President-elect Donald Trump can't survive on Trump Tower Grille taco bowls forever, so he sneaked away from his gilded dark tower over to the 21 Club for dinner last night.

A diner there noted Trump's appearance (she misidentified "21," a Prohibition-era institution, where President Nixon's wine is still kept behind a secret door, as Keens Steakhouse).

Trump, whose last public appearance was at the White House last week, dined with his family—Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner; Vanessa Trump; Eric and Lara Trump; and Tiffany Trump were all spotted. Andrew Testo told the Post, "There was a standing ovation when he came and left. He was with his whole family. It was like Sunday dinner with the Trumps, but on a Tuesday. It was awesome."

However, the press assigned to cover the President-elect was not feeling so awesome. Trump's spokeswoman Hope Hicks had "told pool reporters he was bedding down for the night." According to NBC New York, "Journalists were only aware that Trump was leaving home when they spotted a large motorcade pulling away from the building, including an ambulance with lights flashing."

The movement was a surprise given that Trump's campaign had already called a "lid" - a signal to journalists that he would not be venturing out in public for the rest of the day. The practice is meant to ensure that journalists are on hand to witness, on behalf of the public, the activities of the president or president-elect, rather than relying on secondhand accounts.

Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks issued the lid at 6:14 p.m. But just over an hour later, Trump's motorcade left his residence. His whereabouts became clear only after a fellow diner tweeted a picture of the president-elect arriving at the restaurant...

NBC News' Hallie Jackson, who made a reservation at the restaurant, reports Trump was dining inside with his wife Melania, and that Secret Service agents moved to block her view of them.

The disconnect between Trump's team and the press pool got George W. Bush's former press secretary Ari Fleischer offering his opinion:

Anyway, after dinner, Trump got back to important matters: Setting the record straight on Twitter and confirming that we are all now living in his very dystopian own reality show.