Where To Ring in The New Year in NYC

With New Year’s right around the corner, you might want to start thinking about where to celebrate. Luckily, there are so many terrific and different options.  You could use the evening as an excuse to try the popular new offshoot of The Stantion Social, Beauty & Essex, or head to the The Darby where you can get a scene and great food in one.  If that’s not your speed, you could go old school and ring in 2011 with steak and creamed spinach at Keen’s or gnaw on spare ribs and a grown up slushie at Congee Village.  

We’ve highlighted our favorite new and timeless spots to celebrate New Year’s Eve…

Beauty and Essex
Address: 146 Essex St., near Stanton Street
Phone: (212) 614-0146
This Lower East Side lounge has been open less than a month and it’s already a favorite on the food and nightlife scene.  This is the newest venture from The Stanton Social’s Chef Chris Santos, who earned a name for himself with onion soup dumplings and kobe beef sliders.  Step inside Beauty & Essex and you’ll feel like you’ve just walked into a funky pawn shop filled with guitars and other unique wares. There’s free-flowing champagne in the bathroom and creative small plates, including crostini topped with bone marrow, mahi mahi ceviche and chicken fried oysters.

Lani Kai
Address: 525 Broome St., btwn. Sullivan and
Thompson Sts.
Phone: (646) 596-8778
Tiki lounges are
undeniably trendy right now, but what sets this tropically appointed
spot apart is the stellar drink menu.  Cocktail connoisseur, Julie
Reiner, first developed a loyal following at the Flatiron Lounge
and Clover Club in Brooklyn with serious cocktails, but at Lani
Kai she’s more playful, serving party punch bowls, like the Liquid
Luau and a rum-based concoction infused with tea and lemongrass called
the Pacific Swizzle.  With all the drinking, you’re bound to get hungry,
so sample riffs on Chinese takeout staples. We love the crab wontons
and the fried red snapper platter.  

Congee Village
Address: 207 Bowery, btwn. Rivington & Spring Sts.
Phone: (212) 941-1818
Not everyone likes to make a scene on New Year’s.  Some prefer low key, ethnic feasts with friends.  If that’s what your craving this year, try Congee Village on Bowery.  The dining room is filled with large round tables, equipped with  Lazy Susans, which makes this multi-level Chinese restaurant great for groups.  Most importantly, the food’s good and the scene’s casual, but festive.  The kitchen serves family-style portions, so order a bunch of dishes and pass them around. Our favorites are the soy sauce chicken, pork congee, lobster with ginger sauce and the  short ribs. Hell, if you’re up for a little NYE adventure, try the salt and pepper frog legs or deep-fried goose webs.   

PDT
Address: 113 St. Marks Place, btwn. First Avenue and Avenue A
Phone: (212) 614-0386
This East Village bar pioneered the “21st century New York speakeasy” and it’s still just as popular as when it slipped on the scene years ago.  Why?  Because it has the best food-and-drink combination in town.  You can celebrate with one of Jim Meehan’s libations while you take down a hot dog from PDT’s sister food joint, Crif Dog. Our favorite PDT cocktail is the Old Fashioned, made with bacon-laced bourbon and maple syrup. Its campfire flavor goes well with both the deep-fried chili dog or BLT dog.  

Cienfuegos
Address: 95 Avenue A, btwn. Sixth & Seventh Sts.
Phone: (212) 614-6818
If you don’t like rum, you can cross Cienfuegos off your to-try list.  Then again, you might change your mind about rum after a visit to this East Village bar, which is accessible only by walking through its downstairs sandwich shop.  This is the latest from the folks behind by Death and Co. with cocktails designed by St. John Frizell from Fort Defiance.  The setting is a curious and slightly kooky interpretation of pre-revolutionary Cuba in shades of pink and green, but a dip or two in one of the rum punch bowls and a few Cuban sandwiches and you won’t even notice.  We’re especially fond of the Ernesto punch, a tribute  to Che Guevara with rum, Maraschino liquor and pink grapefruit juice, and the Rosa Verde, a well-balanced blend of watermelon, rum, celery bitters and peppercorns.    

John Dory Oyster Bar
Address: 1196 Broadway, near 29th Street
Phone: (212) 792-9000
What better way to ring in the New Year than oysters and champagne in the Ace Hotel?  Maybe we’re biased, but we couldn’t be happier than John Dory has reopened in a more convenient and casual location. While you’re there, try Sixpoint Ales’ custom-brewed oyster stout and the outstanding uni pan roast, which has thankfully made the new menu along with its accompanying uni-slathered crostini.  Other great bar snacks include the raw scallops, lobster chowder, crab salad.  

Keens
Address: 72 West 36th St. near Sixth Avenue
Phone: (212) 947-3636
This 125-year-old steakhouse is quintessential, old-school New York with its supper club vibe, collection of 60,000 pipes and elegant wood paneling.  But Keens is more than just a relic it’s still a lively spot with top-notch steaks and sides. You could gnaw on a fine, dry-aged porterhouse or prime rib, but the real legend on the menu is the mammoth-sized mutton chop. The comfy booths at Keens are great for groups.

Hurricane Club
Address: 300 Park Ave. South, near 27th
Street
Phone: (212) 951-7111
The space and the menu at this
Gramercy tiki lounge lend itself to hardcore celebrations, like New
Year’s Eve. Hell, there’s even a rum fountain outside the ladies room,
so you don’t have to leave your liquor at the table.  The room is
furnished with sky-high ceilings and glittery chandeliers, and the
tables are lined with punch bowls and pupu platters.  There’s over 40
cocktails on the menu, many served in coconut shells or festive tiki
glasses.  Try the spicy mandarin orange frozen daiquiri (No. 58 on the
menu), a combination of dark rum, caramelized banana, lime and mint and a
pupu platter with coconut shrimp, homemade pork sausage and Samoan
deviled eggs.  

The Lion
Address: 62 West Ninth
St., near Sixth Avenue
Phone: (212) 353-8400
Just getting a
table at this chic, West Village haunt feels like an accomplishment. 
Start with a glass of champagne at the zinc-topped bar and people watch
before you head into the cozy dining room for dinner.  The real draw is
chef John DeLucie’s interpretation of American bistro cooking.  Don’t
miss the sumptous lobster pot pie, roast chicken and apple pie
beignets.