Dark, blurry pics aside, this is actually almost a dating post! I’ve hesitated to post about this particular person because there was so much potential from our first date (FRIED CHICKEN! read the Instagram caption).. and there’s a slight possibility that he reads my site. Okay, he probably stopped a while back, since his last texts to me were quite rude! but his coworkers might. Regardless… here is my fourth and final date with Fried Chicken Boo.
I didn’t even get a kiss out of the whole thing :T
Our second date was a quick brunch before I went to a Mets game.
Our third date was a ramen lunch date. Because I am not perfect and occasionally have tunnel vision, I will share with you something quite embarrassing that I did. FCB knew how obsessed with food I am, and we talked about it extensively. He implied that he was into food as well, he knew the best fried chicken in the city, I foolishly presumed that he knew a bit about food.
At one point we talked about cooking. I believe I asked him if he knows how to cook, and his response – which I recall distinctly – was “I’m perfecting my ramen.”
This excited me to no end, and I began asking questions. I have been working on my ramen for a while now – I’ve perfected my egg, I know my veggies, I have the broth to where I like it. I don’t always bother with the meat at home (I tend towards eating meatless at home), but I’m pretty happy with where I am. He deflected and I asked more questions about the noodles, whether he was making them from scratch (mad respect if he was!) or if he was using Sun Noodles, etc.
I don’t recall how the conversation ended, but it took me until months after I’d ended things to realize that he was being facetious and joking when he said he was perfecting his ramen. He meant it in like a “I can make Top Ramen” way, and I totally misunderstood and probably confused the hell out of him.
Oops. But that IS why I took him to get ramen at a ramen-ya for lunch one day. He was pretty understanding about my super busy schedule – as you can see, he came to my neighborhood for brunch worked into my schedule, we had lunch during the workweek… he tried very hard to accommodate my life.
Unfortunately, we weren’t suited for more reasons than I can name. I shared the above story to show that I’m not perfect, and that it’s not always the guy who does or says something dumb!
Regarding Shalel Lounge, however… this may be one of the clearest examples of how little he understood me. I let him choose all of the dishes because he’d been there previously. That works for me. Some stuff was good, some stuff was eh, some stuff wasn’t to my taste. Our server was adorable and perfect.
But the line that stood out to me was, after we’d been seated and were perusing the menu, he said: “The food here isn’t that great, but the ambiance is so perfect. I thought you’d like it.”
The most important thing to me, ever, is always the food. A place could be lit like McDonald’s, but if the food is amazing, I will be happier than a pig in poo. On the flip side, a place could have the coolest vibe in the world — if the food is crap, I’m not going to love it. It’ll be “yeah that place is cool but man the food sucked” – and I won’t go back.
When he asked me later about my thoughts — knowing full well that I obsess over food — and I shared them tactfully, he became very defensive and said he just thought the place was super cool and that I might appreciate the romantic ambiance. Sure… but I also like to be able to see my food when I eat, and to enjoy it more. I thought it was expensive for what it was, too — he paid, but our 4 dishes and 2 drinks must’ve clocked in over $100. Merh. Be tastier for that price!
Unfortunately, the final nail in the coffin was probably when he accused me of not caring that we weren’t going to see each other for a whole week. After 4 dates – and not having even kissed! – accusing me of ‘not caring’ about him is pretty crappy and clingy, I mean it’s a week. We only just started hanging out! I don’t understand what’s going on!
Oh well. This was over the summer… and he chose this place after I said my least favorite area in Manhattan to hang out was the Upper West Side.
Listening problems much?
Sigh.
By the way, related — if a guy is anti-NYC and/or doesn’t see himself living here or in another large city long term, it’s probably not going to work. I’m a city girl through and through… sure, things can change, but at this point, not so much.
xo
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