If your group of friends includes international comrades, you wont need to use any of your hard-earned frequent flyer miles to indulge in the culinary traditions of a worldly Christmas Eve. Dial up your Polish buddy and pray he asks you to sit down to a traditional meal of 12 courses where meat, milk, and eggs are taboo. Or invite yourself to your Parisian co-workers réveillon, which is sure to be a luxurious affair starting with lobster, escargots, and foie gras, and ending with 13 desserts and a glass of champagne. And when youre flipping through your Rolodex, your belly would definitely want you to holla at your Italian friend who always boasts about a feast complete with seven types of seafood and enough wine to fill Biscayne Bay.
By the time Santa reaches your chimney, your stomach will be singing We Are the World, but if you prefer Born in the U.S.A., keep your meal stateside and see how the health nuts at the South Beach Whole Foods do it. At this years Holiday Celebration, Chef Sheryn will serve up vittles made with the stores superfresh offerings, and unlike Mom, Sheryn wont care if you have dessert first. From 4 to 6 p.m., a live band will play, vendors will shower you with gifts, and massages will abound and you will like it.
Wed., Dec. 24, 2008