First Dates

Often, first dates are wrought with nervous excitement, curiosity and a little doubt. If you've met the person online, there may even be a little bit of difficulty. I say difficulty because the person whom you may be meeting may not have the best or most up to date images of themselves online (if you have 6 year old pics representing your current self, you really need to retool your profile.. not that I'm saying this is the case for either the person I met or myself) and meeting for the first time can be awkward.

Not only is there a kind of fear in meeting, there is fear in where to meet. You should always meet in a friendly, open and well-lit area. It should be interesting and fun but not loud to the point where you cannot hear the person you're meeting, unless it's a movie. We met at Father's Office in Culver City.

Father's Office is a friendly, young and energetic "gastropub". In looking up the term "gastropub" I found that it is simply a pub that serves higher end fare. And certainly, the food is rather delicious. I had the seared Albacore tuna on a bed of cucumber slices with olives and a cilantro oil dressing. Very tasty. My date had the Office burger. It looked rather nice though I did not partake. It was thick, rare and the caramelized onions simply invited to bite into it with watered mouth. As well as the dishes, they serve a sweet potato "frite", or sweet potato fries, that are just to die for. I can't quite remember where else I've had sweet potato fries, but they are unexpectedly delicious. I couldn't help but eat most of my date's fries. My apologies to her for doing so. (fuck that.. I paid.. So I take the apology back)

What really sets apart Father's Office from other pubs is not only their selection of fine beers (at least a few dozen from what I could tell) - in the menu they seperate them into sections such as Hoppy and Sweet/Fruity - but their knowledge in pairing these libations with the food they served. Both my date and I had this awesome white beer that tasted very similar to this very nice white wine I found at a local wine bar I sometimes frequent. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you what the beer is (nor the wine, at the moment) but it's very fruity, very sweet and just lovely. Aside from this beer, I did have the Lindeman Peach Framboise (I prefer the cherry) and a Chimay (white label).

Sadly, I don't think my date and I connected. Certainly, we had good conversation, we cliqued on a certain level and I found her attractive but... the substance was not there. I cannot say for certain whether there was enough "data" to really make a judgement call but I think both she and I showed a lack of interest. And though I invited her to a screening of a film next week, I think we'll simply remain friends, if we remain anything at all.

However, my newly established love for Father's Office shall continue to grow as I cultivate my relationship with the place. I wonder if it's cheating if I visit the Santa Monica location as well.

Find info on FO at http://www.fathersoffice.com/.