T-Buckets this side of Somerset stands out from the rest for New Year’s Eve by saying they will be open “until the last drink is spilled.” One patron suggested that just what that drink is, as there are cool specials, has to be determined by Your Mama.
There is DJ/karaoke at 9 p.m. This has been the most consistent such music offering in western Wisconsin in recent months, and you can forget Minnesota for now. The bomb shots are a veritable bombshell at $4, well, a shot. There also are six of those for $20, and for you the quality tipper — not to be confused with Tipper Gore — that covers your tip with, potentially, a little extra left over for yourself. And if you tanked a bit at karaoke or even think you might, rest assured it still is appreciated, and need some comfort food, there is a pasta bar starting an hour beforehand at 8 p.m.
<News break> And this is a new category for HudsonWiNightlife. Check out the Uncategorized department for some killer commentary on how the Twin Cities media covered the triple stabbing in downtown Hudson. Waited until the new year to see if things would change. Check it out and see how you would answer that question, although I hate to be non-festive on a holiday.
<You might bear in mind that since the 31st is on a Thursday, there is what is essentially a curfew in all of Hudson of 10 p.m. So as has been said, head north. Elsewhere, most places are feeling bound by the 25 percent capacity rule that exists in many municipalities, but obviously not all, and it is not clear whether county laws, we are talking St. Croix and Pierce, trump the various municipalities within them, thus most venues have elected to forego most all music. And aside from that, as they said at Sidetrack Saloon in Roberts, “we’re just drinking a bunch of beer.” And so be that. But if you go far enough afield, there are things such as 20 ounce porterhouse (not the full two pounds and the rest of the sides tend to be just the typical) being hawked, and that’s even way across the border where shutdown fever began. Closer to home, you might try the village of North Hudson, again with different rules then the city of Hudson, although they are trying to work in tandem to a degree with communications open, even almost nightly between the bartenders that happen to be on duty. Historically, you will probably have best luck with The Village Inn (although they have a dreadful lack of communication among staff and even the servers depending on which one, as Darren and Sue are by far the most informative, but might not know how to direct you when giving a simple call of how long are you open, or is any buffet free or for a charge, or such), and across the street, at Kozy Korner (where at some point over New Year’s you will likely even run into their trademark free-for-all-with sloppy Joe’s — hey I take offense to that but probably have no right to), and a tentatively planned potluck — see below for what you could bring — over even further north a bit at their companion venue Guv’s Place with great darts too, and that’s more of a lock, but definitely get their early. And the Town of Hudson to the east is different then the city and village, and they are a wild card. And further to the east is the often found staple of Wisconsin, the good ‘ol fashioned supper club, where you can surely find the bestest of Old Fashioneds, Manhatten or otherwise, just as good as my brother makes, and he learned from the best growing up in the Wausau-Merrill area. For this in this area, likely have to hit the County Line.
<Be the hostess who ends up with the leastest>
So T-Buckets may not be the place to go, for some reason, and you are holding your own party — is that considered housebound? No matter, as here are some party suggestions for those wishing to try something different. Christmas is in the books, but remnants are still in the refrigerator. So why not use what’s there to win a prize? That said, host a “who has the best leftovers party!” The winner, if that term can be used and not considered a booby prize, gets all the leftovers from everyone else. Or if that is too much, group the gathered greens and such by category, so you can be in it to win it, appetizer, salad, entree, dessert, you get it. Some limits need to be set — up to the host — on how much you can enhance your eats and still have them be eligible as leftovers. Everyone can be liberal with ice, of course. I humbly suggest the one extra sauce rule, and humbly throw out there this idea: You had either ham or turkey earlier in the holidays, right? How about a sauce with a mayo base, not too much, and add mustard(s), and/or chipolte, hot sauce, Worchestershire sauce, and the capper, just the right amount of brown sugar. Whether the meat is white or darker, use more of the dark tinted sauces. What about taking those meatballs that everyone seems to make, dice them finely and throw them into the sauce mix, so you get rid of another thing while getting more prize-worthy. And consider giving bonus points to whomever can guess the exact sauce that put the top dish over the top. Lastly, you could have your guests pull an ingredient from a hat and be given a set amount of time to use it to make a dish — again a sauce as category is recommended so you don’t have lots of spare parts such as spare ribs setting around, as that would defeat the purpose of using up stuff inexpensively.
But if you still have to do the fast food thing, you just might be able to if you leave right after reading this post. A major newspaper, in Cincinnati, said their review found that in that city, there were many such places that remained open New Year’s Eve, at least for awhile. A full baker’s dozen of them also have locations in Hudson. It said that of those retail business franchises they studied, and the ones where certain outlets were to remain open, the typical closing time was 6 p.m. So get going … And however you celebrate it, Happy New Year! And bear the cold and wind if you go out, and it seems from a recent walk around that there just aren’t hardly any house parties, judged by cars parked or the total lack of them, at least those that start with a sit-down dinner. But for maybe those who will still try to party all through to the dawn, You Know Like They Used To, even if it has to be at home, they need to start later so they can go later. We’ll have to see …