Starting when I was 7 years old and continuing through my high school years, my parents made a big deal about New Year’s Eve. It was the one night of the year they took my brother and I to a very nice dinner. It was always the same restaurant, one specializing in steak and seafood. The lighting was dim and there was a huge buffalo head on the wall, which I found entrancing. It was the kind of restaurant that had seating upstairs, where I always deeply wanted to sit because it just seemed important up there. We all got dressed up, mom and dad would order wine while my brother and I ordered a Roy Rogers and Shirley Temple, respectively. Dad always ordered the stuffed mushroom appetizer and the four of us never passed up the salad course, which was prepared tableside. Big brother and I were allowed to order anything we wanted from the grown up menu, which I fully took advantage of. One year, I happily ordered the lobster tail…of course, at the time, I didn’t know what “M.P.” meant. Now, I can see why my parents’ eyes got so big when I ordered it. About the time my brother and I entered middle school, we switched restaurants, shifting to a quaint Italian restaurant closer to home. Here, the owner, Carlo, would crack open port and prosecco as midnight approached. He might have even let a couple of high schoolers take a sip. He might have.
It’s amazing how traditions, big or small, can shape your childhood, your memories, your future. I remember feeling so grown up and special on New Year’s Eve. It was a night of bonding for the whole family; this was before cell phones so we would just sit and talk and laugh and eat, sometimes for hours depending on the busyness of the restaurant.
It’s never too late to start a New Year’s Eve tradition with your own family. Every year at Ponte, we host a special dinner on December 31st and we believe it is the perfect place to make memories. You and your family will enjoy great food, great service and a wonderful atmosphere in the Barrel Room. Surrounded by oak barrels filled with aging wine, you and your party will choose from a deliciously tempting menu of appetizer, soup, salad and main course options created by Executive Chef Salvatore Guiliano. You can take a look at the menu here. Whether it’s just you and your dear one, you and your kids or you and your best friends, we promise to make you all feel special. You’ll need to make reservations and you can do that by calling The Restaurant at Ponte.
What could be better than a great dinner out? Well, here goes:
- Make a night of it! Book a room or suite at the Ponte Vineyard Inn which is mere steps away from The Restaurant, and enjoy a complimentary bottle of our best-selling sparkling Moscato. You will also have exclusive access to The Cellar Lounge (sorry, kids, this is for mom and dad only) for a midnight toast, plus late check-out the next morning.
- Get your groove on after dinner right next door at Wiens Family Cellars for their 1920’s Speakeasy-themed New Year’s Eve celebration (21 years and older, please). Purchase your tickets here.
You can make your dinner reservations for anytime between 5 pm and 8pm. They will go fast, so give us a call today. We hope to see you there, with lots of memories being made.
–What do you do on New Year’s Eve?
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