OK, I temporarily reverted to Janet and was Anonymous a few times yesterday, but I've slipped back into my Rosebud persona.

Now, this may be included under crab/crustacean, but I went on a date once with a guy who ordered boiled crawfish. Watching him ripping them open and sucking the heads was a real turn-off at the time. He also drank way too much beer and I took a cab home.

Needless to say, the first date was the last.

Ugh, no one should ever eat French onion soup (FOS) ever.

I have a FOS phobia. My stepmonster used to make the most horrible FOS in the world ALL THE TIME. This was in addition to her beef stew that had such an acidic base it could burn your face off, her meatloaf that was waaay more loaf than meat, and her lasagna made with cottage cheese.

I became a real foodie once I got out from under her culinary clutches and realized food does not taste horrible!

Sometimes salads aren't cut into small enough pieces - and need to be cut - but sometimes the "plate" (should always be a bowl) is so small that while attempting to cut the salad it ends up spilling off of the plate. The alternative is not cutting - and subsequently trying to shove (too) large bites into your mouth... not very attractive.

On my first date with my husband, we went to a Moroccan restaurant. There was a small bowl of olives between us, and he didn't realize they had pits in them. He only had ONE olive because he was embarrassed about having to remove the pit from his mouth. I still think it's hilarious that he was nervous about that. I think I did eat the rest of the bowl because it didn't bother me a bit.

I don't avoid any foods on a first date. I love food way too much and if I'm in the mood for something, I'm getting it. Although I am conscientious of price. I always pick an item around the mid-price level of the menu.

I carry gum with me always, so bad breath isn't an issue.

I've gotten wings, huge burgers, pizza, pasta, you name it. I can eat more than most guys (and will). I think guys appreciate a girl that actually eats, although I do work out like mad to keep in shape. As long as you are neat and mannerly about it, you can eat anything.

How about foie gras? Cuz ya just never know which side they're on...

Ethiopian food might be a bad idea too, as you eat mostly with your hands.

dcdiva, try French Onion Soup someplace else where they are well known for doing it well. You will change your mind. The most inexpenisve places sometimes do a good job with it (TGIF's makes a good FOS) and the fine restaurants all hold their own although I suspect if it is on Crushes menu, it is supurb (because it was when the Owner/chef was at Linwoods).

I would suggest not trying new foods. My first date when I moved to Baltimore from out of state was at New No Da Ji for sushi. I'd never had sushi and just assumed I would take to it immediately. It was all the new rage and this guy LOVED sushi. Not only was it difficult to eat (I couldn't use chopsticks), but I took my first bite and the seaweedy taste of the nori just hit me wrong. We're talking about looking across the table at your date while your gag reflex kicks in. I wanted to spit it out, but sort of fought it back and swallowed. I then hit the buffet and finished off with some easier to handle noodles.

I've never loved sushi the way some due, including my husband (not the same guy); but I've learned which sushi I like and which I don't, and appreciate it far more than I ever thought I would after that first date...

It's nice to think that being Italian is the magic bullet for not slurping spaghetti... alas, not true.

I've had friends refuse to sit next to me when I'm eating linguini or spaghetti because of the potential for collateral damage.

Long live rigatoni.

On our first date, which at the time neither of us was really sure it was a date, I ordered the crabcake dinner, which at this restaurant is a specialty (in fact that's why he took me there) and is fairly expensive (but definitely worth it).

At the end of the evening, he picked up the tab - which I wasn't expecting - right around the $85 mark once tip was included. Pretty expensive dinner for a "not sure this is a date dinner."

In the end, I guess it was okay, as we're getting married in March!

It was sort of a first date, years ago when my (then) husband had been through several rounds of interviews for a job and was told that "The Big Guy" wanted to me him - and "The Wife" for dinner. (Back then, I still thought I had to be the nice girl so I didn't pay act on the red flag going up.)

I don't remember the name of the restaurant - we came down from out of town for this - but TBG insisted that the Beef Stroganoff was so wonderful that we all had to have it. As a vegetarian, I was unenthused and making eye-contact with the husband since this was his show. He signaled that, essentially, he was going to tuck 'em under and I should go along.

