New Years Eve is a time to reflect upon the previous year. What did you do? What did you not do and wish you had? What are some great things that happened this year? What are some of the unpleasant memories this year that you'd rather forget?
New Years Eve is also a time to look forward to the future. A new year seems to wash away all the pains of the previous year. A New Year brings with it a a renewed sense that anything is possible. It may just be another day on the calendar. But, for me, a New Year is something that should be celebrated. A New Year brings a new sense that this could be the year it all happens. And, it all starts with the New Years Eve Party (or New Years Party).
I've spent New Years Eve in a variety of different places. As a child, New Years Eve consisted of a family gathering with the tv in the background showing the ball drop in Times Square on New Years Eve. I quickly grew bored of this routine and vowed that I would make my own New Years Eve celebrations far more festive.
I'd love to be able to tell you that I've celebrated New Years at all of those cities. Unfortunately, due to budgetary constraints, time constraints, and the limitations of friends, I haven't had a chance to experience New Years Eve in every one of those cities. I did get around to a few of those great New Years eve celebrations with my friends, however. Here are just a few highlights from my travels.
New York City'sTimes Square is the epitome of New Years' Eve celebrations for me. The New Years Eve party at Times Square is the one most people think of when they think of a New Years party. It used to be the one that I dreamed about while sitting at home watching the tv. It looked like THE New Years event to be at and the place everyone in all of New York gathered to celebrate the new year. The truth, however, was not exactly what you see on the television. There's no doubt, there's plenty of things to do in New York if you really want to experience what New York City has to offer. But, New York City during the winter time can be rather cold. So, New Years eve in New York is usually pretty cold and could also be somewhat rainy and wet (which definitely does not help). But, with all of the issues they've been having there, some new laws have been enacted to help tone down the New Years Eve party in Times Square. It also essentially kills a lot of what made the celebration in Times Square for New Years such an amazing event. One, no alcohol allowed. If you're not 21 yet, you can skip to reason number two, but if you are... Alcohol helps make a New Years Eve Party into a truly memorable New Years Eve Party. I'm not even talking about excessive amounts so that you're puking on the side of the road and unable to remember anything. But, since you can't have ANY alcohol at all, that does tend to lessen the fun. Two, you need to get there very very early. Why? because they'll start roping off section after section. So, that means there's no way you can get there at 11:00pm and even hope to see anything worth seeing in Times Square. Want to see the ball drop? Try getting there around noon and stay there. You can't save your spot and if you leave, good luck trying to come back in. One year, we tried everything we could to try and get a glimpse of the ball. But, since we arrived around 10pm, we couldn't see anything. We settled for yelling the countdown with everyone else. But, it was sort of anti-climatic when you can't see the ball drop. Three, the crowds. Celebrating New Years Eve with your friends is fun. Celebrating New Years eve with a few strangers is also fun. But, when a New Years Eve party is so crowded that the only movement you can make is swaying back and forth, there are too many people there. And there are far too many people still in Times Square trying to celebrate New Years even with the current restrictions.
Las Vegas is a city that also receives a lot of attention when it comes to New Years eve celebrations and there's good reason for that. Vegas, aka Sin City knows how to party. And it knows how to throw one heck of a party. There isn't a central ball drop that everyone is looking at, but the entire Las Vegas strip is closed down for the ultimate New Years Eve block party. (Side note: you can also go to the Fremont Street Experience for a different crowd during New Years... Every year, they have a special New Years Eve edition called the Fremont Street Experience New Years Eve Street Bash. I prefer the party on the Las Vegas strip because that's where the real New Years eve party happens, but those are two great options). Fireworks are an important part of the Las Vegas New Years Eve experience and they've decided to keep the fireworks on the rooftops for the 2009/2010 New Years eve celebration because last year's low trajectory pyrotechnics disappointed the party-goers who went to Las Vegas looking for a great New Years eve party. You can read the story about Las Vegas re instituting their rooftop fireworks displayhere. This year, however, they're back to basics with a $550,000 fireworks show that will ring in 2010 from the rooftops of the Stratosphere tower, the MGM Grand, Planet Hollywood, Caesars Palace, Treasure Island (aka TI Las Vegas), and Venetian Hotels. There's a reason why the New Years party at the Las Vegas strip is called America's party. It's a great one.
Spending New Years in Los Angeles is a little more different. Due to commuter nature of Los Angeles, there isn't one huge gathering place. Instead, Los Angeles has several gathering places and it's going to depend on where your friends like to hang out. Universal Citywalk has a huge outdoor New Years Eve Countdown Bash that's free to the public, so that's a fun place to gather. Families may opt to join others to see the fireworks spectacular at Disneyland or California Adventure. You and your friends can also head over to the Queen Mary in Long Beach and board the ship to celebrate the night away in their annual New Year's Eve event. The Paramount Pictures Studio Lot is another popular gathering place. They usually have multiple stages and even live performances. And, of course, if you really want to, you could always head downtown to celebrate New Years Eve between 8th street and Figueroa. This outdoors event under big top tents is the largest 21 and over New Years Eve party in LA.
