New Year’s Eve Dinners
It’s on a Saturday this year, people. Eat out for goodness sake.
Posted by: Kathryn Robinson on Dec 19, 2011 at 01:40PM
1 Comments
Here are a few of the great options before you. Prices listed are before tax, gratuity, and (if offered) wine pairings.
Rover’s will present 5- and 6-course menus for $120 and $150 per person, respectively, at 5pm and 8pm seatings, respectively; look for fancy French fare like cauliflower veloute with Dungeness crab and black truffle- and butter-poached halibut among the courses.
Down the street, Rover’s fizzier little brother Luc will feature a 3-course menu for $40 per person, discounted oyster plates, and good deals on half-bottles of bubbly. The partying starts early at Luc: these deals will be offered both Friday, December 30 and the Big Night as well.
At Art, the viewy restaurant at the Four Seasons, a three-course menu is served before the dance party in the Art Lounge (5–6:30, $65). Or opt for the six-course Veuve Clicquot Champagne dinner (7:30pm to 9:30pm, $135, additional $55 for Champagne pairing), starring foie gras, black truffle salad, and a choice among five main dishes.
Bastille, the Frenchy toast of Ballard Avenue, will offer a selection of Caviars and gougeres (cheese puffs), along with a roasted bone-in rib eye with truffle jus (among other choices). The wine people will be uncorking various Grower Champagnes; and everyone of age will receive a glass of bubbly at midnight, on the house.
Vegetarians, consider the four herbivorous courses at Café Flora, to be served in the Atrium for $50 a head. Because honestly, how great does a persimmon and quinoa gyoza with quince cake, sautéed wild mushrooms, rapini, and ginger carrot sauce sound?
Little Water Cantina will throw down $8 flights of El Mayor Tequila, Manny himself will pour his own pints for $3, and Mangalitsa carnitas tacos will be the featured menu item. A free glass of Champagne will accompany every dinner, along with iconic views of the Space Needle.
Seven courses of farm-to-table cuisine is on the card at Copperleaf Restaurant, the beaut at Cedarbrook Lodge just off the freeway in SeaTac. For $75 per person ($35 extra for wine pairings) savor courses like truffled eggs, chestnut agnolotti, and your choice of steelhead, lamb saddle, or grass-fed beef. Live music, too.
At Volunteer Park Café, chef Ericka Burke will do her magic on five courses for $75 a head (wine pairings $20 more). It’ll include local oysters with clementine granita, prawn and blood orange salad with fennel and pomegranate seeds, and beef filet with turnip puree and chanterelles. Dinner begins at 7; make reservations.
Go to Staple and Fancy in Ballard for a “fancy” family-style meal, including a variety of Italian appetizers, your choice of meats off chef Ethan Stowell’s roving misto cart, and pastas and desserts. At Tavolata, Stowell’s Italian joint in Ballard, dine on pastas off the regular menu. His Anchovies and Olives on Capitol Hill will feature a $75, five-course feast to include oysters, geoduck, and octopus Bolognese, while a hill away at How to Cook a Wolf on Queen Anne, $75 will buy four courses to include beef tartare, veal short ribs, and chocolate truffle cake.
Cascina Spinasse will do five courses for $75 (wine pairings for $35 or $50 extra), with a revealing twist: You can choose to live in the past (choose the 2011 menu) or the future (with 2012’s). Next door at Artusi, choose to dine off the regular menu of nibbles and cocktails, or opt for a three-course-plus-dessert tasting menu for $40. A flight of bubbles comes extra. No reservations at Artusi.
Tags: Special Dinners, Critic's Notebook, New Year's Eve 2011
