A Procrastinator's Guide to an Elk Grove New Year's Eve

The procrastination bug has struck again. Another New Year’s Eve has arrived and you’re without a plan. How could this happen? Again?!

Well stop sulking, dear reader, because Elk Grove Patch has plotted out a fun, festive itinerary that’s right in your neighborhood — literally. So let 2012 be the year you resolve to stop putting things off until the last minute. There’s places to go.

Starter course

Breakfast has long held the title of “most important meal of the day,” but on New Year’s Eve a good supper is crucial to providing enough fuel to survive what will be a long, boisterous night. Luckily, Elk Grove has a large stable of fine dining choices.

on Emerald Oak Drive is even more authentic than its name and the perfect locale for a night of fine, formal dining. The Italian eatery has a rabid following of loyal regulars, so be sure to call for a table beforehand. Thank goodness we have an in with one of the employees.

On this particular night we’ll be stopping in at , thanks to owner/chef Bret Bohlmann’s insistence on fresh ingredients and the delectable hints he gave us about tonight’s special prefix menu.

Bohlmann was still weighing what to feature on the four- or five-course menu when we spoke to him Friday afternoon, but was leaning toward offering a wild mushroom and truffle risotto, as well as a course pairing fresh sea scallops and lobster. The uncertainty about what to prepare had everything to do with Bohlmann wanting to use the freshest, most vibrant ingredients at his disposal on the special night.

“That should really be the norm for all restaurants,” he said. “If you’re not using what’s fresh, if you’re not using what’s local, then you’re really missing the boat.”

The restaurant will open for business today at 5 p.m. and will also be offering its standard menu. Final reservations will be taken at 10 p.m.

Clinking glasses

After your tastebuds have partied, it’ll be time to share the merriment with the rest of your jealous selves. Why not scoot a little farther up Elk Grove Boulevard to the ?

“We’re going to have live music all night long,” promised server Melinda Dyke.

The band on tap for tonight is local act Nikki D & the Machine, said Dyke.

Throughout the night, Brick House employees will also be handing out 10 different kind of appetizers — including caviar, prosciutto, polenta crab cakes and white chocolate mousse — serve up a champagne toast just before midnight and offer a hearty breakfast of bacon, eggs, sausage, pancakes, and biscuits and gravy around 1 a.m. Owners have also pledged to get everyone home safely, which could mean up to 150 roundtrips when the lounge closes around 2 a.m.

Dyke will be working her third New Year’s Eve at the popular establishment and says the atmosphere is celebratory.

“It gets pretty live in here these past two years,” she said.

For those who don’t want to pay the $49 per person cover, another option with live entertainment is Elk Grove staple on Grant Line Road. Think the bar from the iconic Patrick Swayze movie Road House, only with rowdier music and fewer fisticuffs.

The country and western saloon will be breaking with its weekend tradition by not charging a cover tonight to enter, but still provide live music from Midnight Wranglers and free champagne just before midnight, said the daytime bartender, Kimberly. The party honky tonks until 2 a.m., so have plenty of fun, but do so safely. After all, 2013 is just around the corner.