When done right, eggnog should be creamy, lightly sweet, and soul-soothing. A bad batch can quickly become the “fruitcake” of holiday cocktails—no one wants it, and if you drink it, you feel like you swallowed a brick.

One of the newest spots to open in New York’s East Village is the diminutive Duck’s Eatery, a space that barely accommodates 40 inside.  Influenced by his grandmothers (one owned a Jewish delicatessen and the other was a trained French chef) Chef William Horowitz got his first job in a restaurant at the age of 14. After culinary school, he hit the road, focusing on and studying the cuisines of the Southern United States, followed by traveling abroad to India, Nepal, Thailand, and Tibet