The holiday party season hangover management guide.
Advice from a doctor, a DJ, and a club owner.
Today’s letter is free to all readers because it’s sponsored by Resy.
Good morning everyone. It is an amazing day to not be hungover. Although if you are, we have some expert-vetted cures for hangovers about halfway through this letter.
Today’s letter also includes: A recap of Resy’s party this week at Minetta Tavern, Feed Me Tip Line gossip from London saunas, what book publishers are looking for on Substack, and a reason to never give up on your tiny mic dreams.
On Wednesday at Minetta Tavern, I joined Resy to celebrate their 2025 Resy Retrospective — a review of dining trends that defined the year. 130 people came to Greenwich Village to drink martinis and eat Minetta’s Black Label burgers (originally developed by the chefs who now run Le Veau d’Or) to discuss the current state of restaurants.
In attendance: The Burger King himself, Shyan Zakeri of Shy’s burgers; VF’s new contributing editor, Lachlan Cartwright;
(whose book recently came out); Jack Raines (who finished writing his book this week); and (who just spent a week in Munich to finish up her book). I also spoke to my Long Island hometown friend Gemma who now works for Keith McNally, GQ’s new style writer Savannah Sobrevilla, and I swear half the room was either coming from or heading to recently re-opened Babbo.The room was also full of sculptural wonders by Thư Phạm Buser. Through the medium of butter and bread, she illustrated Resy’s trend reports in the form of grand centerpieces. After reading the report, I learned that I’ve been spending the last few months eating across from “Table Captains” and I didn’t even know it.
Last month, I walked into LA’s Baby Bistro with my friend
. We sat down, and after I frantically tried to choose what I wanted, our server came over and Austin had already decided to order the whole menu. The act of handing him the keys to that night’s order made all the stressful previous minutes in Los Angeles traffic dissolve. The following 90 minutes were a joy.According to the report, 72% of diners love having a trusty “captain” at the table when trying a new restaurant, and 60% say it improves the dining experience. I think I used to be this person, but now it gives me so much pleasure to surrender one decision of the day to someone else. It is also an act of generosity. On Saturday night, my friend threw her birthday party in the conversation pit at Funny Bar. At 11pm, someone clocked a dip in energy and ordered four plates of fries and six fudge sundaes for the party. Speaking of which, 94% of diners surveyed said they’re likely to share a dish while dining out.
Other trends in the report included smaller restaurants (the average size of new restaurants joining Resy has decreased every year since 2019, which anyone who has dined at Ha’s has noted lovingly in their reviews), earlier dinner reservations (in 2025, more people dined between 5-6pm than in the 3 hours between 8-11pm), and a boom in staycations.
The report also predicts what’s going to be hot next year: impressive pizza in cities besides New York (I ordered Quarter Sheets for a recent poker game in LA), tableside service will be expanding beyond guacamole and bananas foster (Alison Roman discussed this in the premiere episode of Expense Account), and a mortadella boom. My most recent experience with the cold cut was at Superiority Burger where they gave our table mortadella-shaped cookies with our check.
For the full report, check out Resy’s 2025 Retrospective here.
📱 Have a story you think we should look into? Text the anonymous Feed Me Tip Line: (646) 494-3916
Social Skills is a monthlong Feed Me series to help you survive the most social season of the year. Today, we asked expert partiers, nutritionists, and doctors for their tried and true hangover cures.
, integrative health coach and founder of Doing Well, recommends 90 seconds of freezing cold water.
Prepare for a boozy night with a protective day before and day of: prioritize rest, hydration, and strategic nourishment. Eat adequately with a focus on whole, natural, single ingredient foods, especially leafy greens and vegetables which help lift and clear debris (toxins) from our insides. Move your body to activate lymphatic drainage and blood flow — less internal stagnancy means fewer hangover symptoms.
Fully enjoy the night, but calendar some recovery time the next day (a slow morning, for example). Don’t sleep too late, hydrate generously (include electrolytes), get sunlight in your eyeballs before 2pm without sunglasses on, and stretch, move, or walk. Gently return to your routine. For the hardcore, finish your hot shower the night of with 60–90 seconds of freezing cold water. The vasoconstriction reduces inflammation (headaches) and acts as a full system reset — not intuitive when you’re loosey goosey, but it works.
