Steven Shaw shows us how to do Chinese right at Szechuan Gourmet.

Hitting newsstands tomorrow but coming to you, oh faithful Feed readers, a tad early is all of the juicy goodness that you should rightfully expect from our holiday double issue—that’s right, two weeks of TONY in one magazine. Whether or not you’re of the Chinese-and-a-movie-on-Christmas persuasion, we’ll hopefully tide you over with tips on getting the most from your Chinese restaurant experience from Asian Dining Rules author Steven Shaw. (Don’t miss his picks of top Chinese eateries.)

Drink deeply of the Berry Bauchant at Duane Park Café.

If you’re hankering for more traditional seasonal fodder, we tell you where to get a kicking panettone (Grandaisy), and provide reams of events to choose from for your Chrismukkah and New Year’s revelry, on both the eating and drinking fronts (look out for the Web-only picks). And though it’s not exactly holiday oriented, the deep-ruby hue of the Berry Bauchant, our Drink Up section Critics’ pick, is still awfully festive.

Berry nice: sweets at Dousoeur de Paris.

Nice as all things St. Nick are, hard-core readers must be itching by now for this week’s openings and reviews. The economy may be in the crapper, but new restaurants, cafés and specialty shops keep on coming—a whopping nine debuts include Dousoeur de Paris patisserie in Hell’s Kitchen, a Piedmontese joint called Sorella on the LES (are we noticing a trend?) and Stogo, a vegan ice cream shop.

Snails at The Oak Room.

On the review front, Jay Cheshes gives the Oak Room five stars out of six (citing “fuss-free grand hotel dining, elevated and updated by an expert technician”), and we also hit Fort Greene’s eclectic No. 7 (four stars!), Obikà Mozzarella Bar, which wowed us with its dairy but fell short in almost every other area, and Sycamore, the worthy flower shop/bar hybrid from Ditmas Park demigods Allison and Gary Jonas and their partner Justin Israelson.

Try the bouquet-and-booze special ($10!) at Sycamore.

And there is—gasp—more: This week’s Barhop column recommends bourbon joints in Brooklyn, The Regular spotlights Michael’s stool pigeon Henry Schleiff of the Hallmark Channel, and of course, as with every week, we have nondenominational, blessedly secular Eat Outings (making kimchi with Persimmon chef Youngsun Lee, and oh so much more.)

That should give you enough to do until 2009. We’ll see you in the New Year.