Lighter fare from Fin & Fino, like the poke bowl, paired with the restaurant’s craft cocktails make for a great mid-holiday party option. Kristen Wile/UP

Q: It’s my birthday next week. What’s a great place to celebrate in the midst of all of the holidays? I want a great meal and a cocktail/good vibe but already getting heavy food-ed out with the holiday cheer. What say ye?
UP: Ye says Happy Birthday! Well, one good option is to head to Crepe Cellar and get the eggnog mentioned below! They have great cocktails and dishes that aren’t brutally heavy. Dot Dot Dot has some light, shareable plates and great drinks. Bardo is quite impressive across the board, if you haven’t been yet. Kid Cashew has really improved its consistency lately, and they have a solid bar. Your best bet, though, is Fin & Fino, where you can get seafood (light!) and creative cocktails from BK and the Clams, as the bar staff delightfully calls themselves.

Q: I really love a good dry-aged steak. Where can I get a good one?
UP: Let’s start with the smaller spots. Evoke, the restaurant in Le Meridien, has strayed from its modern steakhouse concept, but still serves a dry-aged steak for $40. Oak Steakhouse serves dry-aged strip and rib eye steaks from New York City-area butcher DeBragga, listed on the menu at market price. Several of the big steakhouses also serve them, including Capital Grille (14-ounce NY Strip for $47 or a 24-ounce Porterhouse for $51), Del Frisco’s (16-ounce rib eye or prime strip steaks cost just under $70, a double-bone prime cut costs $125), Felming’s (16-ounce ribeye, $63), and Sullivan’s (a 26-ounce long-bone rib eye is $52).

Or, you can buy some and cook them at home! Carolina Craft Butchery in Davidson serves ribeye and NY Strip steaks for $19.99 a pound and filet mignon for $30.99 a pound. They’re dry aged for 30 days.

Q: I’m an unpretentious drinker and I love eggnog. Do any of your favorite bartenders know how to really “spice it up”? Happy Holidays. We love reading your posts.
UP: Thanks, happy holidays to you, too! You Unpretentious People are my best present. First, love the pun, and also this is funny timing! I’m actually working on an eggnog roundup right now, because I love it too. I sampled a fantastic one at Crepe Cellar yesterday. It’s served out of a whipped cream dispenser, so it’s entirely frothy — so much so, you need to eat it with a spoon. More on that soon. I’ve also had a flavorful take on egg nog at SouthPark’s Dogwood, made with coconut milk so it’s healthy-ish. If you want to make yourself something easy at home, head to Whole Foods and get the Homestead Creamery eggnog in the glass jars. Add bourbon and you’ve got a holiday treat. Homestead Creamery also delivers, if you love fresh, hormone-free milk at your door each week.

Q: I’m planning a dinner for the board of a nonprofit on Monday night. We have 8 people, and need a private table. Can you help with some suggestions?
UP: This is a tough one, since most private dining rooms are much larger. Here are a few options for you: Bonterra, which has a downstairs cellar table and an upstairs dining space; Vivace or Aria, which have chef’s tables; Corkbuzz, where there’s a private dining room with A/V capabilities; or Midwood Smokehouse on Park Road. You could also check out Copper on East Boulevard; they have so many small dining rooms, they could likely block one off for you. Wherever you pick, I’d call and ask them if they can do a per-head price or a special menu as it’s a nonprofit, and most restaurants would love your business on a Monday night.