San Francisco isn't as spread out as Los Angeles, but it's also not as crowded as New York. What I've noticed is that there are, however, several great gathering places for New Years Eve Parties. The Westin St. Francis is generally host to some of the most elegant and extravagant parties that I've ever attended. This year is no exception as I've heard that A-List San Francisco is throwing their Passport to the WorldNew Years Eve Party at the Westin St. Francis again. What I liked about their New Years Eve Party (Passport to the World) was that it allowed me to feel like I was traveling the world as I walked from room to room. It's almost as if I'm celebrating New Years Eve on all of the cities that I listed above, but I saved money on the airplane tickets and could party with all of my friends in San Francisco. Fans of specific non-profits will also be glad to hear that a portion of your ticket price will be going to the non-profit of your choice. There are several other great locations for New Years Eve parties in San Francisco. I've heard of New Years Eve events being thrown at the San Francisco City Hall. It's surprising to hear at first, but City Hall is an amazing place to hold a New Years party. The venue is large and there's a center room that's perfect for the champagne toast and the city's largest balloon drop. Many New Years parties are also thrown at popular San Francisco bars or San Francisco pubs such as Ruby Skye, Suede, Slide, Dragon Bar, etc. And, of course, there's always the option to gather up a group of close friends and celebrate New Years Eve at your favorite restaurant. I hear that several great restaurants have a New Years Eve Party option where you can stick around and ring in the New Year while munching on your favorite appetizers and drinks.
At the end of the day, despite where you go, I've noticed that there's a definite recipe to a successful New Years Eve party: 1. Gather up your close friends 2. Find a venue/location that you can all get to with a great atmosphere 3. Have a free-flowing supply of alcohol and celebratory champagne (but don't get too drunk before midnight) 4. Make sure there's a countdown clock in a central location where you, your friends, and even random strangers can all gather right before midnight 5. Enjoy, be safe, and have a great New Years eve!
When the big corporate giant that is Hershey Co. first took over our friendly, local chocolate/truffle confectioners Scharffenberger and Joseph Schmidt, they said that they would be operating as independent businesses. Apparently, that was a big fat lie and the second that the economy turned sour, Hershey saw its chance to do what everyone else was doing... Cut costs, cut factories, consolidate operations, and lay off employees. It's really quite sad because I'm a big an of Scharffen Berger and have been on the tour at Scharffen Berger's factory several times. For those of you who haven't been there yet, you should really go check it out. It really makes you appreciate chocolate even more. Not sure if they will be continuing those tours for much longer since the factory will close, but Hershey has said that they will continue to operate the on-site retail store and the restaurant, Cafe Cacao. I hope for Hershey's sake that they are able to maintain the quality of both Scharffen Berger's and Joseph Schmidt's products.
Adding fruit to your good ol' fashioned hamburger is a new trend that is sweeping the nation. I'm pretty excited about trying it out. Does anyone know a good place to try this out? Here's the article from CS Monitor. +
Here’s a diet that I can definitely get behind - the Flat Belly diet.What does that really entail?Eat more avocado.Delicious.I love avocados and guacamole.More nuts and seeds like almonds, peanuts, etc. Awesome.So far so good.Olives, not as big of a fan.But, ok.Eat more oils.Not just any oils, but good oils…ok, no problem.And, last, but not least, more chocolate.Wait… what?You heard me right… eat more chocolates.What a great diet.
If you're tired of hearing all those doom and gloom deadlines and reading about bail-outs and layoffs... here's some somewhat good news to come out of it. The restaurants are also hurting for our business. So, what does that mean? it means that they're more and more willing to hand out some huge deals. Deals that will hopefully, entice people to dine out. Those of us in the bay area will be pleased to read about some of these deals.
Free Sirloin burgers at Morton's Steakhouse Morton's Steakhouse is giving away free sirloin burgers to folks to dine in on Sunday, December 21st from 5-6pm. Why? Because it's their 30th anniversary. And, they want us to celebrate with them. Sounds like a good reason to go. Make your reservations early! Make reservations for the SF location here.
How about this one? An unbelievable $15/person 3-course meal at an incredible restaurant. The catch? You need at least 6 people to enjoy this family meal with you. So, gather up your friends and call up the not-so-close friends who you haven't talked to lately because this is the type of deal that will entice people to reach out to people they haven't talked to in awhile. I'm going to start calling up some people now. The best part is that this special deal is happening from 12/16-12/23. So, there's still a few days left. You can make reservations for Luna Park here.
