Shrimp Pad Thai mee krob thin rice noodles stir-fried in a sweet sauce is a delicious way to ring in 2022, says restaurant critic Merrill Shindler. PUBLISHED: December 19, 2021 at 11:13 a. UPDATED: December 19, 2021 at 11:13 a. My history of New Year’s Eve celebrations has run pretty much from sad to sorrowful.
Growing up in New York City, I actually went to Times Square many years ago — long before they started corralling the celebrants for hours on end, forcing them to wear adult diapers. After the ball descended, the assembled masses all ran for the subway entrances. The New York subway system had, thoughtfully, gone on a post-midnight schedule. Meaning that several hundred thousand of us were clustered on the edge of the platforms, praying for a train — and that no one would push us off.
Then, there was the time I was invited to a gala dinner at a friend’s house — only to discover the gala dinner consisted of bags of chips and cans of onion dip, with Lawrence Welk playing on the TV, and a lot of pitiful characters sitting on couches, trying to stay awake. There was the meal at a favorite Italian restaurant, where I discovered, too late, that what was being served was a meal consisting of two pasta entrées, a green salad, and some sort of store-bought chocolate cake for dessert. I think the meal included a split of champagne. That’s half a bottle, for two persons. And they charged too much for it. After moving to the West Coast, to simplify New Year’s Eve, I decided to stay on East Coast time the night of Dec.
This allowed me to celebrate early, and then go to sleep whenever I wanted. And to get up early enough for the Rose Parade, if I wanted to. After all these years, there’s been only one New Year’s Eve that stands out as an unmitigated triumph — and it involved going into a world where Dec. 31 is not New Year’s Eve. I organized a crowd to go to one of the sprawling Chinese seafood restaurants of Monterey Park for an early evening banquet. Getting off at the Atlantic Avenue exit, just after 6 p.
I found myself stuck in a traffic jam, caused by police running a sobriety check. The Chinese New Year wasn’t coming up for another month or more, so this was just another night. Except that the larger hall of the restaurant had been taken over by what I was told was a Chinese high school reunion. There were speeches and songs — all in Chinese. I notably remember bringing my own wine, and asking if there was a corkage fee.
No, I was told — for the table, for the evening. I had a great meal — and was home early enough to catch the ball coming down in Times Square. I’ve repeated it many times in the years since. A Chinese restaurant New Year’s Eve on Dec. 31 has always been a joy.
Korean barbecues, even the occasional Cambodian eatery, of which we have precious few! We bring our own fun with us, which does not include funny hats and noisemakers! These days, if you’re at Times Square, you’re locked in till after midnight. But meals at the following restaurants are always a joy — how could it be otherwise? With the closing of Royal Garden in Cerritos, our most notable Chinese seafood house has gone the way of all flesh. The Northern Café — which is situated in the same very busy mall that also is home to such crowd-pleasers as Gen Korean BBQ, 85C Bakery, North Shore Poke Co. Were they offering tuna tartare rather than chicken gizzard kebabs, it wouldn’t be a surprise.