Meat as Strategy

So the Times is reporting on a culture shift in women's first-date eating habits.

Former vegetarian/Smiths-album-owning Martha Wilkie (nee Flach) wanted to appear "unpretentious and down to earth and unneurotic" on her match.com profile, so she mentioned meat twice and later chowed on steak frites on a first date with her future husband.

Uh, I don't know. On my first date with a crazy scientist, way back in 1998 (ahead of the curve!), I had steak and he had a salad. He also had a roll of $50's, no job, visible track marks, and the same address as his parents, so probably I should have spent a bit of time discerning if he would be a good mate instead of neurotically planning how to appear like an beer-drinking, steak-eating, fun-luvin' Kate Hudson.

But the fun times we had!