The worst part was that when the stroganoff got there, the waiter did a big Ta-Da! thing when he pulled the lid off and it looked like someone had thrown up on my plate!

And you know, that Big Guy was a terrible bully. XH made good money working for him, but he paid a real price.

On our first date, my husband, strictly a salad and ice water guy, watched me devour an enchilada combo and margarita...and then consider dessert. He didn't mind. Over the course of our courtship and marriage we have seen many confused servers engage in some highly amusing plate gymnastics to correct things after they automatically assumed that I ordered the salad and he the steak...

It wasn't the first with her, but was one of the last: A young lady I was dating wanted pizza. Sounds normal, right? However, she was strictly Kosher and we had to take the subway from the Bronx to Brooklyn (and return) to get it. Obviouly no pepperoni.

"It wasn't the first with her, but was one of the last: A young lady I was dating wanted pizza. Sounds normal, right? However, she was strictly Kosher and we had to take the subway from the Bronx to Brooklyn (and return) to get it. Obviouly no pepperoni."

I've driven from here to NYC just for pizza.........I don't see the problem :)

Carey -- evidently you've never had kosher pizza. If you're accustomed to the "real" New York pizza, the kosher version just won't do it.

It wasn't a first date, but my first time trying sushi. I thought the wasabi was something you ate by itself, in a big huge bite.

WOW!! Horseradish on steroids!!

I'm not a huge fan of seafood and eating raw fish - the mouthfeel of tuna was nasty - made it easy to decide sushi was not my thing.

Like the locals say down here:
"it ain't sushi, its bait!"

I haven't found first date *food* to be a problem. It was always the first date *drinks*. Generally the number of them I'd had.

Wings, ribs, red wine, and post-prandial cigarettes.
If you can handle that first date menu, not only will I marry you, I'll paint your name on my tank.

My wife and I went for crabs for your first date almost 20 years ago. I really liked her and wanted to see if she could hang out and have a real meal and some domestic beer.
It was not a test as much as a compatibility quiz. We both passed!

Glad I'm married, or I'd need a list of top 10 foods you CAN order on the first date.

On my first date with The Boy, we went to Applebees (it was Sunday at 9 pm, nothing else around here was open.) I had some stir-fry bowl thing that had broccoli in it. Of course I was sans knife for some reason and couldn't get the waiter's attention to save my life, so I figured I'd just pick up the whole piece of broccoli on my fork and take a bite off of it. Unfortunately for me, the broccoli was not as well cooked as I had thought, and it wouldn't break.

So my options were: shove the whole thing in my mouth, remove it from my mouth somewhat chewed on, or gnaw on it til it broke apart. I took too long thinking about it, and when he looked up from his food I was sitting there with a terrified look in my eyes and broccoli hanging out of my mouth.

We've been together two and a half years.

Mary, I think back when my sister and I had the original conversation about "bad" first date foods, we came up with some "good" first date foods too. It's funny, because I can't remember any of them only the bad ones! I DO sort of remember discussing that you never wanted to go out is ahem, what I'll politely call "walk to the table and sit down" shoes if you were dining in the city and might have to walk blocks to go to the restaurant and then blocks to go back to the car. So, how do I remember That?

Oh. My. Ghod. Falafel with little tomatoes and etc.

The first food date I really went on with my now-hubby was with a group of his friends. We went to Lawrence's hippy-dippy restaurant and I thought falafel sounded good.

My first bite sent a falafel ball shooting across the table, the second attempt had a cherry tomato escaping in similar fashion.

I think I also managed to hurk water out my nose over a comment at that dinner, but it proved to be a sign.

Still, all in all, it wasn't a bad thing, we have been married for a tad over 30 years and aren't sure where the time flashed by because it's still fun.

dragonet2 wrote I think I also managed to hurk water out my nose over a comment at that dinner, but it proved to be a sign.

Didn't that work for Minnie Driver in "Good Will Hunting"?

i think, Whatever type of food he/she likes most is good for a first date.

Whatever my baby wants, my baby gets.