BY JULIE SEYLER

Food and friendship are entwined like the DNA double-helix. Getting together with a girlfriend for a night out of schmoozing and sharing a bottle of wine translates into comfort mileage for days. It’s really not about the food as much as figuring out a date that will work, finding the restaurant with the perfect blend of atmosphere, charm, and price points. It’s ordering up the pre-meal cocktails, and tucking into a good conversation. And everything is up for discussion – from the sublime to the ridiculous to the usual musings. And sometimes, those shocking discoveries that seem to pop up these middle-aged days. It’s about hanging with a buddy that never gets tired of the rehash.

It’s about renewal and reconnection and breaking the strong arm of the quotidian.

It’s so not about gender. Or age. And it’s so time to make a date.