Who won’t be happy to usher the old year out and the new one in? Naturally, the count-down to midnight will happen virtually this year (thanks to COVID) and so will dinner “out” (which, as with Christmas, will be eaten “in”).
Which is not to say it can’t be good. Jungsik, the two-starred Michelin New Korean restaurant in TriBeCa, will be featuring a special to-go menu on New Year’s Eve for $135 per person consisting of four courses highlighted by persimmon salad, yook hwe bibimbap (Wagyu beef tartare, to you), lobster with a creamy Korean salted clam sauce, galbi (Wagyu beef short rib), and a Christmas wreath dessert.
Michelin-recognized Hawaiian restaurant noreetuh (no caps), reviewed here will be offering their regular menu for New Year’s Eve, with delivery until 9:30 p.m. An entire section of the menu is devoted to musubi — the quintessential Hawaiian snack consisting of a nori-wrapped block of rice sandwiching a protein or condiment: Try the version with Spam. Katsu sando, Berkshire pork cutlet with pickled green tomatoes and King’s Hawaiian buns, is also recommended. The mochiko fried chicken dinner for two consists of half a bird plus a half bottle of champagne (the drink of choice on New Year’s) or a half bottle of Sauterne for $64 or $95. Order through ChowNow or Seamless.
Bring home Union Square Cafe by ordering its holiday prix fixe for two priced at $150. Begin with USC marinated olives, followed by a fennel citrus salad, succeeded in turn by lobster bisque populated with chunks of Maine lobster, parsnip, and tarragon. The main event is duck confit with braised red cabbage, mutzu apple, and farro piccolo. For dessert there is chocolate panna cotta with Grand Marnier, orange marmalade, and biscotti. The menu is refrigerated for pick-up and comes with reheating instructions.
Marta is ringing in 2021 with a limited-run calzone filled with three cheese and black Burgundy truffle. A special holiday menu available for preorder will include herb roasted chicken (serves 3 to 4, $38), dry-aged bone-in ribeye ($95 for 32 ounces), and a wood-roasted lamb shoulder with sides (feeds 4 to 6, $185).