, founder of Sky Ting, says cheese is a health food.
If I’m going to drink, I have to eat, otherwise I feel it the next day, even after a single glass. The French have it right; pairing wine with cheese isn’t just cultural, it’s a hangover hack. Cheese is rich in enzymes and healthy fats that slow alcohol absorption and support the body’s natural detox pathways. Cheese is a health food! Before a night out, if I remember, I’ll take a shot of ZBiotics, a probiotic designed to help the body break down acetaldehyde, the toxic byproduct of alcohol that’s mostly to blame for hangovers. It gives your gut a head start.
Joseph Ray, Grammy-winning electronic musician and DJ, drinks low alcohol beer like his British ancestors.
Sleep and cold water exposure are really the only things that seem to physically help me. A cold swim in the ocean is a magical cure, for a few hours, at least. But obviously that’s not always available. I’m sure the hair of the dog approach isn’t ideal, but if you can phase your way out of the hangover, then maybe it’s ok. Really, limiting the intake in the first place is probably the best solution, which is why I now stick to the way my British ancestors drank — low alcohol beer, (perhaps not warm and flat though!)
Teddy Kim, Feed Me columnist and co-founder of hangover supplement Last Call, drinks his own product (and a ginger smoothie).
I’m a bit biased because Last Call is the best hangover tip I have. Beyond that, everyone always talks about drinking water which you should do, but I’ve realized it’s really important to eat before you drink. Ideally you’re drinking with a meal, but never drink on an empty stomach! Also how quickly you drink really has an effect on how you feel the next day, even if it’s the same amount. So space those martinis out, drink water, eat food, and take a Last Call before you go to bed. If I wake up with a bad one my go to is coconut water and a ginger smoothie so cold the brain freeze will kill the headache.
, health educator, writer and strategist who writes Soft Boundaries on Substack, says an eye mask can make all the difference.
My hangover prevention protocol is simple: front-load, be consistent, recover intentionally. Before drinking: Eat a real meal with protein, fat, and fiber 60–90 minutes before you drink. Eating on a fuller stomach slows absorption and lowers the peak alcohol level — it’s your best low-lift prevention. Also consider taking ZBiotics before your first sip.
When you start drinking: Stick to one type of alcohol all night. Mixing champagne, cocktails, and shots means mixing congeners — the compounds that can make hangovers brutal. Higher-congener options (bourbon, brandy/cognac, dark rum, red wine) are linked to harsher hangovers at the same alcohol dose than lower-congener ones (vodka, gin, white rum, light beer, dry white wine). When you get home: Take H-PROOF, a chewable with B vitamins, vitamin C, zinc, electrolytes, and liver-supporters like milk thistle and DHM. Take two tablets after your last drink, then drink at least two cups of water.
Oh, and lastly, wear an eye mask when you go to sleep — even if it’s not usually your thing. Alcohol destroys sleep architecture. It suppresses REM sleep (the restorative phase) and causes more wakeups through the night. Light exposure makes it worse; even small amounts can disrupt what little quality sleep you’re getting. Keep the room dark and your phone facedown.
Dr. Lee Isaacsohn, NYC physician, suggests soup and marijuana (where legal).
Intoxicants in moderation can be fun accompaniments to life. Like all things, fun eventually ends. And in this case the ending is a hangover which can involve a tired body, a throbbing head, a foggy brain, a cotton mouth, and a green stomach.
While no single intervention addresses all of the above, tackling your thirst and dehydration will go a long way. A hot bowl of soup for breakfast is best. Choose a soup you like but it should be brothy rather than stewy. If soup isn’t your thing, opt for oral rehydration solution. Don’t settle for just water. If you don’t have any of the -ades or -lytes on hand, just make your own. Into 1 liter of water (about 4 cups), dissolve ½ teaspoon of table salt and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Stir and enjoy over ice.
If your nose is stuffy, a sinus rinse can be very helpful. I prefer a neti pot, but a sinus spray bottle works well, too. Please use distilled water or boil tap water for 5 minutes and let it cool until warm, add the salt as recommended by the device, and rinse.
