fig restaurant at the fairmont hotel in santa monica has a great happy hour; half-off everything. i happened to stop in on the recommendation of a colleague of mine for a pre-dinner snack and drinks withgoodfriends, monica and jackie. lamb meatballs with kale in a tomato sauce and njuda with pickles and toast were the two apps we ordered. the meatballs in sauce were really good, asgoodas anywhere i've had them up in san francisco, somewhat similar to marzano's in oakland, just without the spicy characteristic. the meatballs were moist, well seasoned and the tomato sauce was solid. the njuda was also good, but i admit, i've never had it with pickles. i've only had njuda at barbacco in san francisco or at my house courtesy of boccalone. i don't think i'll serve it with pickles at my house. i might consider serving it with some form of marmalade or something other than a dill pickle. the fig bar for a light app and a drink during happy hour is agoodchoice if you're in santa monica.