Got $375 burning a hole in your pocket? Great you can afford the worst New Year's Eve ever!

Sorry for the late start today kids, try and take one Gmail account off the list of accounts that can post something here and you almost lose your entire site. Thanks Google.

OK, back to New Year's Eve. If you are lucky enough to have $375 in your pocket and still haven't made plans for New Year's Eve, how about taking all that hard earned do-re-mi to Applebee's in Times Square?

Yes, Applebee's.

What's that? $375 for Applebee's seem like a bit steep? Well friends Johnny has some sage advice; T.G.I Friday’s has a NYE package for $225. Ruby Tuesday's is throwing a party for $275 so there are options. Albeit bad ones.

OK, Johnny's being a snob (but if you're a regular you know the good food side of him comes to the fore sometimes). Here's Zane Tankel, owner of all 38 Applebee's in the New York City area:

“You wouldn’t know you were at an Applebee’s for that one night.”

Except for the decor and the giant Applebee's sign out front. 

Now the T.G.I. Friday's deal includes a ticket to an afterparty at the BB King Blues Club so they're at least trying harder. However at Ruby Tuesday's you don't even get a dinner. Just stacks of snacks. Look we're sure the people who work at these restaurants are going to work really hard at making it not look like where you're at. They'll try extra hard to help you have a good time. But you and a date dropping at least $500 on tickets to a chain restaurant with all the charms of Times Square without a view of the ball dropping and in one place no dinner well, um, really? 

Psssst. You want to spend that money in Jersey City. Yes you do. If you have that same $500 you can eat like a Joffrey and drink like Dean Martin. There are some great places after a great meal to sing and dance and make Merry (if your gal's name is Merry) right here in Cool City. Don't make a tradition out of partying in Jersey City because Johnny says so. Do it because goodness gracious there's a lot of great fun to be had in JC. Explore your city on New Year's Eve. Walk around downtown. You can even kiss your sweetie looking at the light glare from Times Square down on the riverfront. 

Let's make this New Year's Eve a celebration of Jersey City, kind of a big "shop local" but for a New Year's Eve to remember. And then let's do it next year and the year after. Unless of course you really like Cowboy Burgers.

Like one Jersey Journal commenter at the link above said about this idea: "I'd rather spend $375 at White Castle than Applebee's." Jersey City has one friend, 2995 John F Kennedy Blvd. at the corner of Newark Ave. Mmmmm onion chips.