Year in the Headlights

Because you will undoubtedly be attending at least one party in the coming days, allow us to be the first to remind you that you’ll need to dress well — tip no.1: never, ever tuck in your turtleneck. Tip no. 2: probably don’t wear a turtleneck. Tip no. 3: Have something to talk about it. And here it is. Have a happy new year, and we’ll see you on January 2nd.

February: Zero G
Strapped inside the empty, padded cabin of a modified 727, you’ll ascend to 34,000 feet, where the pilot will perform a series of parabolic arcs. The effect is simple: everything within the plane, including you, becomes 100% weightless. Yes, exactly like it is in space. Check it out

March: 666 Burger Truck
666 Burger Truck is an all-black “patty wagon” with a glowing red undercarriage, serving up made-to-order hamburgers made with a diabolically delicious blend of sirloin, brisket, and short rib. Check it out

April: Glenmere Mansion
Only 90 minutes up I-87, Glenmere is a lakeside Tuscan-style villa nestled on 150 acres of terraced, fountain-filled gardens, with food by a Jean Georges apprentice, luxurious spa treatments, and an array of outdoor activities. Check it out

May: Aire Ancient Baths
Modeled on the luxuriant bath houses of Ancient Rome, this lantern-lit grotto offers thermal bath sessions in a series of specialized pools (e.g., warm, hot, and ice water), plus a stone and glass eucalyptus steam room, propeller jet bath, and salt water “floatarium.” Check it out

June: William Brown Cabin
Nestled on 130 acres of verdant countryside complete with hiking trails and a spring-fed swimming hole, the one-bed cabin boasts a Japanese soaking tub, french press locally-roasted coffee, a porch fireplace, and available in-cabin dining from a local farm-to-table caterer. Check it out

July: Freeman’s Bespoke
Found behind a faux bookshelf at the end of a long hall above Freemans Restaurant, Bench-Made is a by-appointment-only atelier captained by a third-generation master tailor who custom-makes suits in the strictest sense of the term, i.e., from the pattern on up. Check it out

August: Out of Print
Built by America’s oldest bookbinder and designed by MIT eggheads, Out of Print’s tough-as-nails jackets are gorgeous replicas of the original book covers of last century’s definitive tomes — from the art deco eyes of Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby, to the titular white whale of Melville’s Moby Dick, to the temptress of Nabokov’s Lolita. Check it out

September: Pouring Ribbons
About the menus at this East Village tipple house: they feature a clever quadrant graph which plots cocktails between refreshing vs. spirituous and comforting vs. adventurous, including both classic cocktails and house concoctions like the “Ragin’ Glory” made with rye, lemon, pear brandy, demerara syrup and cinnamon bitters – all with baby fist-sized ice cubes and house-made syrups and liqueurs. Check it out

October: Antica Pesa
Antica Pesa is a big deal in Rome. Like, frequented-by-Hollywood-royalty big deal. They’ve been plating traditional cucina Romana there for 90 years, and now they’ve landed in Williamsburg with shelves stacked with pinot bianco, and an open kitchen where snippets of italiano — and the scent of house-made spinach gnocchi — waft deliciously out. Check it out

November: Mind the Chap
At this just-launched online store, the focus is on easy, casual gear from around the globe. Leather-elbowed shawl cardigans from NYC’s Premium Lounge. Ivy League-inspired car coats from the UK’s Cro’Jack. Artfully washed selvedge denim from !iTEM, which is led by the former design director at Levi’s. Check it out

December: Brandy Library
Like a Borges-ian Babel of the brown, The Brandy Library is a warm, leather and wood study stocked with every scotch on God’s sherry-casked earth. Each tasting begins with a cocktail of the night’s chosen hooch, then “flights” where you’ll learn to distinguish brands with the aid of water droppers or barrel shards — so you can sniff what a difference Japanese or Spanish oak makes. Check it out