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BYOB: Bite Cafe
The spot: Once again, you've procrastinated, and now anywhere you'd want to go on New Year's Eve is either booked, closed or too darn expensive. Well, who says you have to ring in the new year at midnight? Beat the rush into 2008 with an affordable BYOB brunch at Bite Cafe on New Year's Eve. The eclectic, vegetarian-friendly Ukrainian Village eatery serves its usual weekend brunch menu from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Dec. 31. Join the other hipsters in the small, cozy space for Eggs Bite ($7.50), a spin on traditional eggs Benedict with ham and spinach, or satisfy your sweet tooth with blueberry pancakes ($5.75).
The bottle: Not too far from Bite, gourmet grocery and upscale wine shop Goddess and Grocer (1646 N. Damen Ave. 773-342-3200) is the perfect spot for an early-morning excursion. Not only does it open at 6 a.m., it's got more bubbles than a Jacuzzi. Pass on the expensive stuff and start small with a split (that's a quarter of a bottle--perfect for a couple of mimosas) of Segura Viudas cava ($6). If you want to go a bit more upscale--c'mon, it's New Year's!--owner Debbie Sharpe recommends a bottle of Casa Boher ($18), an Argentinean sparkler from Mendoza, a wine region you'll probably see a lot more of in 2008. "We were shocked at how well priced it was," says Sharpe. "When we tasted it, we thought it was going to be a $30 or $40 bottle." When the clock strikes midnight, Sharpe will be sipping a sparkling rosé, hopefully on the beach in the Bahamas. If you'd like to follow her lead--with the wine, at least--pick up a bottle of Gruet Sparkling Brut Rosé ($16), the popular bubbly from New Mexico.
-- Emily Hiser Lobdell, Metromix special contributor
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