Although there’s nothing wrong with ringing in the New Year passing around a bottle of André at a raging house party, if you’re looking for something a little more upmarket, these places have your Dec. 31 needs covered.
Alla Spina (1410 Mount Vernon St.) is forgoing Champagne in favor of $6 prosecco all night along with a few Champagne-inspired beers including Dock Street Bubbly Wit, an imperial wit brewed with Champagne yeast, and DeuS Brut de Flanders, the real Champagne of beers.
As the countdown approaches, Vetri (1312 Spruce St.) is stepping up its tasting-menu options, kicking off the evening with a glass of Franciacorta and a selection of stuzzichini followed by a bespoke menu, wine pairings and a midnight Champagne toast.
Down in South Philly chef George Sabatino of Stateside (1536 E. Passyunk Ave.) has put together a NYE menu that begins with caviar on brioche with lobster butter and moves on to baked Fire Island oysters and hangar steak with bone-marrow croquettes and black garlic. The dinner costs $65 per person.
If biersteins and sausages do it for you more than Champagne flutes and caviar, then head over to Brauhaus Schmitz (718 South St.) for their New Year’s bash. A hundred bucks gets you four hours of top-shelf open bar, plenty of great German drafts, plus an all-you-can-eat buffet heavy with chef Jeremy Nolan’s house-made wursts and charcuterie.
Ela’s (627 S. Third St.) chef Jason Cichonski has created a one-night-only, five-course menu for this New Year’s Eve with all sorts of elegant items such as liquid foie gras with smoked pumpernickel, sour grapes and celery leaves; lobster cavatelli; and buckwheat-crusted beef cheeks. The shebang runs $85 a head or $120 with wines. If you’ve got another party to go to, Ela is offering an abbreviated tasting for $50 from 4 to 5:30 p.m.
In Old City, Fork is going to be serving a best-of four-course house menu with the options of special-occasion add-ons like caviar and foie gras.
Thinking about spending NYE in AC? Jose Garces’ outpost of Amada at Revel is hosting three seatings for dinner at 6, 8 and 10:30 p.m. Each meal will feature cheeses and charcuterie followed by tapas and prepared-just-for-the-occasion items like wagyu carpaccio and mushroom fedua with shaved white truffles. What’s even more unique: Amada’s night-long live flamenco dancing on a custom-built stage.
