The daily digest of Twin Cities culture | Secrets of the City

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I can't remember any year in which people were as eager to ring out the old and ring in the new as they are this time. Lots of us just want 2008 to be over with, and we're prepared to stay up till midnight just to make damn sure the year doesn't linger a minute longer.

There is less agreement on the best way to celebrate: one last blow-out for old-times sake, or do we start the living next year's resolutions the night before - you know, living sustainably, and sensibly and within our means? In either case, there are lots of options.

Secrets of the City is hosting its own celebration at the Red Stag Supper Club, which is definitely at the forefront of the new paradigm - eating locally, reusing, recycling and reducing their carbon footprint - they even compost their own kitchen waste.

But that doesn't mean they don't know how to have a good time. They'll have live music starting at 11 pm, complimentary appetizers, a free champagne toast at midnight, drink specials, prizes and more. A special $45 prix fixe menu will be offered from 5 to 10:30 p.m., with choice of roasted cauliflower bisque or butternut squash soup; chop salad; entrée of pork shop, butternut squash ravioli, broiled mahi mahi or top sirloin, and a cheesecake sampler or chocolate cake for dessert.

The Red Stag's sister restaurants each have their own New Years Eve specials - Bryant Lake Bowl is replacing their usual $28 Cheap Date Special - two salads, two entrees, a bottle of wine or two bottles of beer, and two games of bowling, with a Not So Cheap Date Night Special - jacking the price all the way up to $35 - but promising fancier fare. At Barbette, the menu from December 26 to New Years eve is expanded to include specials such as honey-glazed Schultz Farm chicken with rosemary and fennel pollen, Brussel sprouts, potato puree, and pan us; braised Wisconsin elk shank with buckwheat spaetzle, grilled endive and cranberry compote; and duck breast with organic kale, goat cheese flan and cherry demi. The novel twist here is the Champagne list - premium Champagnes seldom seen on restaurant menus are being offered at wine shop prices. ( E.g., Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle, $150.)

Chino Latino offers a street food menu at a pretty reasonable price: three courses for $25: first a choice of tamarind-marinated grilled tiger shrimp on a sugarcane skewer, or beef tenderloin skewered with foie gras and asparagus; followed by a choice of mini Kobe beef tacos or dim sum-style shrimp dumplings; and then either pastry-wrapped beef tenderloin or crab stuffed sole fillets.

The more luxurious options include Chambers Kitchen's four course dinner of tuna spring rolls, sauteed striped bass, grilled beef tenderloin and chocolate with pomegranate and madras, for $ $75 per person or $105 with an optional wine pairing. That price includes admission to the hotel's all-night Decadence party, plus snacks, a Champagne toast, Grey Goose gift bag, etc. And the Dakota is offering two options: a $100 dinner show, featuring music by Moore by Four at 8 p.m. and a multi-course menu prepared by chef Jack Riebel, and an $80 cocktail show at 10:30 p.m. with music by the Steeles. Or you can stay for both shows for $155.

If that's a little rich for your blood, consider the prix-fixe menu at North Coast in Wayzata.  The five courses start with a poached Nova Scotia lobster tail with chanterelle mushrooms, followed by big-eye tuna cooked sous-vide with rendered pancetta, boneless Duroc pork shank rolled with cinnamon baked apples. Wagyu (American Kobe) beef shortribs braised with truffle-scented veal stock, and dark chocolate mousse cake for dessert. This description doesn't really do justice to chef Ryan Aberle's cuisine, though - Aberle is one of those guys who likes to play with his food - so just to give you a flavor of what he does, here is his description of how the fourth course is prepared:

"American Wagyu Beef Short Rib is braised with a truffle scented veal braising liquid. Fresh pasta sheets are made with hazelnut and rye flour.  Truffle juice is blended with cream and set with gelatin in small demi sphere molds.  The truffle jello half spheres are placed in the fresh pasta and ravioli are made by wrapping the dough tightly around the jello.  The truffle ravioli are cooked in a balsamic scented vegetable stock until cooked (the gelatin reverts to a liquid at 110 degrees so we are left with a liquid center.)  Everything is assembled on the plate with some Grafton Aged Cheddar grits."

Cost for this extravaganza is $49, but if you want to bump it up into the decadent range, you can add the supplemental course of caviar and champagne ($29) and the supplemental foie gras, ($19). If you add the half-bottle of Piper-Heidsieck Brut ($30), you get to keep the two champagne flutes and the commemorative ice bucket.