110% agreement here (& not only because we live a block away from River Deli & eat there quite a bit).
For us, the social aspect is crucial to our dining out. Although we live in a reasonably sized apartment, large enough to have folks over, its easier for us to go meet friends for drinks/dinner where we can all relax, order different things & then just say good night without anyone being left to clean up (except for the restaurant staff of course). Tonight will be the 3rd night in a row that we’ve done this & none of our choices are even close to being prohibitive (that means $100pp or less, all in w/drinks, tax, tip) & food of very good quality. Two nights ago was Park Side in Corona, Queens (there’s a thread on the NYC board if anyone’s interested in probably the best Italian-American place left in NYC), last night Liman (a fresh fish Turkish place right on the water in Sheepshead Bay, Bklyn) & tonight a small Italian place, Via Della Pace, in the East Village where the food is good enough but the owner is a major tennis geek (as are we), and the US Open starts tomorrow (so there’ll be lots of talk in the place during dinner - & maybe a pro tennis player or two). In all 3 instances, we’ve dined with another couple (different friends each time, as no one wants to talk to us twice, even with drinks 
)
Now, I know that $600 for 3 nights of not extraordinary meals might seem excessive to some, especially those not in NYC (or similarly priced cities) or those who like entertaining. But, come tomorrow, I will have had a weekend where I’ve eaten well & had a good time with various friends in relaxed environments. And then I can resume my grueling weekday schedule (which for me means going to the US Open tomorrow, playing tennis Tues…). Retirement is tough. Did I mention naps?
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