Four *not* outrageous New Year's Eve dinners in New York

[Flickr / jwilly]

Ah, New Year's Eve dinner at a fancy Manhattan restaurant. Always sounds like such a perfect, romantic idea. That is, until you start calling around and discover that every eatery this side of Applebee's is offering a "special" NYE menu at a not-so-special price of something like $250 a plate.

Free Champagne toast or not, we don't think eating out on New Year's should be more expensive than an entire vacation, so we've found four classy New York restaurants that are offering New Year's dinner at relatively reasonable prices.

Brasserie 8 1/2: At $59 a head, the three-course prix fixe at this Midtown hotspot isn't exactly bottom of the barrel pricing, but if you simply must eat at an NYC dining palace, this is about as cheap as you're gonna get on the big night. For fluke tartare, rack of lamb, and chocolate-chesnut profiteroles, the deal is actually pretty reasonable. Plus you can saunter down 57th Street afterwards and get a somewhat-distant view of the Times Square ball drop. 9 West 57th St. Stay nearby at Michelangelo Hotel.

Mercadito: Eat your way to midnight at this popular East Village Mexican spot, where they start serving a $50, four-course, family-style menu at 9:30. You’ll get a tasting of their unique guacamoles (like mango-jicama-chipotle), along with your choice of two ceviches or other apps, a selection of four tacos, and dessert. While you have to commit to eating all this food, the total comes out to not much more than you'd pay on a regular night here. 179 Avenue B. Stay nearby at Thompson LES.

Telepan: This high-end Upper West Side eatery has the standard overpriced NYE prix fixe ($165), but they also make a nod to the cheapskates, if you’re willing to eat a la grandma --- the regular menu is on offer from 5:00 to 6:30. This includes the standard four-course prix fixe, which costs $55 and includes items like foie gras torchon and braised grass-fed beef brisket, or you can order a la carte. 72 West 69th St. Stay nearby at Buckingham Hotel.

The Good Fork: The most popular outpost among Red Hook, Brooklyn’s burgeoning foodie scene, this homey spot will be open on New Years Eve for the first time this year, and they're going completely price gouge-free, serving their regular menu, at regular prices. You'll be hard pressed to find anywhere else in NYC where you can feast on bacon wrapped pork tenderloins or hen of the woods mushrooms and come in at under $30 a person. 391 Van Brunt St.

-- Brendan Spiegel of Endless Simmer.