There are only two days left to make plans for how you want to bring in the new year.  Even though Salem might not have any balls to drop on the masses we do have plenty going on.  Here are our top picks for spending your New Years Eve in Salem MA.

Gulu-Gulu Cafe

Gulu Gulu Cafe – Bell bottoms are back at the Disco Ball.  One of our favorite local DJ’s Radio Scotvoid along with Noel Snow will be spinning all your favorite funk, disco and soul from the 1970′s.  Dress to impress with 70′s best.  Your $10 cover gets you in the door, some fine food-stuffs and a champagne toast at midnight.  Great fun on a limited budget.

Sixty2 on Wharf - Prefer a bit more refined New Years Eve?  Head over to Sixty2 where the jazz sounds of Qwill with Zach Fields on Drums and Anthony Sabol on Bass will be featured along with some killer food, great specials and a free champagne toast.

Rockafellas – Sitting smack in the middle of the price range between our two previous listing is Rockafellas. Offering a limited menu and the always fun Lisa Love Experience, tickets at door for the bar area are $25. A better deal is their dinner package with includes dinner at tables, entertainment, champagne toast and party favors for $65 per person. Rockafellas is kicking it off at 8pm.

Hawthorne Hotel Dinner – Some people love going to a hotel for New Years Eve, it’s a fun and safe plan.  The Hawthorne is pimping our their elegant four-course, $75.00 prefixed dinner.  Live Jazz music (no dancing) in both Nathaniel’s and Sophia’s (their two restaurants).

Not in the mood to go out to a bar, restaurant or hotel to celebrate?  Tomorrow we will be giving you the keys to hosting a successful New Years Eve party at home.  Complete with an insider’s guide to buying  champagne in Salem.

The Salem Beer Works
278 Derby Street
978.745.BEER

Every once in a while for a variety of reasons we may go back to a place previously reviewed. Today we hit Salem Beer Works again. They were great in accommodating a large party that wanted both food and drinks somewhere they could watch the game – all with just a few minutes notice.

Our party consisted of vegans, vegetarians, and carnivores with a large age range. There was something for everyone. The restaurant is well stocked with large screen TVs so you can comfortably watch whichever sporting event is on at the time from pretty much every seat in the house. The layout is comfortable enough to handle parents that have strollers or the mots rotund of tourists looking to eat their weight in wings.

Our waitress was attentive. Great laid back / casual dining experience, especially for large groups and even for families.
I had fun!
-CK

Beer Works changes up both their food and beer menu’s on a seasonal basis. One constant you must try are the fried pickles. Don’t debate the merits of frying a pickle just order it and enjoy. For an entree, I went with the meatloaf sandwich. Perhaps the best meatloaf sandwich I’ve ever had! Big slab of moist loaf with a little sauce on it between two lightly toasted buns, so delicious.

Others chose the garden burger, crunchy chicken sandwich, downtown crossing burger (that should have been called a MONSTER burger it’s more than 1/2 lb), meat loaf dinner with mashed potato’s (this is a crowd pleaser), grilled ceasar salad, and the turkey tips. Everyone was pleased with their meals.

If you have a vegetarian or vegan in your party its a great place to go. Alot of the menu has non-vegetarian friendly items offered vegetarian for a few bucks cheaper than the original price. FRIIIED PICCCKLES!! Also, huuuge portions.
-Sara

Since spring is just about here you can count on some new lighter brews from the Salem Beerworks. Many of the people in our group had never been to Beer Works before and were interested in trying a bunch of beer. Luckily you can get a beer sampler of your choice. We tasted the North Shore Light, nut brown ale, Black Bat stout, Bunker Hill Blueberry ale, Haymarket Hefe Weizen, and Pumpkinhead ale. With microbrews having vastly different flavors you wont please everybody with each beer, but there are always a few standouts.

Food quality belies the typical sports bar layout you get on initially seeing the place. Easily seats a large group which is great. All in all, great place to get some decent food and a good beer.
-T.I.

Unlike our usual reviews the following scores were compiled from a survey given to everyone in our group that day.

Service: A-
Atmosphere: B
Food: B
Beer: A
Menu Choices: A-
Price / Value: B
Overall: B

Music

Friday March 7th

• Acme Music (dance, rock, pop) @ Rockafellas
• Cherry S/T (rock) @ Dodge Street
• Wendy Nottonson (jazz 6:30-9:30) The Kicking Moon (rock 10) @ Bangkok Paradise
• Radio Scotvoid Productions aka RSVP (Alternative / Experimental / Electronica 8pm) @ Gulu Gulu
• Soul Baby (R&B, Funk, Soul) @ The Lyceum

Saturday March 8th

• New Life (dance, rock, pop, disco) @ Rockafellas
• Akiko Aoki (jazz 6:30-9:30) On 3 (rock 10) @ Bangkok Paradise
• The Winstons (rock) @ Dodge Street
• 2nd Saturday Bluegrass Jam (2:30PM – 5:30PM) 500 Plastic Dragons (cd release party- Indie / Pop / Country 8pm) @ Gulu Gulu
• Grateful Ted (classic rock 9pm) @ The Lyceum

Movies

Cinema Salem will be showing:

10,000 BC (PG-13)
Fri & Sat: (11:15 AM), (1:45), (4:15), 7:00, 9:35
Sun: (11:15 AM), (1:45), (4:15), 7:00

Spiderwick Chronicles(PG)
Fri & Sat: (12:15), (2:30), (4:45), 7:15, 9:30
Sun: (12:15), (2:30), (4:45), 7:15

Vantage Point (PG-13)
no-times listed

Art

Body Politics — Visions in blood and ink: the return of Maori tattoo @ PEM
This exhibit is a joy for photography fans and those interested in an insight to other cultures. Remember Salem residents get in for FREE.

Insider Picks

Last month their gig was canceled due to snow but tonight the insider pick goes to the always fun Soul Baby playing over at the Lyceum. Saturday get out an support local Salem band 500 Plastic Dragons as they celebrate their CD release. And for all you Sunday Brunchers, Sixty2 on Wharf is jumping into the heavily saturated market starting Sunday.

As always have a blast, don’t drink & drive and tell us about your weekend.

Nestled on the edge of down town Salem sits what I can only describe as an adult contemporary dining experience.

Stregas exterior does nothing to inform you as to what lies beyond its doors. Once inside you enjoy a beautiful wood bar with impressive columns, warm walls with geometric patterns, and fun retro-style lighting. Three plasma screens at the bar were tuned into the sporting game du jour (Patriots Sunday night game) while the room was filled with the sounds of latin hip-hop and later ambient chill out lounge.

We were promptly seated and a waitress took our drink order. I was disappointed to find out they did not have Bombay Sapphire, a staple at any respectable restaurant. I opted for a Hendrix martini while my dining companion ordered a cosmo. The menu was robust with an emphasis on Italian far. We opted for the PEI Muscles as an appetizer which was beautifully presented and tasted as good as it looked.

Entrees were priced from $12 -$26 and there was a three course price fixe option. We chose the rigatoni ala vodka and the seafood scampi. Portions were hearty and prepared well. The seafood was delicious but the scampi sauce and pasta left much to be desired. The rigatoni hit the spot and forced me to move my belt one notch to finish it.

The desert menu offered standard choices so we went with a creme brulee and a Bailey’s chocolate mousse. The mousse was rich and just melted in your mouth, the creme brulee was creamy with a hint of vanilla and caramelized just enough to impart a touch of flavor. Desert was capped off with an Irish coffee.

Reservations are not required but suggested especially for Friday or Saturday night.

Atmosphere: A
Drinks: A
Food: B
Overall: B+