A version of this post originally appeared on December 31, 2022, in Stephanie Wu’s newsletter, “From the Editor,” a roundup of the most vital news and stories in the food world. Read the archives and subscribe now.
We’ve made it to the final day of 2022. New Year’s Eve ranks among my favorite holidays, largely because I have a tradition of getting together with friends from high school that I typically haven’t seen in quite some time. There’s something sweet about an end-of-year celebration that doubles as a reunion and a chance to catch up with old friends.
But New Year’s Day? My typical MO is not to make any plans whatsoever, in case I’m in recovery mode and want to stay in bed until way past noon. Late nights out are a lot harder now that I have a toddler at home, so this year, I surveyed the Eater and Punch teams to see what a group of food and drink experts has planned for the first day of the year. Whether you like a New Year’s Day routine or prefer to take it easy, I hope these provide some inspiration to kick off 2023.
“College football; champagne and hot toddies; and a meal of cornbread, collards, black-eyed peas, and pork are on the menu for New Year’s Day at our house. We often make dumplings or a noodle dish for extra good luck and good fortune. This year, those collards are coming from our backyard vegetable garden!” — Beth McKibben, Eater Atlanta editor, @sopermckibben
“New Year’s Eve is Russia’s biggest and most important holiday of the year — and I intend to go all out with black caviar, Soviet Champagne, goodie bags from Dedushka Moroz (Grandpa Frost), and an at-home Polaroid photo booth. As they say back home, how you greet the year is how you’ll spend it. So after greeting it with a bang, I’ll be sleeping in and lazily snacking on salad olivier straight from the serving bowl. I’ve earned it.” — Irina Groushevaia, Punch social media editor, @groushevaia
“I have to take a cold dip, whether it’s in the ocean, river, or the shower. The plan this year is to go to a river or lake, since I’ll be in upstate New York. We also make homemade ramen every year. It’s warm and hearty post-New Year’s Eve drinking.” — Stephen Pelletteri, Eater executive producer, @stephenbarry
“It’s probably a little silly to still be celebrating your ‘dating anniversary’ when you’ve been married almost 13 years, but my husband’s and mine’s is on New Year’s Day. Every year, we go on a hike together. Sometimes we stretch the term ‘hike’ a little if we’re traveling or life gets in the way, but the day will always involve some sort of outdoor walking effort, for as long as we’re able to do it together.” — Missy Frederick, Eater cities director, @bylinemjf
“My family has always eaten lobster on New Year’s Day! As my mom puts it, ‘to start off the year with something fancy’ and supposedly set the tone for a luxurious year ahead. It doesn’t work, but we all agree that lobster is delicious.” — Stefania Orrù, Eater supervising producer, @stefferonipizza
“This year, I’m going to see Eat Drink Man Woman at Metrograph on New Year’s Day, and then will probably get dinner in Chinatown somewhere after, likely Wu’s Wonton King since it’s right there.” — Monica Burton, Eater.com deputy editor, @monkburton
“My partner Rick and I sometimes have people over for New Year’s Day, and we all make pierogies together and eat cotechino.” — Melissa McCart, Eater NY editor, @melissamccart
“I go to an epic party from our list so I can wear my perfect indie sleaze outfit — fishnets, sequined silver dress, colorful makeup — and get champagne, and then I always get dumplings and noodles on New Year’s Day.” — Nadia Chaudhury, Eater Austin editor, @nadiachaudhury
“New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are huge for my husband’s Greek family, so on NYE we host a big party at our apartment where we have a spread of Greek food and at midnight cut the vasilopita, a traditional cake. The person with a hidden coin inside their slice will have the best year. On New Year’s Day, we go to his cousin’s house and do it all over again, but with mimosas and bagels.” — Amanda Kludt, Eater publisher, @kludt
“My family subscribes to the ‘eat cabbage and black-eyed peas for good luck and money’ school of thought, so I’ll be making this recipe, which has become one of my absolute favorites.” — Courtney Smith, Eater Dallas editor, @thecourtneyesmith
“Before I had a kid, my favorite New Year’s Day tradition was books and coffee at a great coffee shop. But toddlers simply do not care about holidays or days off. And so on New Year’s Day I plan on waking, as I always do, sometime between 6 and 7, making coffee, and then setting out a nice breakfast for my daughter that she may or may not eat. This year, however, I think she’ll nail saying ‘Happy New Year!’” — Hillary Dixler Canavan, Eater restaurant editor, @hillarydixlercanavan
“My family is Haitian and January 1 is both New Year’s Day and Haiti Independence Day, and it’s Haitian tradition to eat soup joumou — pretty much a spicy squash soup with beef — to celebrate our freedom, as enslaved Haitians were forbidden from having the dish by their enslavers. Sometimes my mom makes the soup, sometimes her dad does, or sometimes we’ll get some from a family friend who makes large batches every year. No matter where it’s from, we always make sure to have it. It’s one of my favorite things in the world.” — Annie Harrigan, lifestyle editorial coordinator, @annieharrigan
“This year my goal is to make a ton of Chex Mix and watch some good movies at home, and then go for a freezing walk on the beach the next day.” — Rebecca Flint Marx, Eater at Home editor, @ediblecomplex
“I always have cake on New Year’s Day, because January 1 is my birthday (yes, really). There have been years with multiple cakes — one after the midnight countdown and an entirely different one for after dinner — and tastes have varied, including homemade chocolate cake, supermarket bakery pineapple cake (a backfire), Baskin-Robbins ice cream cake, Paris Baguette cake, or cupcakes from Martha’s Country Bakery in Queens. Birthday or no, I highly recommend.” — Nadia Q. Ahmad, Eater copy editor, @aminad1a
“Over the course of the past year a friend and I have been saving a few dollars from each of our paychecks, and on New Year’s Day we’re going to split that $600 king crab at Wu’s Wonton King. They price the crab by the pound, which is how you end up with that eye-popping price tag, and serve it in three-ish dishes (steamed legs, fried legs, and crab fried rice). It’s really meant for groups of like six to eight, but we’ll see if we can finish it between two people.” — Luke Fortney, Eater NY reporter, @luke.fortney
