Relationship Guru Offers Meal Advice for 1st Date

The Clarion-Ledger

January 16, 2008

By STEVEN AUSTIN

Does your dating life need a makeover? David Wygant will help you! Wygant has been featured as a dating expert on more than 2,000 radio shows. On TV you’ve seen him on Dateline, ABC News, CBS Good Morning, Inside Edition and many other shows. His contemporary dating and relationship advice can also be found in publications like Maxim, Cosmopolitan and The Los Angeles Times. Online, Wygant has worked with Match.com and many other dating sites. Single for now, Wygant works out of offices in Los Angeles and New York. For advice and his interactive daily blog, visit www.davidwygant.com

Q: You’ve met someone online. What next?
A: Arrange a quick cup of coffee. Meeting online means that there’s a really good chance one of you may not find the other one attractive. People look much different than the picture they post, so I always suggest a cup of coffee and if you like each other you can always extend the night or set up another date.

Q: It’s a big first dinner out together. Any foods to avoid?
A: I would avoid garlic and onions on a first date. Those are the only foods that I’d stay away from. It’s about being kissable … Now, messy foods, at some point, can be fun and playful. So go ahead and eat that gooey burrito, but not during the very first meal together.

Q: You want to buy a drink for a woman at a bar. She’s with three friends. Do you buy them drinks, too?
A: I don’t think men should walk over and buy a woman a drink at a bar. It’s a waste of money and such a cliche. You have no idea if you even like the woman when she opens her mouth, so to walk over and buy her a drink without even knowing who she is … well, that’s what I call being a chump and giving all your power away. You need to walk over and engage her in fun and playful banter, and if you connect and enjoy her company, then by all means by her a drink. As for her friends, let them fend for themselves.

Q: You eat meat. Your date is a vegetarian. Is romance possible?
A: Vegans and meat and potatoes can mix. Eating should not be the deal breaker at all. It’s not about the food you eat but about the lifestyle you keep.

Q: One of the worst dating stories you’ve been told?
A: This woman went on an awful online date. The second she saw him she knew they had no chemistry. So she ordered a salad and nothing else. He had a lobster, five drinks and dessert. When the bill came he asked her to split the $130 tab, when her salad was only $11. It was like a bad Mastercard commercial. She asked him if he was for real, got up and walked out. He actually called her the next day and told her what a great time he had.