The List of New Year's Eve Lists + A Bit More

I still can't decide what to do for New Year's Eve either. In my search I came across some great lists from other bloggers/publications, so instead of rehashing what they said, I'm going to give you links to these lists so that they may help you too! I'll also add a few other things that may not be listed. Here goes:

Los Angeles Magazine: Roundup: New Year's Eve Planner

e*starLA: New Year, New Decade: The NYE Dinner-Party Round Up

Thirsty in LA: NYE Parties in LA: "So Long Aughts, and Thanks for All the Fish!"

OpenTable: New Year's Eve Dinners

For the bigger parties:
LA Times: Ramie Becker's Ring in 2010: Los Angeles New Year's Eve Parties

For more parties and hot shows:
NBC Los Angeles: LA's New Year's Eve 2010 Hotlist
lists of dinner or drinks with shows including Lucent Dossier's Haute Cirque

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Other goings-on:

For an early dinner, Bistro LQ will have a 4-course prix fixe menu at $55 for early seating (5:30-6:30) and a 6-course menu at $90 otherwise. Roasted Maine lobster, foie gras french toast-style, lamb loin, and duck magret are on the menu. Call (323) 951-1088.

Wolfgang's Steakhouse will have their full menu available plus a few specials (Lobster Mac and Cheese, a special cocktail). Not only that, they'll also have their Happy Hour menu available in the Della Robbia room starting at 10pm. And of course, complimentary champagne will go around twice here, at 9 pm (a toast to their NYC roots) and at midnight. Call (310) 385-0640.

Getting Into the Spirit: Infused SKYY Cocktails

When a PR email about the infused SKYY vodkas hit my mailbox, one cocktail recipe in particular caught my interest. That was the Mele Kalikimaka (Hawaii's way of pronouncing "Merry Christmas" and now also a song once recorded by Bing Crosby).


Mele Kalikimaka Martini

1.5 oz. SKYY Infusions Pineapple
3 oz. Eggnog
Splash of Coconut Cream or Coconut Milk
Nutmeg
Cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into martini glass. Top with sprinkling of nutmeg and cinnamon and garnish with a cinnamon stick.


I got samples of the SKYY Infusions Pineapple and Passionfruit and last weekend tried a "punch" using the passionfruit.

I'm bad at coming up with clever names, so here goes the

Passion-Quince Punch

1 part lime juice
2 parts agave syrup
3 parts Licor de Membrillo (quince liqueur that I obtained in Tijuana - I'll probably find a substitute you guys can actually work with sometime)
4 parts Passionfruit SKYY Infusions


The flavors from the fruit infusions come out strongly in this drink. A sweet but quite strong punch that I thought was perfect for my party guests who's not used to drinking but whom you want to get wasted anyway. Plus, it's easy to make when you're rushing to get your party started. (I've been told I always time things too tightly :P )

Hot and Soupy #3: Kaori Sushi, $50 Omakase, and Lobster Soup

I try not to come down to Orange County much (what would I do there?), but when I have to (i.e. when former roommate Kat's 9 Lives demands a visit from me), I ask for good food. The last I visited her in OC I was coaxed with some omakase at Kaori, a Korean-run sushi joint in Fullerton.

OK, this visit was actually quite some time ago, but I thought it would be an appropriate post for the "hot and soupy" series because the most memorable part of the meal was the lobster miso soup.

Now why would I go have omakase at a korean-run sushi place in Fullerton of all places? Well, Kat's previous report of a $50 omakase that included live lobster was pretty enticing.
Apparently you can call ahead and tell him you want to spend $50 and that you want the lobster soup so he can go buy lobster for you.

Turns out here at Kaori, $50 goes a long way.

We started with some vegetable tempura, followed by some Ankimo with ponzu sauce.

The came a plate of softshell crab.
Nice and crunchy although a tad heavy on the sauce.

Amaebi

Marinated oyster.
The Sashimi plates were also pretty impressive. We got two plates throughout the night consisting of toro, uni, hamachi belly, and more.
While they aren't the best pieces of sashimi you'd find around town, the quality and variety were both quite good considering the price we were paying.

A series of sushi came next, from Albacore belly to Ono with jalapeno ponzu sauce.

The sushi chef Gino showed his own flair too with local ingredients, as exemplified with the Anaheim Chili stuffed with salmon, topped with sriracha sauce.
It was just a li~ttle spicy for my level (I'm training, believe me), but it was a pretty creative dish. An Asian, fishy take on Chile Relleno?

Finally came the main attraction. The headliner of the night. Live lobster!
Live lobster sashimi in a $50 omakase? You have to call ahead and tell him you want it so he can go buy one for you, but if you do, a lobster will be killed and snapped in front of you.

Well, enough with the gore. Here's the delicious part: Live Lobster Sashimi
That's not all though. The best part is still to come. After you're done with the tail sashimi, he will take the rest and make an amazing Lobster Miso Soup.
This was the tour de force of the meal. The soup had so much flavor and texture from the miso base, the bits of lobster meat, and - perhaps the key secret ingredient - the lobster eggs which really added a lot of texture.

The meal ended with a simple matcha ice cream. Being my first time here, I was actually rather worried at the end, incredulous that the meal would actually only cost $50, but there it was on the bill: $50 per person.

Definitely a great deal for some omakase and while the sushi isn't at the level of the top joints in town, the lobster miso soup is worth a try.

Kaori Japanese Restaurant
500 N Harbor Blvd #C
Fullerton, CA 92832
(714) 871-9395