New Year's Eve Eats


NYE_partyinviteCelebrate the end of ’09 (thank God it’s over!) with our abbreviated collection of restaurant parties around town. Because you should put a little something in your belly before toasting to 2010. And yes, there will be food!

Industry Vets in Limbo

We’re all wondering what’s next for chef William Kovel of the Four Season’s extinct Aujourd Hui. And what of mixologist Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli, formerly of Craigie On Main? Their futures are uncertain, but for one night only, the two will pair up to host a party in the former Great Bay space. They’ll be toasting 2010 over passed appetizers (mushroom strudels with black truffle, duck and almond pisillas), gnocchi and panini food stations, and custom cocktails and sparklers. Hmmm… Dec. 31, 8 p.m., $95 (includes food, champagne toast, one cocktail, and passed cocktail flights-cash bar thereafter), 500 Commonwealth Ave., Boston. For tickets, call Abby Shoolman at 617-532-9100, or email her at abby.shoolman@gmail.com.

New Year’s Eve, Fort Point-Style

Chef Barbara Lynch’s Fort Point spots Drink and Sportello are also joining forces for a night out featuring Drink’s signature libations and Sportello’s small plates and sweets. The $125 ticket price includes eats, beats, a champagne toast, and three cocktails. But if you care to arrive fashionably late, after 11 p.m., the ticket price drops to $50 per person. Dec. 31, 7 p.m.-2 a.m., $125 per person; $50 after 11 p.m., Sportello and Drink, 348 Congress Street, Boston, call 617-737-1234 for tickets, sportelloboston.com

Beehive

The ‘Hive is throwing a bohemian brouhaha with salsa music from The Beehive Flamingo Orchestra. There’ll be passed plates of Mediterranean and European fare, some American-style bites, and plenty of desserts for $85 per person. Cash bar. Dec. 31, 9 p.m.-2:30 a.m., $85, The Beehive, 541 Tremont St., Boston, 617-423-0069, beehiveboston.com

Craigie On Main

Craigie has organized two New Year’s Eve dinner options; one early, one late. Book an early reservation for a five-course dinner for $115 per person, or choose the later six-course feast with a champagne toast for $150 per person. Courses include a seafood amuse bouche; diver sea scallop sashimi or salad of smoked ocean trout; grilled French turbot or house-made Cotechino sausage; house-made Faro pasta or native lobster agnolotti; whole roasted and Chinese sausage-stuffed poussin or double chop of all natural veal or house-smoked bacon-wrapped wild sturgeon; followed by the Taza double chocolate tart or goat’s milk yogurt cheesecake. Dec. 31, reservations available at 6 p.m., 6:30 p.m., 7 p.m. for $115 per person; 9 p.m., 9:30 p.m., and 10 p.m. for $150 per person, Craigie On Main, 853 Main St., Cambridge, 617-497-5511, craigieonmain.com

Splash Ultra Lounge & Burger Bar

You may not be able to fly to Miami, but you can pretend you did at Splash. For its first New Year’s Eve bash, the lounge has planned a party with hors d’oeuvres, a DJ spinning house beats, and a champagne toast at midnight. Dec. 31, 8 p.m., $65 per person, Splash Ultra Lounge & Burger Bar, 150 Kneeland St., Boston, 617-426-6397, splash150kneeland.com

Sensing

You can still order from the restaurant’s regular menu, but Sensing will also offer a five-course tasting menu for $75, including courses of roasted venison loin served with kabocha squash, beet, and pine-scented jus, or lobster taittinger with sabayon and sunchoke. There will also be a champagne and Patron ice bar in the lounge. Or you can always go for the pre-gala prix fixe menu, available from 5-6 p.m. for $40 per person. Dec. 31, 5-6 p.m., $40 per person or 8 p.m., $75 per person, Sensing, Fairmont Battery Wharf, Three Battery Wharf St., Boston, 617-994-9000, sensingrestaurant.com

Dante

Dante’s Inferno is the theme for the Cambridge restaurant’s hell-raising bash, complete with gluttonous food stations and passed hors d’oeurves representing the seven deadly sins. Sinners and saints are encouraged to get lusty on the dance floor, and all will enjoy complimentary bubbly at Midnight. Cash bar. Dec. 31, 8 p.m.-2 a.m., $80 (advance); $100 (door), dante, 40 Edwin H Land Blvd., Cambridge, 617-497-4200, restaurantdante.com

33 Restaurant & Lounge

Spend a night in Brazil with a caipirinha bar, a live Brazilian dance troupe, South American hors d’oeuvres, and international beats from The Bladerunners. Wear white for peace and good luck in the new year! VIP tables are equipped with exotic fruit trays, party favors, and gift bags, and you can also choose the VIP option that comes with a bottle of Veuve Clicquot. Dec. 31, Food served from 9-11 p.m., $75 per person individual cover charge, cash bar, VIP tables from $375-$700 for 6-10 guests, 33 Restaurant & Lounge, 33 Stanhope St., Boston, 617-572-331, Get tickets!

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