The holiday season means higher-than-usual tourist density in New York City, and naturally, that spike in traffic is due in no small part to your own eager friends and family, who descend on the city for an authentic, fairy-lighted experience of the Big Apple in winter. But after a day at Macy's, an evening at Rockefeller Center, and a dinner somewhere "New York-y," as per their request, where do you, their trusty tour guide by default, take them for a night on the town? Here are a few crowd-pleasers that will still earn you some street cred, whether that crowd involves your boyfriend's distant Uncle Larry, Mom and Dad, long-lost friends who've emerged from the woodwork, hard-to-impress rubberneckers, or your old high school mates. A comprehensive list of the best yuletide boîtes to celebrate the new year - and the best of NYC.

If you've been to the West 4th Street institution Extra Virgin, then you know Jean Rene Mbeng. He's the animated maître d' who will take your name, tell you it's going to be a 45 minute wait (it's always packed), and then keep you so entertained that you forget your stomach is growling. By the time you sit down, you'll have made a new friend in Jean Rene and forgotten that you waited long at all. Chef Joey Fortunato and co-owner Michele Gaton have a prime piece of West Village real estate with the French-influenced eatery, and depend on Mbeng (who grew up in Lille, France, but originally hails from Gabon and Senegal) to keep the neighbors happy and the clientele returning, which he always does with a smile and a tip of his ever-present hat. More on this neighborhood character after the jump.

It's about time somebody launched a festival dedicated solely to the consumption of booze, with zero pretense of cultural distractions like movies or music. The first-ever Manhattan Cocktail Classic kicks off this weekend, with events like "The Agave Session: The Magical Elixirs of Mexico," and "Cocktail Kingdom Presents: A Practical Guide to Barware from Around the World." Beyond the seminars, which promise to have many tastings, there's a series called "Stories from Behind the Bar" where you can get up close and personal with bartending talent on their home turf.

Lately, dining out in Manhattan has been feeling a lot like dining in a high school cafeteria. The seats at the popular table are filled with everyone who is anyone, and unless you have Daddy’s Porsche or are cheer captain, you’ll never get to sit. Which is why it has been so difficult to round up my friends for a proper meal in this city. Suggest a reservation, and you’ll receive reservations. “What a headache,” one friend, a spunky PR princess purported. “It’s too expensive to eat anywhere these days, if you can even get a reservation at a good place ... it’s like a fucking aristocracy.” No doubt the economic downturn has affected many of my comrades' fun-funds, making the all-important New York dinner an endangered species. Our "industry" has peer-pressured us into thinking that the only bite worth eating is one we can barely afford, so how do you convince the industry folk that cheap eats can be chic eats?

Bill Gilroy is one of the industry’s real players. Known as a hardass no-nonsense operator at places like Nell's, Lucky Strike, and Match, he was one of those people always at the heart of well- run, successful places. His word has always been respected and good -- a rarity in a world know for characters who try to get away with anything. Today, Employees Only and the new Macao Trading Co. are predictably making waves, and Bill Gilroy is behind them bringing experience, savvy, and that good word. I caught up to Bill at the Pod Hotel. We sat in his Pod Cafe and enjoyed food from his son Devon, the executive chef.

Dagny Mendelsohn is the front woman representing the 11 total owners at Macao Trading Company. She hails from the other serious foodie city, San Francisco, once she set foot in New York, she learned the heart of the restaurant business from one of the best, Keith McNally. She embraced the underground hipster scene from being part of APT, as well as gaining an education from the fashionistas (a.k.a. Richie Rich). At Macau, she brings it all together under one roof with dinners for people like Perry Farrell, Mick Rock and Morimoto.

UPDATE: Joao has actually moved on from Le Royale -- see here for details on his new gig.

Is the eagle-eyed, charming scene reporter now working by the book?

Serge Becker is a partner in New York dining and nightlife staples like The Box, Joe's Pub, Café Select, and La Esquina. His stake in the nightlife industry began as art director at Area and continued with his involvement in some of the city’s most exclusive spots (MK and Bowery Bar). Currently, he's taking a break from nightlife and exercising his green thumb.

Damages star Rose Byrne claims to be more of a foodie than a bar-hopper, but when I asked her what her favorite New York restaurant is, she names Barrio Chino, the Lower East Side tequila bar. Why? "Fantastic margaritas ... and guacamole and chips," said the Australian native, in town to promote her upcoming role alongside Nicolas Cage in the apocalyptic thriller Knowing. "Also Freemans, but it's really hard to get a table."