Katie RobbinsIf the day after Thanksgiving is the biggest shopping day of the year, then the day after New Year's Eve is the biggest hangover day of the year. And hangovers must be fed – and well. But since many restaurants shutter their doors on New Year's Day, and because it can be hard for the booze-addled brain to navigate which eateries are open and which are not, we've done the work for you. Here's our list (in no particular order) of Ten Great New Year's Day Brunches, which will satisfy the most obscenely hungover, and even their smugly sober friends.
1. Cecconi's is offering a New Year's Day brunch beginning at 10 AM, which in addition to their regular morning menu, will feature a scrambled egg and black truffle sandwich, a nice range of oysters, and a homemade sausage and mushroom risotto. Also available are the off-menu breakfast pizzettes – one with speck, fontina, arugula and a sunny side up egg; the other with sweet cream and berries. 8764 Melrose Avenue, West Hollywood; (310) 432-2000; www.cecconiswesthollywood.com.
2. Nothing answers the pangs of the morning after like a big bowl of menudo, and El Sinaloense in Huntington Park, dishes up some of the best white menudo around (along with a luscious machaca burrito, uncannily corny tamales, and some truly ambrosial horchata.) The tiny take-out and counter joint will be open from 8AM to 4 PM on New Year's Day. 7601 State Street, Huntington Park; (323) 581-1532.
3. For a laid-back Frenchy brunch, try BreadBar, which will be serving Continental favorites, such as pain de mie French toast, quiche Lorraine, and croque madame from 10 AM to 3 PM at both its West Third and Century City locations. www.breadbar.net
4. Tarzana's Hummus Bar & Grill's eponymous chickpea spread offers creamy, soothing comfort, while those requiring heartier remedies can opt for shawarma or chicken heart skewers. And for the virtuous looking to get a jump on healthy New Year's resolutions, the option of an endless assortment of house salads is a satiating path toward virtue, with a few decadent deviations (chopped liver, anyone?) along the way. 18743 Ventura Boulevard, Tarzana; (818) 344-6606; www.hummusbargrill.com.
5. The café-cum-butcher, Salt's Cure extends its brunch hours from 11 AM to 5 PM on New Year's Day, with a special menu that will feature griddle cakes, corned beef hash, and housemade bagels with in-house smoked fish and cream cheese. 7494 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood; (323) 850- 7258; www.saltscure.com.
Millions of salads at Hummus Bar & Grill; Credit: K. Robbins
6. This list could easily consist solely of nature's perfect hangover remedy — rich, savory Asian noodle soups. Hanbat Shul-Lung-Tang specializes in one of the best of them – Korean sullongtang – a milky broth full of offal and tender beef brisket, and teeming with tangles of gossamer noodles. 4163 W 5th St, Los Angeles; (213) 383-9499.
7. You know you'll need a strong, well-brewed cup of Joe (or several) to get you through the day, and Lamill will gladly deliver, along with its breakfast staples like housemade brioche donut holes, sweet butternut squash polenta, and eggs en cocotte with Dungeness crab. 1636 Silver Lake Blvd., Los Angeles; (323) 663-4441; www.lamillcoffee.com
8. For the New Year, Gladstones Malibu offers a triple threat of beach, buffet, and ball, with its holiday brunch from 10 AM to 4 PM. The spread (costs $30, but an extra $20 gets you bottomless Bloody Marys and mimosas) includes breakfast buffet standards like French toast sticks; Gruyere and spinach frittatas; and yogurt parfaits. In the adjacent bar, football will be blaring starting at 9 AM. 17300 Pacific Coast Hwy; Pacific Palisades, (310) 454-3474; www.gladstones.com.
9. Sri Siam Café in North Hollywood has all the basic hangover breakfast food groups covered. For fried eggs and protein, there's o-lou, a shrimp-filled, eggy pancake. For rich, savory noodle soup, try the spicy, swarthy khao soi with beef. And for sausage and carbs, the nutty crispy rice salad with sour Thai sausage delivers brilliantly. 12843 Vanowen St., North Hollywood; (818) 982-6262; www.srisiamcafe1.com.
10. They don't call it the 24/7 Restaurant for nothing. The sleek, creamy yellow-hued restaurant in the Standard Hotel, will be open for business New Year's Day, serving its weekend brunch (think classics like steak and eggs; Belgian waffles; and steel cut oats) from 11 AM to 5 PM. 550 South Flower, Los Angeles; (213) 892-8080; www.standardhotels.com/los-angeles/restaurants-bars/24-7-restaurant/
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