With only a few days left until Valentine's, we thought that it would be fun to take a look at the role that food can play in our relationships with a little mini series leading into February 14th.
The number of dates that take place at restaurants is not something that trend-watching companies devote resources to because they know, and you know, that it is a high proportion. First dates are especially likely to involve food, since it sets a common ground while you get to know each other. The real question is what makes a great date restaurant? How do all these restaurant daters decide where they want to go?
There are a few schools of thought here. The first one says to go for the atmosphere, somewhere that is either romantic or intimate in some way and that isn't so noisy that you have to shout all night. The second one says that you should go for the food, because if the dinner is exquisite it can only help your chances for getting a second date.
Both situations have their drawbacks. The problem with the first scenario is that you could end up at an empty, unpopular restaurant while seeing relative quiet - worse yet, one that is unpopular because the food is bad. The foodie date could lead you into tracking down some elusive taco truck if you happen to be in the mood for perfect Mexican food, a quest which might not go over too well if your date isn't as enthusiastic as you are.
The ideal date restaurant, especially for a first date when you don't necessarily know what to expect, would have both qualities, so that you could converse easily with your dinner companion and enjoy a really good meal at the same time. Do your homework by checking the restaurant out online first, or just pick somewhere that you've been before. Save the more experimental, more spontaneous stuff for a bit later.
Cheese Course: Brebis Pardou
A transcendent summer tomato salad
Sliced bread turns 80 today
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-12-2007 @ 11:47AM
dksbook said...
You might want to ask your date what he or she likes to eat, and ask it in a creative way. Maybe like, "What's your desert-island food?" Or, "If you could eat anything you wanted right now, what would it be?"
If I were going to do it over again, I would really want to start with a foodie. It took me so long to train Mr dks, and he tries everything. But even though he learned how to tell the difference between margarine and butter after 3 years of marriage, he still doesn't much like truffles - either the kind that grow under the ground, or the chocolate kind. Give him a Chris Madrid's Macho Big Cheesy.
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2-12-2007 @ 12:06PM
Robyn said...
I think sometimes fancy restaurants make my husband and I nervous--still! Maybe it is just cuz of us and other folks are not like this.
I think places where we can people watch are good. It's always good to bond over talking trash about others. Or making stories up.
And somewhere with interesting food, where you cn talk about the food and try each other's dishes.
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2-12-2007 @ 7:01PM
mehraeen624 said...
i want tobe a google user with a gmail drive
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