GTB TIPS ~ New Year's Eve in Downtown Dallas

WHAT ARE YOU DOING NEW YEAR'S EVE?

By Ellen "EJ" Sackett

It's party time! Have you made your New Year's plans? If Dallas is your home, consider viewing the city of glass, glitz and glamour from inside its glowing globe--atop the downtown landmark, Reunion Tower.

If you hurry, you still can snag a late-night dinner reservation at Five Sixty by Wolfgang Puck. Dallas’ newest, hottest restaurant offers a gorgeous revolving 360º view of the city 560 feet below and Asian-inspired cuisine by the famous celebrity chef. The New Year’s Eve menu features a five-course, fixed-price dinner with several options from which to choose for $145 per person ($185 with wine), plus tax and tip. Five Sixty is Puck’s first fine dining venture in Dallas, and adventurous palates can't help but appreciate this master chef's unique and creative fare. Thursday night's meal begins with Oscetra caviar. Included in the first course is Crispy “General Tso Style” Texas Quail followed by Arctic Char, Suckling Pig or Kobe Beef Carpaccio. Seafood lovers will love trying Puck's “Shanghai Style” Maine Lobster or his pan-seared scallops. The fourth course features a choice of Mongolian Lamb Chops, Petite Beef Filet “Au Poivre”, Honey Ginger Glazed Pork Loin or a Kobe NY Strip Steak. For dessert, how about a spiced banana cake with jivara chocolate mousse, chocolate coconut streusel and carmel gelato, a vanilla brioche bread pudding or finish the meal with a cheese, apple and quince preserve medley. For a more complete description of this and other Wolfgang Puck restaurants and cuisine, go to www.wolfgangpuck.com. You can also make your reservations through Open Table at www.opentable.com.

For fun without the formality, there will be live music and a buffet bar at Reunion Tower on the Event Dining Level from 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. for $95 per person (cash bar) or $150 per person (platinum hosted bar), plus taxes and gratuities.

The Reunion Tower Observation Deck Celebration starts at 9 p.m. and continues past Old Lang Syne until 1 a.m. The package costs $125 per person (plus taxes and tip) and includes appetizers, a platinum-hosted bar and a champagne toast at midnight. For reservations for either the buffet bar or the observation deck celebration, call 214-571-5710 or e-mail reuniontower@wolfgangpuck.com.

You might want to get some last minute culture in before the partying begins. The Dallas Symphony Orchestra will be performing at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center on 2301 Flora Street beginning at 7:30 p.m. on New Years Eve. This concert, conducted by British conductor James Judd, will feature light classical music, including waltzes and polkas in the European tradition of New Year’s celebrations. Go to www.dallassysmphony.com or call 214-692-0203 to reserve your tickets. (P.S. Save a little and get great seats by purchasing tickets in the Choral Terrace. These seats are located behind the orchestra, where you get a close-up look at the musicians in action and a frontal view of the conductor leading the band. It’s as close to being in the symphony as you can get without playing a note!)

Another entertainment option on New Year’s Eve is The Lincoln Center Theater Production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s musical, South Pacific. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. at Dallas’ pride and joy, the brand spankin’ new Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, 2403 Flora Street in Dallas. Ticket prices range from $30 to $98. Go to www.dallsperformingarts.org or call 214-880-0202 to purchase tickets.

After the party's over, crash at the Hyatt Regency Dallas hotel, adjacent to Reunion Tower. To make your reservations, go to www.hyattregencydallas.com or call 800-233-1234. The best part? In the morning, you might have a hangover, but you won’t have a DUI.

Now that's the way to ring in 2010. Happy New Year, everyone!

$$$$

Five Sixty By Wolfgang Puck
300 Reunion Blvd. Dallas, TX
(214)741-5560
www.wolfgangpuck.com