According to a New York Times article, some are saying the way you order at a restaurant on a first date can tell a lot about the person you are, especially if you're ordering red meat. Back in the day, many women would eat a large snack at home, alone, before their date so they could order a light dinner to appear ladylike, but now, ordering light fare is considered high maintenance and finicky.
This article states that more women are ordering a steak or a burger on a first date to give off the impression that they are down to earth and unpretentious, that they don't have any problems keeping up with the guys in a sense, and reassuring them that they don't have any eating issues - it's the incognito way of saying “I am woman, hear me chew.”
So ladies, do you agree with this? When you go on a date, do you typically eat lightly or do you go for the gusto and eat whatever you're craving?
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It really depends on what type of restaurant I'm at and the personality of the person I'm with. Some guys are impressed that you can hoover down an entire burger, others are totally disgusted. I would need the 15 min or so of conversation before ordering to feel the person out and decide my route from there.
1Nah, be ladylike. Eat, and eat plenty, but I don't think heavy foods and red meat (unless it's really refined) is really appropriate for a first date. Especially the burger thing...unless you're going fast food, the more "fancy" burgers are so messy! I think it's less about showing you don't have eating issues and making sure you don't get crap all over your face and look unattractive. Bad first impression. But I do think there's a difference between eating light and sensible and being high maintenance. Plus, if you're at all nervous you'd probably rather not have a huge chunk of beef in your stomach. Ew.
2I'd be myself....why act like you don't want to order anything else?
3I eat what I want to eat. Why make the guy think I eat like a bird only to discover I can chow down later down the road. I once ordered the baby back ribs from Chili's on a date and he ordered a salad. When our food came, he ended up eating off my plate! HAHA
4I totally posted about this too!
awesome!
5http://teamsugar.com/group/494767/blog/517660
I put other... because I usually do order a burger or something like that but I also don't eat like a pig like I do sometimes with my girlfriends. I eat very carefully and take small bites in front of guys but if I'm hungry with girlfriends, I'm sure it's not a pretty sight! lol
6i'd be myself. who cares if you're on a date. as long as you're not drooling, chewing with your mouth open, and having rude manners, what does it matter.
7i have no fear gobbling down a giant burger in front of a guy on any first date. no fear in being myself!
although, i do have *one* golden rule when going out to eat on my first date: don't order something expensive!
8That article was kind of dumb because it made it sound like NOT eating red meat was for dieting purposes only. Some people are vegetarian for a reason, I don't see why I should have to eat a big burger just to make myself more like a guy.
And anyway, guys can't have it both ways.... they want a really thin girl, but they want her to eat burgers and steaks all the time? good luck with that!
9I haven't read the article yet but I have made considerations about my order in the past. But it's not about what the guy might think of me, more about what's difficult to eat or extremely messy.
On my first date with my current boyfriend, we both ordered the same thing, chicken fajitas.
10I eat whatever looks good on the menu..... OH the 1st time I went to eat with my guy we both ordered... then we ended up hating what we ordered for ourselves.... his food looked better than my food to me.... and my food looked better than his food to him.... so we switched plates.......
and we were happy b/c the food was so good... I think its funny how we subconsciously knew what each other wanted....
11I would never date a guy who'd look down on me for scarfing a burger.
If I was really hungry, I'd totally get a burger or a steak, but if I wasn't too hungry, I might get some fish or a chicken caesar. But it would have nothing to do with the guy and everything to do with my appetite.
And dessert.
12Any guy who thinks he knows all about me and can judge me based on what I eat on our first date isn't worth a second date. I agree with the other posters: be yourself, order what you want, use good table manners, and hope the guy you're with is more interested in talking to you than in making snap judgements.
13regardless of i order the food has to be onion and garlic free and not to spicy either, they do give you a bad breath, and who wants that on a first date.
14I avoid pasta and other pretty messy foods, because that can just look gross,lol. Other than that, I eat whatever I want, whether it is a salad, or chicken, or steak, etc. etc.
15I just order what I can eat and finish but I tend to order things that are easy to eat and not messy!
16I picked other because I don't not go all out, but I don't eat lightly. I try to pick something in the middle of a price range so I'm not one of "those" girls. I also try to pick something that won't get all over me (I'm one of those people who will inevitably spill something like ketchup on myself).
17Why not order what you like and enjoy it, common! Just be yourself, that is what your date wants to see..
18It's all about being yourself. I don't think it's unladylike to order a steak or a burger (depending on where you go of course). I mean come on everyone. It's the 21st century. Plus, I think the only way you could be unladylike is if you have bad table manners. It doesn't really matter what's on the plate as long as you don't scarf it down like a wolf and wipe your mouth with your sleeve.
