Dining out on New Year's Eve: Top picks according to Anya Levykh

You may have your Christmas dinner plans sorted, but what about New Year's Eve? Soon it will be time to say goodbye to 2015,and finding a place to dine and drink without ravaging your walletcan be a challenge.

The key to finding the perfect restaurant for New Year's Eve is to stay true to your taste, says On The Coast's Urban Foodie, AnyaLevykh.

"If you wouldn't eat there during the yearchances are you won't enjoy it just because it's a special occasion."

Anya'sNYE restaurantpicks

Ancora Waterfront Dining & Patioon False Creek

"Their New Year's Eve menu is $95 for six courses that include sea urchin and scallop causa, lobster risotto with winter truffles, Pacific lingcod, Yakima valley lamb chop, and dessert. Wine pairings are available as well, but most interesting is the experience they are offering, which is letting you sabre your own bottle of champagne."

Latab Wine Bar

"[It]has an amazing deal that gives you a taste of the entire restaurant menu, plus a glass of bubbly, for $59 per person." This restaurant offers an intimate, yet casual experience according to Levykh.

Rocky Mountain Flatbread

This restaurant offers face painting, live entertainment, and pizza making for families with children.

"Even better, they offer an early New Year's Eve countdown, which means your kids get to toast (with juice, of course) at around eight or nine p.m., as opposed to midnight, letting you put them to bed early, and then have your own private celebration at midnight."

This week's recipe:White blini with crme frache and salmon caviar

By Anya Levykh

Makes 15-20 blini

Ingredients:

• 1/2 litre buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups crme frache (or yogurt)
• 1 2 cups salmon caviar (sockeye or chum)
• Fresh chopped dill for garnish

Method:

Pour buttermilk into large bowl, add in eggs, whisk until blended.

Add in flour half a cup at a time, until reaching desired consistency, whisking well between additions.

Batter should be slightly runny, but should leave a trace when poured back from a spoon into the bowl.

Heat non-stick crepe pan over medium-high heat.

Using small ladle, pour enough batter for one blin into centre of pan, tilt pan to allow batter to spread evenly.

Cook for one minute on each side, or until light golden brown with some darker spots.

Transfer to plate, and make remaining blini in same way.

Spread a couple teaspoons of crme frache in centre of a blini, then spoon a couple teaspoons of caviar in thin line along one side.

Roll up each blin around the caviar, top with more crme, and garnish with some fresh dill.