GET CRACKING ON A FIRST DATE

All first dates should be brunch dates. Dinner is too much of a commitment for a first date. It involves multiple dishes, as well as a drinks menu, creating an ordeal that can last for hours. It’s basically one step away from moving in together. Who wants to sign up for more than one course with someone you’re not sure you’ll like? Not only is its length a problem, dinner brings a certain expectation simply because it means meeting someone in the evening and is often accompanied by wine. All these elements set the stage for awkwardness if your date ends up thinking you’re delectable enough to take home, but you find them a total dud.

While dinner is too high stakes, coffee is too casual. It takes 20 minutes to drink a macchiato. That’s barely enough time to discuss the latest episode of The Americans. Sure, you could get a second cup, but too much caffeine is never a good look.

Of course, you could take your potential bae out for booze. Meeting at a bar can be efficient. If you find your date repugnant, you can depart after a single cocktail, but if you want to extend the meeting for another drink you risk inebriation. It can be difficult to develop a definitive impression of someone wearing beer goggles.

This brings us to brunch! Breakfast is too early in the morning to be sexy, and lunch is blander than the turkey sandwich restaurants serve on midday menus. Brunch, however, is a novel meal only dished out on weekends or at specialized restaurants. It’s blueberry scones so fluffy they’re like edible clouds and poached quail eggs that make you believe in miracles. It’s the stuff that dreams are made of! Not only is brunch the most whimsical meal of the week, it’s typically a single course. You can get out with relative speed if your date turns out to be someone heinous, like a convicted felon or Coldplay fan. Conversely, if you think they might be the love of your life, you can always stick around for a latte or a mimosa and see where things go.

So cancel your dinner rezzo and take whatever hottie you swiped right on for an omelet instead. Brunch combines the best of every other first date option, all in a single setting.