spring-dinner-chicken
If dating is a performance then restaurants are the stage. There are banquettes to slide into, flattering light to make the most of. Not slumped on the couch slurping lo mein, we’re forced to participated in the slight formality of being in public. In other words, we’re on our best behavior, and flirting, to boot.
We are presented with a dizzying array of options which, after selecting, magically appear in front of us 10 minutes later. And then, perhaps most seductive of all, someone appears to cart away the dirty dishes, and you two get to breeze out the door.
What’s not a turn-on is ordering a glass of wine that costs as much as a bottle, nibbling mediocre food, and walking away, your pockets $50 lighter, and all you have to show for it is an over-stuffed tummy and the need for a nap.
Last week we talked about happy hour at home. This week we’re celebrating the recession-era dinner date at home. Yes, you will still have to do the dishes. But you can dim the lights, pull out your favorite dishes and cloth napkins, listen to whatever you like, play Trivial Pursuit while you’re eating, and interrupt your artichoke to sway slowly to Frank Sinatra. There are few things sexier than that. And the dishes can wait until tomorrow.
