FREE FOOD

Not free food at all, actually. Expensive food. In a super trendy spot at the end of an alley in the Lower East Side. To be perfectly honest, it's not insane or anything. It's pretty reasonably priced for the quality and it was Saturday night, so it's cool.

Meena and I met a couple of her friends from work at Freemans last night to say hello and kick back in the famed spot's cozy confines. I'm pretty sure I'm the last person in NYC to finally try this place, but now that I have, I can join the chorus of praise and offer my nod of approval. Not that they needed it or anything, but I can definitely say I'm fan number 1.2 million.

I wouldn't normally mention this, but just so you know we were in good company, Ryan Gosling and Kiki Drunkst sat a couple tables down from us. So if it's good enough for the stars of Spiderman and Lars and The Real Girl, you know it's probably good enough for us as well.

We got started with a medley of appetizers for the table:
- devils on horseback
- grilled cheddar toasts
- lamb meatballs
- hot artichoke dip with bread

The devils on horseback are their famed starter so I was eager to check them out. Honestly, they're like the number one holly homemaker appetizer of the Midwestern United States. Bacon wrapped figs? Seriously? Delicious, but there was something about the toothpick through them that brought be back to a church supper or something.

Honestly, that artichoke dip was the bomb. Crazy, right? What's more commonplace than the humble artichoke dip? But this one was really amazing. Not sure what put it over the top, but it was pretty outstanding.

For dinner, Meena had:
- seared filet mignon (with roasted onion, mashed potatoes and horseradish cream

And Alec had:
- heritage pork chop (with a fig sauce and collard greens with bacon)

Dinner was awesome. My pork was lovely but Meena's steak really outdid everything else. It was cooked perfectly. And the flavor was just amazing. I'd order it next time without batting an eye.

I guess I went with the pork because I'd always heard they did specialty meats and game better than anyone. Not that mine was bad, but I really did like Meena's better.

We had a couple desserts, too, but I didn't really try them and by that time I was into a nice glass of scotch, so I don't really remember or care to be perfectly honest. But everyone seemed to enjoy it and I'm very happy for that.

All in all, it was a great experience with some lovely company. Definitely looking forward to round two.