Dallas / Fort Worth New Year’s Eve Party, Dinner and Club Guide

by Mike Orren

All local NYE events

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Local taxi companies

It's the one night that you simply must go out and party like it's 2006 with a bunch of perfect strangers; pay exorbitant prices for food and hooch you can get other days; abdicate all choice in menu selections; dance like John Travolta (Fever or Fiction, your choice) to music that would ordinarily make you toss your Ipod, and generally act like such a fool that you won't live it down until next year.

We've collected what we believe to be the ultimate DFW New Year's dinner and party guide. 327 par-tays as of this writing, and I'm sure we'll find some more tomorrow.

If you know more about any of these parties and can share info, we encourage you to post it in the comments section on each event. And if you know of any we missed, please let us know.

Still, that's a lot of parties to sift through. If you want someone else to do your thinking for you even before the evening starts, check out our picks. (We are a little partial to parties featuring original local bands.)

Say you're a cheapskate. Or you want to show that special someone how much you don't care. (Laugh it up-- I once ditched a girlfriend that way). Pick a party that is "free." Free as in you're still going to have to pay for drinks, but at least no one is ramming a prix fixe menu down your gullet.

Here are some other benchmarks suggested by our staff and readers. Add yours in the comments below:

Most expensive: $1,500 full treatment at Spike. This does not include a hotel room like some of the other pricey packages around town. Can you drink $1,500 in one night?

Worst deal you might be able to afford: $180/head for a five course dinner and Champagne at Fred's Cafe. Fred's is a great for a greasy spoon, but this is a bit, ahem, ambitious, especially sans entertainment.

The way it should be:Bash with Bodie at Tres Rios RV Park. BYOB. Potluck dinner. Chili Cookoff. Music all night. Somebody better bring deviled eggs.

Salsa!: We're a little biased, since our event entry "machine" is involved, but how can you go wrong with salsa, mambo and Puerto Rican food at a bargain price?

For the kids: All night skate at Interstate Rolling Rink.

Shaken and stirred: Dueling 007 parties at Whiskey Bar/Stout, Zaza, Naan and Sneaky Pete's. (Does this mean that Dixie Rex is doing the next Bond theme? Which of these places would Bond actually visit?)

Best marketing plan: Purgatory has Playboy models, which gives us a rare chance to use our "hotties" metatag. Plus, they got the URL DallasNYE.com.

For Auld Lang Syne: Legendary local punk band Loco Gringos reunites after a ten-year absence at Lakewood Bar and Grill.

My personal fave: Shanghai 5, belly dancers and fire pits at Lee Harveys.

No matter where you go, be safe. Get a teetotaling driver, or call a cab. Me and the missus? We'll be at the OrWell compound swilling cold duck and black-eyed pea queso. The rest of you keep it down, OK?

Do us a favor. We don't do much of that there "traditional advertising," so if you think our NYE guide is useful, would you email your friends and let them know about it? Thanks!