If You Have to Spend a New Year's Eve....

Then this is a good way to spend it, trust me.

1. Wake up late in Queens. Queens really is one of America's great places. The hustle and bustle, the incredible diversity--there's something fundamentally American about the place that I love. Wander over to a Peruvian restaurant. Have not only tasty food, but a waitress that gives you a glass of wine on the house after lunch. Hard to complain about that.

2. Get on the subway and go into Manhattan. Visit the Museo del Barrio, specifically the exhibit on New York City and Latin America before 1945. Very impressive.

3. Head to Union Square and find awesome high-end New York cocktail place. Drink very tasty drinks, including what is essentially a gin mojito. This is hard to beat. The lime and mint hit your tongue. Then once that fades, the gin hits. Wow.

4. Spend $80 on drinks for two. Then spend $5 on pizza. Priorities.

5. Then go see the Drive-By Truckers at Terminal 5 for a nearly 4 hour show. America's best band, they put on an incredible rock show.  In the brief break between sets, a circus act comes out, including a swordswallower. Then they come back for the encore and start with a cover of "Delta Dawn," of all things. Awesome.

6. Get on the subway and back to Queens at 3:15.

This was a quality New Year's Eve. You all should try it sometime.