New Year's Eve on a budget?

Hello all, I'm wondering if the sage advice of this board might prove useful to me yet again. I'm in the middle of a mental block, trying to plan an inexpensive night out for New Year's for my group of 5 or 6 friends. Ideally, no more than about $50 per couple, and something that involves good food and copious amounts of alcohol (BYOB would be ideal). A festive atmosphere might be a plus, but isn't necessarily important. More important to me is that it be somewhere we can just linger, relax, and enjoy ourselves. We're all lovers of good food, and a place where we could share a bunch of family-style dishes would be fun. I'd prefer not to have to drive anywhere (see: copious amounts of alcohol), so transit-friendliness is an asset.

Right now I'm thinking some place in Chinatown would fit the bill pretty well for us. Has anyone had any experiences with spending NYE in any of the board favorites? Any other suggestions come to mind based on our criteria? Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

I always enjoy Christmas Eve in Chinatown. I am sure New Years would be the same type of experience. The Phoenix (where I personally have spent several xmas eves), and many others, are open and lots of fun on festive occasions.

I've had New Years Eve dinner at Rose Angelis twice. The last time was three years ago and the price was $60/couple, I think. That included one bottle of wine per couple. The food was good, all served family style. The atmosphere was very relaxed. We had the late seating both times and were there from about 9:30 pm to 1:00 am.

Dan

A few years back, my parents got theatre tickets for the whole family on New Years Eve and we planned to have a late dinner in Chinatown after the show and toast in my younger daughter's birthday. When we got to Chinatown at around 11:15, the municipal lot was closed. To be fair, the weather was terrible and it was snowing heavily. We found the restaurant we planned to dine in. They were open, but we were the only patrons and quite frankly, I think they were surprised to see customers at that hour on New Year's Eve. My father circled for a while, trying to find a parking spot on the street near the restaurant. He gave up and said he would circle while we ate. We told him not to be silly and ended up leaving without ordering and just driving home, hitting midnight and singing happy birthday in the car somewhere on I-57.

I would check with a specific restaurant in Chinatown before just assuming they will be open on New Year's Eve for a festive late dinner. I would also make sure they have ample parking nearby.

Suzy