Archived Article By Tom Fitzmorris Originally published December 19, 2006 Click here for the current edition Christmas Eve Dining Will Be Merrier Than In Past Christmas Eve has not been much fun for those without something going on at home. I know--I was a single guy until I was thirty-eight, and I learned quickly that no matter how much I wanted to dine out on that night, and no matter how well known a customer I was, it was a really bad idea. Most restaurants were closed, starting with the entire Brennan restaurant axis and going down to Bud's Broiler. Last year was an aberration, of course. But this year marks a turnaround, I think. The rule is the exact opposite of what it had been: instead of open being the exception for restaurants on Christmas Eve, closed is. Indeed, just about every major restaurant seems to be planning to be open. This is especially surprising given that this Christmas Eve is a Sunday. Many restaurants normally closed on Sunday are opening anyway. Antoine's, for example, which historically hasn't been open on Sundays for any reason  (but did try brunch when it reopened after the storm), is offering both lunch and dinner Christmas Eve. This will be a great thing for those in compromised living conditions, who can't face the idea of Christmas dinner in a FEMA trailer or some such. As nice as that is, the same cannot be said for Christmas Day. If anything it appears that pickings will be even slimmer than usual. I've been calling around and have found very, very few restaurants open on Christmas. The list of my findings, along with all the Reveillon menus (you only have a week to go on those!) and a bunch of my Christmas recipes, can be found here. © 2006 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com