Lately, I’ve been craving plans that actually pull me out of my routine. I'm not sure if it's the fact that New Years just passed motivating me to try new things like aerial yoga for a friend's birthday, or hoping to find a friend who will be just as excited as me to try out indoor rock climbing solely because our new office is directly next to a gym. But, I want the kind that actually pulls me out of my routine instead of draining my social battery. I love a night in, but every so often I want to do something that reminds me how good it feels to be around people, having real conversations, without an agenda.
That’s what led me to Free Association, a dinner series hosted by Mission Taqueria's owner, Daniel McLaughlin, at his Sansom Street restaurant. Mission has been one of my favorite dinner spots- It’s the place I always try to convince others to try when I’m meeting someone out, because the food and drinks genuinely never miss. When I heard about a phone free dinner where you show up alone and meet ten strangers to eat tacos, it just made sense. Except when it came time to walk there, it was myself who I was suddenly convincing to go.
Daniel wanted to give patrons, both the regulars and the first timers, a reason to skip their Wednesday night routine for a bit of a social experiment. The rules were simple: show up, ditch your phone, and sit down with ten total strangers to eat tacos. It was a gamble on the idea that good food and zero distractions are the ultimate icebreakers. I entered in mostly for the fact that Mission has been in my top three favorite restaurant rotation for years, and because I will take any chance to meet new people and strike up conversations that I wouldn't have in my regular routine- but getting a seat is part luck. You enter through Instagram or TikTok and hope for a DM. After entering, one day in January while I was skipping a song at the gym, I saw on my phone that Mission had messaged me on my TikTok to let me know I was chosen. The next day, I walked into one of my favorite restaurants- except this time it wasn't to meet friends or a client, it was to meet people I had never crossed paths with before that had no relation to me to base my first conversation on.
I was the third diner to arrive, and my place tag was conveniently seated next to the two others that had beat me to the dinner, Paul and Jessica. Next to the place tag labeled "BRENNA", there was a paper tent stating, " Before, the internet was an escape from the real world... Now, the real world is an escape from the internet." This was a true test of my very new spontaneity, but our initial conversation flowed almost immediately even though we had no apparent common ground. As the table filled, so did my ease with this whole idea, because I soon caught on that everyone showed up exactly how they felt fit- there were no real expectations to put on a front that we may have had otherwise. It felt good not to have an agenda or be the meticulous Brenna that my front row knows me as. Throughout the dinner, our amazing host Daniel passed around a Polaroid camera and asked us to take photos from our own points of view. He also prepared a game called Exquisite Corpse, which is folding a paper into thirds, drawing the first, second, or third portion of a body and passing it to your neighbor to add to. This activity + passing around the camera had only enhanced our time at Mission, since Daniel's idea was already set in such intention- to build our sense community in real time (and real life). I had the chance to talk with Daniel about his journey as a 10 year restaurant owner and how long Free Association had been in the works. He also shared some future plans- possibly something special for Valentine’s Day, which I already know I’ll be signing up for. I shared what I do for work ten separate times, handed out our 2026 Phillies schedule fridge magnets, chatted about what tools and materials I usually use to craft, and asked others about themselves and listened to their fun fact. I will never get over sharing the idea that neighbors make your neighborhood. The people you smile at every morning while walking your dog are what makes this place feel like home. Which brings me to my never ending interest in people- I want to know your top smoothie place because Google Maps has failed me, I want to stalk your Spotify playlist named "Runnin' in da 6" for new songs to listen to on the trail, I want to see pictures of your dog, and hear the places that keep you going back to because they feel familiar. I'm genuinely interested to hear about the neighborhood you love, how long you've been there, and how it matches your lifestyle- or if you're in the market for a new space. It's safe to say I'd much rather pick others' brains than talk about myself. But, I once saw a theory alluding to the fact that nothing and no one are entirely original, but an amalgamation of everything and everyone we've ever absorbed along the way. So in that sense, I'm simply a renaissance woman in training acquiring pieces of the people I annoy with interest.
Our table was filled with people from all over- some from the city, some from other countries, different backgrounds and a range of different career paths, from nurse, to cyber security, to yoga studio owner, to DJ. It was interesting to indulge in to some randomly intimate conversations that I wouldn't have otherwise, and it was the most natural because it genuinely didn't feel forced. I have a feeling it was because there was no true reason to have on our usual front to uphold our already existing self to the people in our daily routine. Daniel is truly such a great host and even had us switch seats about halfway through, where the great conversation wasn't even disrupted. There was always something to listen in on or share with everyone who came. Before dinner ended, someone had the idea to finally grab our phones (that no one seemed to have missed) and exchange Instagrams to create a group chat and do this all over again another night. Something that Daniel said he had never seen before from one of his dinners- we didn't want it to end! The dinner itself was supposed to be 6:30 to 7:30 but no one seemed to notice the hourglass that was keeping track of time that Daniel flipped over at the beginning had ran out. After another margarita and more shared laughs, I ended up walking down the stairs around 10 pm with Paul, someone I had gravitated toward at the beginning of the dinner. I’ll admit it- I’m nosey. I love asking strangers questions, skipping past surface level conversation, and acting as if we’ve known each other longer than we have to tear down that invisible wall, that wasn't even apparent from the very first minute I sat down. And this dinner left that part of me feeling satiated. Not only to fill my inquisitiveness, but because these were people I would genuinely be happy to spend more time with. In fact, Kayla, one of the new friends I made, and I already have a hot girl walk planned for next Monday.
Some nights stay with you not because of what you did, but because of how you felt. For a few hours, a group of strangers showed up, put their phones away, shared amazing tacos, dips, + margaritas, and left feeling a little more connected to each other, and to the home we all share. This is truly what makes our city feel alive and full of community, doing the random sidequests such as deciding to spend a weeknight dinner with total strangers.
If you want to take part in this social experiment, you can enter through Mission’s TikTok or Instagram. The dinner is completely free, with one caveat: if you’re selected and decide to cancel, there’s a $50 fee- consider it a commitment device. If you get the chance and start second guessing yourself, go anyway. You won’t regret it!
