New Year’s Day: Wake up, eat up, sober up!
- Angela Bond
- There’s nothing like a hot blueberry pancake — and a Ninja Sunrise — to start the New Year at Succotash.
New Year’s Day doesn’t have the crazy expectations that cling to the previous night: Excitement! Romance! Drunken brawls! Regrets! The only real requirement of New Year’s Day is to eventually crawl out of bed and welcome 2012 with coffee and a piece of Nicorette gum (that is, if you want to try that resolution again). For most people, the day requires at least one solid meal. If you’re still mildly intoxicated, the greasier the meal, the better. Here’s some good news: The original Town Topic diner, the one at 2021 Broadway, will be open 24 hours on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
For more sophisticated tastes, theWestport Café (431 Westport Road, 816-756-2770) will serve New Year’s Day brunch from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aaron Confessori’s bistro recently introduced two new dishes to the brunch menu: crispy fried chicken served with French toast and a “Crepe Madame,” described as a sweet crepe topped with an egg, sunny side up, Gruyere cheese, creamy béchamel sauce and ham. The latter dish can also be served meatless. Traditional brunch cocktails like mimosas and bloody marys are served, but bar manager Joel Carron’s hangover remedy is spiced rum and orange juice.
Chef Justin Voldan will once again turn the 12 Baltimore lounge and dining room in the historic Hotel Phillips (106 East 12th Street, 816-221-7000) into a well-laden brunch extravaganza featuring a seafood station (scallops, shrimp, mussels, smoked salmon); a grill station offering beef bourguignon, lemon caper chicken, and grilled mahi mahi; a fondue station with assorted breads; an omelette station; salad station; and a table featuring this restaurant’s signature dishes, like whiskey-glazed ham, lobster macaroni and cheese, and banana bread French toast. The brunch is priced at $29, not including tax and gratuity.
