28th
The Times reporter interviewed me a few days ago for this story: it’s basically about young people preferring less fancy, more casual restaurants and food (i.e. arepas) when dating over more formal meals — whether given the economic recession or just for fun. She didn’t end up using my quotes; I think she wanted me to name a few cheap, kitschy hamburger joints or something in the city that I liked to go to for date meals, while I gently pushed the virtues of cooking together as a cheap and casual alternative (not to mention one that’s not going to bulldoze your daily caloric intake with one bite).
Really good pork bun trumps corner banquette; comfort trumps stuffiness; and cheap is no longer an epithet.
“If you can spend under $80 for a nice date meal, you’re definitely feeling good about it,” said Andrew Steinthal, a music executive. “Twenty dollars,” countered Rachel Wharton, a writer, whose ideal first date is hitting the taco trucks in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.
Consequently, casual is the new sophisticated; paper napkins and communal tables are the new standard.
It’s true these are trends but I think the story slights the fact that some of this is less romantically than gastronomically motivated. Rachel is a die-hard foodie who will scavenge the city for the best pork bun, on a date or not. The couple in the beginning of the article both work in the food industry. These folks know that a good, authentic taco is a cheap one rather than some gussied-up imitation at a high-falutin restaurant.