19I think chicken is a safe bet...it's not too ladylike and it's not a salad, but it's not gross and it's not red meat, which is, I think, a bit unbecoming. And I think eating a burger now says you're trying too hard anyway, like "Oh I'm so laid back, I'm a cool girl."
20I always order whatever I want. I don't really care about what I eat, I just care that it isn't getting all over my face, lol.
21I always order whatever I want. I don't really care about what I eat, I just care that it isn't getting all over my face, lol.
22I would hope our first date wasn't a place I could get a nasty flattened burger anyway...
23I would eat a steak, but never pasta. That stuff gets all over the place.
24i almost always get something like a salad, but not with the intention of being ladylike. i am honestly just not a big eater and heavy, greasy food makes me sick. and if that makes me look finicky, then so be it.
25The safest thing for me to order is ... french fries lol. I'm shy when I'm getting to know someone and feeling all self-conscious, being a messy eater ... :s Even with burgers, I end up with sauce all over the place! That said, if my fairy godmother could work magic on my messy eating, I definitely would order whatever I want, ladylike or not!
26c0rkie did this same blog the other day. I guess it's topical!
27I order what appeals to me the most on the the menu. AS I don't usually eat burgers or steak I wouldn't order it on a date either.
28I like Japanese food, because it's not messy, yet tasty and I definitely avoids pasta and too expensive things
29i just drink lots of water lol
30I go for something not to expensive that is not that messy and won't make my breath stink too much.
31i agree with allijean an lalalaurie .. i try not to order messy food, nor something expensive.. other than that everything is fair game.
32if a guy is disgusted i can eat a whole burger, then i dont want to be with him.
33I usually just avoid messy foods, because I don't want to have my dinner down the front of my dress all night. I also usually don't order anything too extravagantly expensive, just because I'd feel bad about the cost. On my first date with my current boyfriend, I ordered grilled baby squid, and they came whole! I loved them, but he was a little grossed out by the 10 little squid on my plate... we laugh about it all the time, because he's always like, I knew you would always be yourself and be comfortable around me if you would order something so gross the first time we went to dinner!
34I've been out of the game but when I was dating and now, I always order whatever I want. I may be small, but I will THROW DOWN on some food! I do tend to be conscious of price though, to be considerate. Hey, and burgers are cheap.
35amanda02215, that's such a cute story!
I'm a burger-and-a-beer girl, so if that's the type of place we're going to, that's what I'm ordering. The only thing I avoid is pasta like spaghetti or linguine, since I will spill on myself if it's a date. Burgers can always be cut smaller, half or quarters, so they really aren't that messy.
Ordering really light (like a salad) always comes off to me as though you aren't really interested, so you are getting something that you can finish early so the date can end early.
36I also would avoid very messy foods, like spaghetti...I would order penne instead.
37Hopefully the guy will be smart enough to take me to a place where burgers are not on the menu...
38i think you should eat what you want. dont think about what will he think if i order a salad or what will he think if i order the lobster. eat what you want and be who you are, don't care about what he thinks of you for ordering what you like to eat. eventually he'll find out what you're really like regardless of your meal choice so you might as well enjoy the meal
39i like to avoid the messy so if we are going italian no spaghetti that sort of thing. i'm going to eat and be me but on a first date i will probably not order anything too fancy either
40I'd be myself.
41I will eat what I feel like eating on a date. I rarely order salads or something light when I go out to eat with friends & family.. why should it be different when i'm on a date or with my boyfriend? Besides he had mentioned to me that he likes the fact that I eat and i'm okay with it.
42I usually would order something that….looked good, no matter what it was. Messy, expensive, red meat, whatever. Usually I go for the steak, As rare as they will allow, run it through a warm room, mooing and eat it with relish just like the carnivore I am.
43Well I do not go "all out." I could just imagine having rib sauce on my face all night - wow that would be embarassing. I order normal meals... whatever im hungry for! Not a dainty little salad or something.
44If I'm hungry... I'm hungry! My bf loves that I'm not shy in enjoying food and will stuff my face if need be. As long as it's not all over the place and a napkin is always within reach. =)
45it's a bit of hard question to give a specific answer because i eat complicatedly and what i want to eat can vary. with my bf right now, the first thing i ordered on a date was a salad. not exactly the best choice because he was convinced that i'm just a health nut, which i kinda am, but it's stuck.
46never let a chance of food go away
47lol
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