It Brings Us No Joy to Report That SantaCon Is Back

With absolutely no holiday cheer, we report that SantaCon — the inordinately large group of stumbling Santas that paints the city’s streets in vomit each year — is back. New York’s own “nightmare before Christmas” will return on December 11 after a year away, according to the New York Post. Event organizers cancelled the pub crawl last season — “All of the reindeer got the ‘rona,” they said at the time — but this year’s participants will be required to show proof of vaccination in order to enter participating bars and restaurants. The “festivities” kick off at 10 a.m. with the starting location disclosed a week ahead of time.

Another week, another restaurant art heist

Noho restaurant Jolene announced on Wednesday that a couple distracted its staff and made off with an Elvis statue in its dining room. The piece has “been passed down through three successive owners,” according to the post, and the restaurant isn’t messing around. Taking cues from Four Horsemen in Williamsburg, who had a rather unique art piece stolen — and then returned — last week, Jolene announced that the alleged thieves have 24 hours to return the statue before it releases their identities to the public. Clock’s ticking.

Flushing’s favorite fried chicken is headed to the West Village

Skip the weeks-long waitlist at Pecking House, Flushing’s popular fried chicken delivery business, by visiting the restaurant at Temperance Wine Bar in the West Village. From November 13 to 14, Pecking House chef Eric Huang will serve his hit Sichuan peppercorn fried chicken and a handful of newer items — duck heart skewers, a chicken sandwich topped with foie gras — as part of a reservation-only pop-up at the bar. Sommelier AJ Ojeda-Pons of Temperance will be on hand to suggest wine pairings for the meal.

From House of Yes comes House of X

Hospitality powerhouse Ian Schrager has teamed up with the nightlife experts of House of Yes — Anya Sapozhnikova, Kae Burke, Ilan Telmont and Justin Ahiyon — to open a new venue at his Public Hotel on the Lower East Side. According to a representative for the hotel, House of X also joins the property’s newly-debuted Bar Chrystie. Schrager previously worked with the House of Yes team at the Edition Hotel in Times Square’s Paradise Club. — Emma Orlow, reporter