New Year's Eve

Foreword - Most advice is free because no one takes it. Shoot, I rarely take my own advice. Therefore, feel free to completely ignore this post.

Do not go out to eat in a restaurant on New Year's Eve. While this may seem to be a Draconian rule, I can defend it. First off, consider the crowds, but more specifically who will be eating out in New Orleans on New Year's Eve. The Sugar Bowl teams are in town so likely there will be people with Walmart money running free and looking for "real New Orleans food." Restaurants know this. Many restaurant will play to this strength. They have been in touch with tour operators, athletic departments, and Cam Newton's dad and have reserved a party of 100 at 8:30 pm. Which just so happens to be when you and your charming date and her friend and her date want to dine as well. If you like dining in crowded restaurants (and occasionally I do as well), then pay no attention to this point.

Secondly, it is an oft-repeated phrase in the restaurant world that nights like New Year's Eve and Valentine's Day are "Amateur Nights." I think this statement has two meanings. One is that the people who choose to dine out on New Year's Eve are not regulars or even routine diners. This coupled with point one means a restaurant can be fairly certain they will not see many of these people again. I will let you draw your own conclusions as to what that means.

But perhaps most important, if you are a great waiter then chances are you do not want to work New Year's Eve. Now maybe I am wrong (it happens, often), but the prospect of serving rude drunks as they shout for more gravy would probably scare most away. So the front of the house staff on these nights is often made up of the B team. See also why you shy away from brunch. Now if you like dining in crowded restaurants surrounded by people who love the buffet at Panda King and enjoy being served by a person who is normally a bus boy, you may keep reading.

Now, we come to the food. Most likely it is going to be a set menu. The fancy term is prix fixe which is French for, "Give them choices and it seems like a good value." Soup, Salad, Appetizer, Choice of entree ("Get the Lobstuhhhh, why not, its free"), dessert and COFFEE for $49.99. What a deal, your friends will say. Let me ask you this, when have you ever gotten a 5 course meal for under $50 and found it tasty? There are places where this works and they are called cafeterias. So if you enjoy noisy restaurants filled with amateurs and eating steam table fare, please make your reservations now.

Wouldn't you rather find between four and ten friends, go to someone's house, pick up a bunch of wine, some snacks, maybe a dozen steaks, sit around a table, lounge, graze, talk, laugh, and then hold an impromptu dance party featuring the lyrical stylings of such diverse musical talents as Frank Sinatra and Trey Songz? 

As I noted above, you aren't going to take my advice. So when you are ignoring my advice, keep this in mind: if the set menu price doesn't seem at least a tad expensive, don't go there. A restaurant that does New Year's Eve well (Herbsaint comes to mind) knows they do it well. But also knows that in order to do it well, they need to price out the amateurs, make sure the A team staff has an economic incentive to work, and be able to have some fun with the menu. This means they can throw truffles or foie gras or caviar around like candy and cook festively. If you are going to go out to dinner on New Year's Eve, splurge. It is the only way to enjoy the evening.