Photo by antiparticle/Flickr CC

One of the things about living in New York City is that you run into celebrities all the time and pay no attention. As it happens, my partner and I were meeting Sidney Mintz and his wife tonight at my neighborhood restaurant, Blue Hill. We wondered why the street was blocked off, a huge crowd gathered at one end, and secret servicemen all over the place.

The Obamas! At the next table! Six feet away! I can't tell you what they ate because Dan Barber cooked for them. But I saw the President pay the bill.

Turns out this was their promised night out, and the Republicans are already complaining that it cost the taxpayers too much. From the applause in the restaurant when they were leaving, the picture-taking mob in front of the restaurant, and the crowds lining 6th Avenue, this is one expense nobody minds. They looked like they were having fun. We did too.