Where, what to eat a perennial date question

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Maddi Dayton
BYU students Tesla Fox and Ian Wilkinson have a lunch date at the Wilkinson Student Center. (Maddi Dayton)

BYU pre-management student Tesla Fox, doesn’t stress about what she eats while on a date.

“I don’t change what I eat on dates,” Fox said. “I mean I know some people want to make a great impression so they’ll eat something that is less messy or something that doesn’t have as many calories, but I just don’t care anymore. If we went to a nicer restaurant, I wouldn’t be afraid to get a full meal instead of a salad.”

Similar to Fox, BYU computer science student Ian Wilkinson said he likes to visit new places, which usually means getting something to eat he hasn’t had before.

“I try to eat something different everywhere I go,” Wilkinson said. “Usually, I wouldn’t choose anything out of the ordinary or anything different. I guess I do tend to get smaller portions like appetizers, but I don’t eat that much as it is.”

BYU psychology freshman Alisa Chun said she isn’t afraid of what she orders to eat on dates, but makes sure she chooses cheaper restaurants, so her date feels comfortable paying.

“I like to pick something cheap just because my dates never accept my offer for paying, so they end up paying,” Chun said.

BYU nutritional science master’s student Lauren Burgess said she is also mainly concerned about how much the meal will cost and not as much about what she orders. She aims to be conscientious of the price of food while on a date.

“I don’t want to order the most expensive item on the menu,” Burgess said. “I want to be mindful. If it’s not something that I would pay for myself, then I’m not going to make someone else pay for it.”

Some students who are also cautious about the cost of a meal prefer to order something similar in price to what their date orders. This is the case for BYU illustration student Bekah Mecham.

“I try to mimic what they order just to stay in the same price range,” Mecham said. “I don’t want to go overboard, and I want to be respectful to them.”

BYU exercise science student Piper Radford said she aims to eat anything she wants on a date. She said choosing something to order on a date is never stressful for her.

“I really don’t change what I eat,” Radford said. “I actually hate salads, which is weird because normally most girls will get a salad while on a date. I love steak, so I would say I eat normally.”

Some students have a go-to place to eat in mind before they even ask someone out, according to BYU English student Scott Darrington. He said having a particular place in mind beforehand helps with the awkwardness of choosing what to eat.

“I like to take dates out to eat Chinese because it’s at a restaurant, but it’s chill enough that were just hanging out,” Darrington said. “It’s also inexpensive enough that it’s not too crazy to pay for.”

Burgess said choosing something to eat while on a date shouldn’t be so difficult because everyone likes food, and there shouldn’t be any fear in ordering what you want while on a date.

“As far as choosing what to eat, I pick anything and not worry about it because I know some people want to choose a salad to make a statement, but … I will eat whatever I want to eat,” Burgess said. “I don’t think that says so much about you other than you like food, and everyone should like food.”

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