For every one glass of sake poured in America, we knock back 160 glasses of wine. That proportion is changing, though. Sake imports have doubled over the past decade, with vodka the only drink that’s growing faster. Those looking for a crash course in the rice libation can find a huge one at the Joy of Sake tasting this Thursday, September 24th. Webster Hall will do the hosting, with your ticket purchase opening up three floors of partying. Some 270 premium sakes will be poured, almost half of them otherwise unavailable outside of Japan.

Growing up, my friends had very traditional pets: dogs, cats, Tamagotchis. My family, being the eccentrics that they are (re: immigrants) made sure that my brother and I had something a little more fierce to play with. Our pet cougar loved us for ten passionate years before his unfortunate death at the hands of a demented hunter. My mother, saint that she is, told her distraught sons that our dead cougar was going to "cougar heaven," a place where "cougars roamed free and never went hungry." Little did I know she was talking about New York City.

Dynamic Duo: Vittorio Assaf and Fabio Granato, the force behind the ever-expanding Geisha, Brasserie Cognac and Serafina empire, on their bold plans for Miami, aborting projects because of the dire economy, and why you must strive to be exhausted at the end of the day.

Japanese designer Chie Imai embodies the very substance that sets the fashion world apart from other creative modes of expression: a willingness to openly contradict herself. Take for example the line of "eco-friendly fur" she's designed for her 2008 Royal Chie Collection. It's difficult (though not impossible) to explicate how hides flayed off an animal can be construed as sustainable, especially in a fickle form like fashion, Imai's had no problem stirring up support from top-dollar influencers when she unveiled her latest line of fur coats at New York's Geisha. And though this fashion is made possible in part through recycled polyester, the question remains: Even with Tinsley Mortimer's unwavering endorsement, will chinchilla-donning socialites be able to drape anything synthetic around their figures?

David Burke builds a foodie empire, parties in Vegas, drinks up a new name, and pours some out for Jerz.

A tour of New York, xo xo.