Sean Abrams

The Grey Goose Honey Deuce has become so synonymous with the US Open that ordering one feels nearly as essential as watching an actual match. And apparently, we’re all very, very thirsty for it. More than a whopping 740,000 Honey Deuces were sold during the 2025 tournament alone, bringing the total to more than 3.5 million since 2011. The cocktail dates back to 2006, when restaurateur Nick Mautone was tasked with creating a signature drink for the Open. Honeydew melon balls spotted at a farmers market sparked the idea, as, wouldn’t you know, they looked remarkably like tiny tennis balls. The finished drink combines Grey Goose vodka, lemonade and raspberry liqueur, topped with three of those now-iconic melon balls. Even the name gets in on the tennis theme, blending honeydew with “deuce,” the term for a 40-40 score. Of course, like just about everything associated with attending the US Open these days, getting your hands on one isn’t exactly cheap. A Honey Deuce will set you back $23, although you do get to keep the collectible cup. But first you have to actually get through the gates. Yahoo Sports reported that the average US Open ticket sold for $346 this year, up from $196 in 2022, while average Louis Armstrong Stadium ticket prices jumped 52% from last year. Now, the US Open is absolutely worth experiencing in person if the opportunity arises. But this is also New York, the best city in the world where you don’t necessarily need to be inside the stadium to feel like you’re

For a city built on 8:30pm dinner reservations followed by “one more drink” at several different neighborhood bars, New York has been acting a little suspicious lately. People look more rested, seem weirdly hydrated and are increasingly content eating dinner while the sun is still up. Going out for the night earlier and turning in at a decent time has almost become modus operandi around town. To put it simply: the 6pm reservation is no longer just something you book before a Broadway show or because your parents are in town. For plenty of younger New Yorkers, a table before 7pm is just… dinner. The numbers back that up. OpenTable told Time Out New York that 6pm to 6:59pm was the most popular dining hour in New York City in 2025, up 12 percent year over year. Even earlier slots have become more common: 5pm reservations were up 20 percent and 4pm ones increased by 16 percent between 2024 and 2025. In a consumer survey, 45 percent of New Yorkers said they’d prefer “early dinner” in 2026, compared with 30 percent who chose “late dinner.” Yelp’s data tells a similar story. Tara Lewis, Yelp’s trend expert, told Yahoo that 60 percent of dinner reservations on the platform in 2024 and 2025 were made before 7pm, up from 51 percent in 2018, while the share of 8pm bookings dropped from 14 percent to 10 percent. The city is clearly still going out, it’s just getting started earlier and, as a result, the ideal night for many is starting to look a bit different from what it used to. Photo