Chao ‘Nauts!

It’s February and to most suffering New Yorkers that generally means the onset of seasonal affective disorder. But to us it means Chinese New Year. And that, in turn, means a banquet. Which, of course, means we head to Queens.

But first, a bit of background: 2013 is the year of the snake, the sixth sign of the Chinese zodiac, and the start of the three-year fire cycle. Technically, 2013 is the year of the black water snake (how that jives with fire, we’re not entirely sure). Anyway, if you were born in ’65, ’77, or ’89 this is your year to shine.

Now, you’re probably thinking that we’ve arranged for a reptilian feast, but it’s not really good form (we’re told) to go out and eat the year’s namesake. So to celebrate, we’ve assembled a feast around a well … um … more modest reptile: the trouser snake. That is, if bulls wore trousers.

Yes. That’s right. Let that sink in a bit.

Curated and assisted by our good friend and roving eater Joe di Stefano of Chopsticks and Marrow, we’ve put together a remarkable dinner — with everything from cold platters of chicken hearts and lamb testes, to an extremely special carrot stew, to our special organ member.

And if that doesn’t tickle your fancy, don’t worry: the place is BYOB, so you get to bring your own liquid courage. So go ahead, figure out how many shots you’ll need to be able to chew on some bull’s meat. Oh, and in only four years it’ll be the year of the cock.

So grab your party hat and bring some moon pies for good luck, ’cause when 1.3 billion people decide to throw a party, we don’t want to miss out. Oh, and speaking of missing out, this restaurant is small — so we’re throwing dinners on two successive nights — Tuesday and Wednesday. Even so, seats are limited; so RSVP early and often.