New Year’s Eve is the best holiday

Hello from 2025 in Korea. I’m currently enjoying a piece of banana bread the lovely team at Solbam included in a gift box after their New Year’s tasting menu. Nice touch.

This rare midweek post is part of my plan to write on here more often. There’s a Seoul essay and recommendation list coming soon — I’m still reeling from one of my favorite meals ever at lunch yesterday — but I wanted to drop in with a quick, under-appreciated take: There’s no better holiday than New Year’s Eve.

I’ve been a New Year’s lover for most of my life. When people roll their eyes at the festivities, I reserve some quiet judgment. I think not liking New Year’s is often a reflection of not being able to identify what you want in an evening. Or not being able to make it happen. It also shows a lack of desire to get at least a little fancy and collectively live it up. (People who hate New Year’s generally can’t properly enjoy 36 hours in Vegas, either. Couldn’t relate).

Here are some recent NYE moves I’ve loved:

• 2024: A beautiful but no-fuss tasting menu in Seoul followed by a late table at Gong Gan.

• 2023: Renting a suite at the Chelsea, getting dinner with a bunch of friends at Corner Bar and then heading back to the hotel to party in the room and the Lobby Bar.

• 2022: Cooking all night on the line at Cool World before enjoying a staycation at The Wythe.

• 2021: Hosting and cooking for what was supposed to be three people and turned into 15 people at my place in LA.

On New Year’s the whole world is open to you. It’s the perfect night for indulgence, whether that’s staying home with friends or going out in a foreign city. You’re free from the obligations that come with any other holiday. You can make your own traditions and you can just as easily break them.

There’s a way to do New Year’s right, and there are even more ways to do it wrong. I’ve got nine tips for making the most of the night:

1. Dress up. I like to wear a suit, since there are otherwise so few reasons to do so in LA. Even if you’re not leaving the house, you can leave the sweatpants in their drawer.

2. Have a plan and stick to it. Make that plan in October or November.

3. Cut bait with anyone not down with your plan. Don’t take on stragglers if it’s going to objectively make your night worse. Be a little selfish and keep the circle tight.

4. Always stay up until midnight but not past 3am.

5. Don’t wander. This is often the biggest mistake people make. If you find yourself looking for the perfect bar at 10pm, just head home. New Year’s is the wrong night for spontaneous discovery. Let the spontaneity happen at your predetermined location.

6. Make a playlist and write a menu.

7. Travel. Splurge on a hotel, even in your own city. Pre-order room service for the next day.

8. Get on the phone. Bar and restaurant hosts love to make things happen for you on New Year’s if you just call.

9. If you’re going to do a big meal, make it big in terms of grandeur but don’t leave everyone too stuffed to move. New Year’s is the sexiest holiday. Don’t ruin that.

One last great thing about New Year’s: It’s two holidays in one. Jan. 1 is the ultimate no plans, no responsibilities kind of day. After I post this, I’m gonna grab some coffee, stream a Sky Ting yoga class, hang around the apartment with a book and then head over to the Seoul Four Seasons tonight for a round of drinks before calling it early. I hope my American friends have spectacular, messed up, gluttonous evenings and the easiest of mornings. See y’all again on Saturday.