What to eat on New Year’s Day

There’s a lot of planning that goes into ringing in the New Year—finding the right disco-ball earrings, timing your bubbly intake so you actually make it to the countdown, etc. But all too often, New Year’s Day proper gets overlooked, and seeing as how many restaurants and stores are closed, this leaves you with a hangover and no food game to speak of aside from last night’s cocktail wieners. A little foresight can go a long way; consider incorporating the following options to revive yourself at the dawn of 2017:

Free things first—if you can get yourself put together by 11 a.m., Suzie Burger (2820 P Street) is giving away free burgers, fries and drinks to the first 1,000 people that bring a blanket in exchange, to be donated to Loaves & Fishes; visit www.suzieburger.com for details.

If you’re not one of the lucky 1,000 who finds his or herself with a burger in hand, might we recommend soup? If you’re not planning on going greasy, it’s one of the only things that can do you right when you’ve got the morning-after queasies. Pho has long had a reputation for being a hangover helper, and all locations of Pho Bac Hoa Viet will be open; visit http://phobachoaviet.com for addresses and information.

In Korean culture, it’s customary to eat tteokguk, a soup with coin-shaped rice cakes and bits of beef, to ring in a year of financial prosperity, though Seollal, the Korean New Year, happens on February 8. No one’s going to stop you from ordering the delicious, soothing soup at Pine Tree House (9205 Folsom Boulevard, Suite D) or YD House (8979 Folsom Boulevard) on January 1, and in fact, many Korean-Americans have adapted this tradition to the timing of the Western holiday.

Alternatively, go Americana with the Southern tradition of eating black-eyed peas soup, a.k.a. Hoppin’ John. Recipes vary widely, but popular cooking blog The Pioneer Woman has a simple (read: hangover-brain friendly) version: http://thepioneerwoman.com/
cooking/hoppin-john.