3 New Year's Eve Options For People Who Hate New Year's Eve

By Melissa McEwen in Food on Dec 30, 2014 8:15PM

Sad cat just really wants the holidays to be over so restaurants and bars can have normal prices and not be full of binge-drinking casuals (Shutterstock)

Tomorrow is the night when many of your favorite restaurants and bars cost around 300% more and force you to purchase tickets to get in in a preview of the future dystopia that will occur when restaurant ticketing companies rule the world. Sometimes those tickets aren't such a bad deal, but personally I know if I get a New Year's Eve package with seven drink tickets, I'll drink two of those drinks and then get really sleepy. My Netflix queue is looking awfully tempting in comparison, but it's not the only option. Here are a few picks for those of you who want to treat New Years Eve like a normal weekend night out:

Restaurants and bars serving a normal menu: These are really hard to find, but they exist. Vera (1023 West Lake Street), The Charleston (2076 North Hoyne Avenue.), Toons (3857 North Southport Avenue.) and Nico (1015 North Rush Street) are serving the same menu they'd already serve you on a Wednesday night. If you know any more, let us know in the comments.

Your neighborhood pub: The Irish pub down the block probably doesn't sell tickets for New Year's Eve. It might not be stylish and it might be a little raucous, but it's perfect for those who made the last minute decision to go out.

Chinatown: It's pretty much just another Wednesday night in Chinatown. Chinese New Year doesn't happen until Feb. 19. Which means New Year's Eve is a great time to grab dinner at your favorite restaurant in the neighborhood like Lao Sze Chuan (2172 South Archer Avenue) or Yan Bang Cai (228 W Cermak Rd).