Pera - Free wine and meatballs ends today

Free food and free wine - how could we resist?

This is why we decided to meet a friend and visit Pera Mediterranean Brasserie in midtown Manhattan for a quick drink and appetizers.

The restaurant is offering its Facebook fans a free glass of wine and a free meatball appetizer.  All you have to do is mention the Facebook promotion (which ends today, Sept. 30th.)

The meatball dish (reg $7) was small, but tasty and came with a light tzatziki sauce.  We enjoyed our free wine (we were pleasantly surprised that we could choose any wine by the glass on the menu).  We chose the Malbec (reg $12) and were given a generous pour.

We also decided to order the Chef's Meze Sampler ($22) which included a white bean salad, roasted whipped eggplant, anchovies, feta cheese (very light and tangy), humus with pastirma (Turkish prosciutto on top), lamb "Adana" cut roll, crispy calamari, beef and bulghur tartar (grainy texture), and, in the middle, homemade grape leaves.  Overall, it was a fun sharing dish in a beautiful presentation.

Pera Mediterranean Brasserie is located at 303 Madison Ave (btwn 41st and 42nd Sts) in NYC.