphrodesia Blue” with a burlesque performance. 

Beppe
Where: 45 E. 22nd St. (between Broadway and Park Ave. S.), 212-982-8422, www.beppenyc.com
On the menu: Rustic Italian food feels perfect for this time of the year: it’s warm, comforting and made to share with family and friends. At Beppe, Executive Chef Marc Taxiera will unveil an elegant prix-fixe tasting menu for New Year’s Eve in this Tuscan farmhouse-style restaurant. You’ll get a lot for the $125 price tag. The evening begins with blini spuma and ends with dessert tastings of s’mores, Taxiera’s grandma’s recipe for cannolis and panna cotta. In between, oysters Florentine, Champagne and Saffron risotto topped with caviar, lobster spaghetti, pan-seared halibut with Champagne buerre blanc and more will be passed around. Enjoy! 

Le Bernardin
Where: 155 W. 51st St. (between Sixth and Seventh Avenues), 212-554-1117, www.le-bernadin.com
On the menu: Eric Ripert’s shrine to French seafood is an experience you won’t forget. This year Le Bernadin is offering a holiday truffle menu every evening from December 21 to January 2 (the restaurant is closed on New year’s Eve) at $200 per person ($370 with the wine pairing). If Ripert didn’t already have you at truffle, the menu should: paper-thin slivers of scallop carpaccio drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and flecked with black truffle kick off the eight-course meal. There’s a langoustine ravioli with hidden gems of foie gras you can savor with a glass Chassagne Montrachet before working your way to a toffee pudding served with a warm date cake and gingerbread ice cream. This special menu will also be served in Les Salons, the restaurant’s private dining room, on the evenings of December 24 to 26 and January 1 to 2 ($220 per person and $390 with wine pairings). Another option is the $110 prix-fixe menu or the $185 chef-tasting menu. Like Ripert’s new show “Avec Eric,” we’re prepared to go anywhere the chef leads us, holidays or otherwise.
 
Travertine
Where: 19 Kenmare St. (between Elizabeth and Bowery), 212-966-1810, www.travertinenyc.com/
On the menu: “Top Chef” alum Manuel “Memo” Trevino is throwing a Garden of Eden celebration for New Year’s with a downtown vibe in this chic Nolita space. The regular dinner service goes until 8:30 p.m but at 10 p.m., for $175 per person, you can enjoy appetizers and an open bar while a DJ blasts the music. VIP tables for parties of five are $1,200 on the main floor and $1,500 on the mezzanine are available (it includes Champagne and bottle service). A longtime alum of Babbo, Trevino plans to serve up his Italian-Mediterranean fare for this fun evening.

<< previous   next >>

Posted: December 20, 2009 - 6:23 pm

Share !