Dating Men: What His Food Choices and Dining Style Say About Him

I just read a really funny book called Delicious Dating: The Single Girl's Guide to Decoding Men by Their Wining and Dining Styles. Before writing this book, author Babe Scott discovered she was incompatible with her then-fiance in part because he ate only cheap, unhealthy, packaged foods. To a foodie who likes nutritious meals and fine dining, that matters. And after all, she says, "When you marry someone, you are going to potentially share more than 20,000 meals."

But it's not just about incompatible culinary tastes—the way a guy orders, eats, and cooks can tell you a lot about his approach to life. For example, says Babe, what's the point of expecting an Adventure Eater to be the stay-at-home type? Likewise, her ex-fiance, who bought only fast and frozen food didn't value romance, health, or making an effort in areas that count. Identifying a man's dining style can help you clue in to his personality as early as your first dinner date. I asked Babe more Qs about what we can learn from a man's culinary style….

Erin: How did you research this book?

Babe: I embarked on an empirical study of the male species via their stomachs. A manthropologist on a mission, the restaurant became my laboratory as I developed my food theory as a litmus test for lovers. I set up a website, TakeMeOutToLunch.com, through which I asked men to assist me with my study by accompanying me for a meal. I also joined every service I could find—from millionaire matchmakers to gourmet dinner groups, wine tastings, and singles' sushi classes—in an effort to meet as large a variety of men as possible.

I dined with more than 100 men of every gourmet genus at a variety of venues, from dive bars to celebrated restaurants. My dining adventures took me from the sublime to the raddichioless as I ate my way to a new understanding of the male sex. I went dumpster diving on a date with a freegan, went on a foraging date in Central Park, went out for lunch with the Naked Cowboy, dined in the pitch dark, and even dined nude with the Clothing Optional Dinner Group. I taste tested every variety of man and reveled in every culinary encounter that I could.