By Mariella Bishop and Angelina Ricker
BAM, you asked your person of interest out, and they said yes—you got a date. Good job! The hard part is over now, right? Wrong. Now you have to actually find a place to go on that date. You didn’t think that far ahead, did you?
Going to a movie theater? While it is historically a pretty common first-date location, it can be hard to have a conversation without getting popcorn thrown at you for disturbing the movie. (You also have to be concerned about some kind of graphic scene suddenly appearing on the screen and making things awkward.)
You’ll leave the building knowing less about your date than when you walked in. Even worse, what if they hate a movie you like (or vice versa) and you have to spend the rest of the evening hanging out with someone with terrible taste.
So, maybe a nice dinner? Also another common date idea, but it also has its pitfalls. If it’s an expensive, long-line type of restaurant where you need a reservation, maybe it’s too fancy for a first date. But going somewhere like a fast food place could be too casual, too trashy, or cheap. Remember, you have to impress your date. When taking your date out, you also need to be aware of their preferences. For example, going to a theme park when your date hates roller coasters, or haunted houses, will probably end with you ghosted.
So to help you avoid getting dumped, we went to different first date places, many of which you suggested on the survey would be auspicious beginnings for a relationship, to get first hand experience of what it would be like to have that first romantic moment.
Almost half of the answers that we received from the survey were ones involving food. But since we are car-less froshy brokies, we only made it to a cafe, bartaco, and a home-made dinner.
The cafe was really empty, which, to be honest, only added to the awkwardness. We both got matcha lattes (with feminist literature ofc..), as it was too late for coffee (we are very responsible with our post-5:00PM caffeine intake). The biggest takeaway we got from this experience was that you should NOT go to a cafe for a first date unless both of y’all can talk for a really long time. Side note: make sure you like the drink you pick and get off your phone!!
Bar Taco is mainly popular for its unique blend of “coastal-inspired street food,” as their website puts it. It’s a very pleasant environment to have a chat, while also enjoying its classic tacos. It’s not too fancy but not too scrappy for a first date, and it had a surprisingly casual aesthetic. The workers were very nice, the food even better, and the drinks were fresh, although a little pricey. The place wasn’t too packed: it was mainly filled with small groups of friends, a few couples, and even a few people enjoying their meal by themselves. Overall, we can see why Bartaco was such a popular choice in the survey. It held up to its standards, making it a seemingly good first date spot if you want to sit down and chat with a meal.
As for the more homebound meal, we got together one weeknight at Angelina’s house for a nice little supper. We had aspirations to cook our meal, but some of us can’t cook. And so we pushed the easy button and pulled the butter chicken out of the fridge my mom made the night before. On the positive side, the time we saved allowed us to get to know each other more. Like for example, Angelina chops with her right hand. And Mariella would like to be a better volleyball player so she doesn’t get benched. Also, Angelina cleaned up, which reflected well on her character.
So what else did Lovett students recommend?
People either wanted a nice sit-down meal or a relaxing date, while the other half wanted an activity to do to help erase the awkwardness. Some of the most common answers were going to the aquarium, going bowling, walking around a shopping center like Ponce or Avalon. You get the idea. The most frequent answer was probably the aforementioned Bartaco.
On the other hand, going to a sports game is pretty fun–unless, of course, your date roots for the opposing team. You not only get the opportunity to bond over your passion for sports, but you also get the chance to get on the kiss cam. If you ever are in this situation, DO NOT fumble. (And don’t be with your boss.) But all things considered, it should be easy in a place like this, where the awkwardness fades as you cheer for your favorite team!
Activities also took up half the list. We attempted to go to Sparkles, everyone’s childhood skating rink, but the smell and the staff, that looked like they’d rather be a crime scene cleaner than work there, drove us away. On the plus side, it was really cheap. So have at it.
Meanwhile, if you want a more active date spot, such as amusement parks, escape rooms, and even mini golf, then we have a few places. Walking around was a very common response from the survey, which makes sense as a first date. Atlantic Station or Ponce City Market are nice places to walk around with your date, but if you are under the age of 21, try not to get caught by security who lurk around and ask where your guardian is. We went to a restaurant called Gyu Kaku, which is a Japanese grill restaurant located in the middle of Atlantic Station. While the price can be high for a first date, ranging around 100 dollars in total, being able to cook your food was quite fun (and you can tell a lot about a person by their meat and veggie choices). Another thing to consider about Atlantic Station: If you want to go ice skating, make sure it’s cold enough for that. When we went, we were essentially skating in the ocean.
Some of the other survey responses were quite… interesting. Shout out to whoever said that the State Juvenile Detention Center would be a good spot for a first date! The survey was anonymous, but you know who you are. The Juvenile Detention Center doesn’t seem too fun of a date spot, but everyone has different ideas of first dates.
After experiencing many of these first date spots, we think we’ve come to one conclusion. Activities are generally better for first dates, as they can avoid awkward situations and they force you to work together. Additionally, small talk is much easier when it doesn’t take up the whole time. Dinner visits are really good for later dates, maybe towards the middle of dating. And cafes? We really don’t recommend it. Just get the drink to go.