For hangover nausea, marijuana, where legal, is helpful, but it has the side effect of making you high. Use your judgement.
Ashwin Deshmukh, co-founder of Jean’s Lafayette, goes through bottles of rhodiola root extract and wants you to drink coconut water in the club.
The best way to cure (a hangover) is to be like “this is going to take three hours,” and then dedicate three hours to it. If you’re a human being who can read this: Chug water before you go to bed — that’s like step one through four. But if you miss step one through four, wake up and chug a large Harmless Harvest: the biggest possible one. The whole thing we’re doing now is making Jean’s club-goers drink coconut water in the club. No Tylenol, no coffee, nothing bad for your liver. No coffee, no coffee, no coffee. You can do a cold mint tea.
Instead of caffeine, have Rhodiola drops. Do two full droppers of Rhodiola sublingual. Rhodiola is a Siberian adaptogenic herb. I was recommended it by a beautiful woman, I think in Mallorca. She’s Russian, and it is a really serious thing that the KGB used. It’s incredible. The trick is to take one to two droppers under your tongue and hold it there for a minute so it really seeps in sublingually.
Now you’ve got to start walking. You gotta move no matter what, because motion is lotion. Start moving while you’re still dripping wet, and walk to N.Y. Noodletown. I order the salt baked tofu with ginger sauce, chili oil, and soy sauce. At this point, I’m walking to Abraço or Derby Coffee to get coffee. And then you gotta get back into the water game. More water and you’ll be fine. I use the Larq 34 oz smart water bottle. If you wanted to cheat a little bit, a can of Coca Cola is the most you can do.
Never stop believing in your tiny mic TikTok series dreams. Last night, YouTube announced a whole slate of new programming, including a live late night show hosted by Recess Therapy’s Julian Shapiro-Barnum. Also: a new season of Ms. Rachel and a “lost” Trevor Noah special.
A query from the Feed Me Tip Line (across the pond): “Overheard in the Third Space London sauna: one self-described tech bro and a finance bro complaining about how their offices are hosting Christmas parties on a Monday and Wednesday this year. Is throwing the Christmas party on a non-Friday weekday ‘cheap’?”
We might see more platinum wedding rings next year. Fine jewelers are getting creative to deal with the insanely high gold prices we’re seeing right now, according to WWD, including experimenting with different metals. “There’s a generation that needs to be reintroduced to platinum,” said one.
According to a Penguin Random House publisher, one thing their team is looking at is whether a writer is successful on Substack. “Paid subscribers = promise your book is going to sell. That’s a huge green flag for acquisition editors.”
People aren’t getting naked in locker rooms together anymore, apparently. I promise you’re thinking about yourself too much.
It’s fun to see a new crop of young people doing interesting work with their friends (and family): Sage Schachter, artist and son of critic Kenny Schachter, is debuting his first solo art show at 124 Forsyth Street, curated by his best friend Harry Walker.
Meanwhile, his older brother’s downtownish cashmere brand, Adrian Cashmere, is now being sold at Kith.
Shameless ask: Can you please give our podcast 5 stars on Spotify or Apple?
re resy report - as a former fine dining server in college, tableside stuff was a nightmare. i can't remember exactly what dishes we had to prepare tableside, but when we were extremely busy, getting a tableside order would usually get me teary-eyed and keep me backed up for what felt like forever. and the guests were always super awkward about it, or worse, a table of old business guys trying to flirt or patronize me. even though its been over 10 years since i've waited tables and a lot of my dining behavior has shifted, i will never order a tableside dish
i have a site dedicated to watching restaurants in my city. my bet is more happy hours, food promotions, and similar in 2026, even from restaurants who never offer deals. in my area, most people don't want to go out because of the bill, and i think restaurants are feeling that pandering to the top 10% of earners isn't working anymore. i am here for more happy hours. people need to get out of the house more, including me
re jewelers - yes, more platinum. even silver is extremely expensive right now compared to last year. i have been experimenting with bronze and white bronze when i cast my jewelry. it shines up very nicely, you just have to polish it and care for it a bit more. i think we'll see more bronze, brass, and pewter from independent shops and metalsmiths in 2026