Cafeteria, Chelsea + Raines Law Room, Flatiron

Yah, I've never been to Cafeteria.  LB was like, "I guess we could just go to Cafeteria."  It was too dark to take a good picture, but let's just say burger + fried egg + goat cheese + truffled fries = excellent beer food.  Later we checked out Raines Law Room, whose speakeasy stylings really hit you over the head.  I mean, if the signless doorway and shady bouncer weren't dead giveaways, probably the tin ceiling and 20's men and women painted profiles were overkill.  We got it!  Still, it was an extraordinary and surprising experience to be taken to the back where we were warned that the standing room space would be "tight."  By that the bouncer apparently meant we'd have only a few feet between us and the next group.  My Iconoclast was some sort of scotch concoction with twelve or so ingredients.  I ordered it because it had the most ingredients.  We quietly drank in the charming back kitchen, which is partly segmented by an ovular marble island, where the mixologists squeeze lemons and mix bitters and what have you.  LB and I marveled at the cabinets stocked full of bottles we'd never seen before.  She naively asked me what makes champagne champagne.  I explained both the difference between wines from champagne versus all other sparkling wines as well as how they are different from still wines.  I'm sure she regretted the words just after they slipped past her lips.  After a short while we were kindly offered a pair of chairs and table to finish our drinks.  It was the doorman, who was apparently no longer shady now that we were on the inside.