MetaFilter/MetaChat bought me dinner tonight. →[More:]This summer, at the MeFi 10th Party in New Orleans, radioamy and I were each given very generous gift cards by those in attendance to enjoy a meal at one of John Besh's restaurants. Tonight, I spent that sucker.

To celebrate (and say goodbye to) 2009, I decided to take fellow MeFite (sortof) and friend rachelNOLA to La Provence in Lacombe, LA.

Old time MetaFilter users may remember Rachel from this dramatic (and still pulse-pounding) Hurricane Katrina Rescue that wouldn't have been possible without MetaFilter.

Thanks to the wonderful largess (not large-ass--that's me) of your fellow users, you can drool over what we ate here.

We couldn't decide which of the appetizers looked best, so we ordered one of each of the entire appetizer menu, and then finished off with desserts. One of the best meals I've ever had. Thank you to the generous folks who sprang for the gift card, and thank all of you for helping one of the worst years of my life become also one of the best.