New Orleans Food Questions And Comments

New Year's Eve

Dozens of people have asked in the last few days. . .

Can you suggest a restaurant for New Year's Eve? All my favorite places are closed on Sunday.

Tom sez:

Call your favorite place. It may be open. Even if they're never open on Sunday, New Years' Eve is such a busy night for restaurants, and the possibilities for making big bucks that night are so alluring, that most restaurateurs break their regular schedules and open anyway.

However, you may have waited too long. New Year's Eve reservations should be made weeks in advance. Some restaurants are so popular that months is more like it. Some restaurants have a regular New Year's Eve clientele. On their way out of the restaurant, they book a table for next year's celebration.

However, because so many people are missing from the scene, the reservations are a bit easier to come by this year. Commander's Palace, whose New Year's Eve book has been closed for decades, has decided to do a second seating this year, and last time I checked still had openings available.

When you make your reservation (and don't even think about going out to dine that night without one), be sure to ask what the restaurant will be offering. Most restaurants remove their regular menus and instead serve from a shorter, sometimes more expensive (in some cases, much more expensive) menu. Many restaurants have live music, party hats, noisemakers, free bubbly at midnight, and other extras that you will be paying for indirectly. But why not? It's New Year's Eve! Not a night for tightwads!

It's also not a night for underdressing. If you're going to a nice restaurant, it wouldn't be a bad idea to wear the tuxedo. You'll certainly get better service, and you'll have more fun, too.

Finally: New Year's Eve is the night to go to your favorite restaurant. The one where you're a regular, where the management knows and likes you. That may even be a necessity for some restaurants. It's another of many reasons why you should be a welcomed, regular customer somewhere.
3/9/08

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