Can a Mongolian Barbecue Make or Break a First Date?

[Evo]

I just watched a show on tv that had a segmment about that gawd awful fast food Mongolian Barbecue and it brought back memories of the first time I had ever been there.

A guy asked me out for a first date, it was for lunch. He chose Mongolian Barbecue.

Ok, I don't know this guy. I drive to this place and find him among the hoards of rushed business people looking for a quick meal.

We get in line in front of a confusing series of food bins containing raw ingedients. I have no idea what to do, but follow the signs "choose one meat", "choose a vegetable", "choose some noodles", choose a sauce". There is a throng of people lined up behind me. Out of desperation, I start flinging stuff into my bowl so I don't hold up the line.

I end up waiting in line in front of some huge grill manned by a group of teenagers tossing the contents of the bowls handed to them. Finally a teenager finishes tossing my food on the grill, dumps it into a bowl and hands it back to me. My date starts looking around for a place to sit. We eventually find a place and there I am, with a bowl of things I can't recognize, amid a crowd of very noisy people. I eat the food, which was at least edible, although not something I would ever order and try to make polite conversation, while shouting loud enough to be heard over all of the noise. We finish, I get in my car and drive off, never seeing the guy again.

For a first date, remember, location, location, location.

 

[CINA]

I don't know what's wrong with you, but Mongolian Barbecue is freaking great.

 

[waht]

I went on a first date to the movies. Yea I know it wasn't a good idea, but didn't realize she would bring all her friends too. Six or ten people tagged along with her, some were couples, others were single little brats.

They all sat in a row behind me and my date, watching us carefully like hawks. I was like wtf? We didn't talk much either, she constantly turned to her friends talking. I was going to run the second I saw her with her gang, but for some reason kept cool.

 

[Evo]

I don't know what's wrong with you, but Mongolian Barbecue is freaking great.

Heheh, I figured someone might like it. It's the Luby's Cafeteria of Michigan style serve yourself stir fry. Yes, the inventor is a guy from Michigan.

I went on a first date to the movies. Yea I know it wasn't a good idea, but didn't realize she would bring all her friends too. Six or ten people tagged along with her, some were couples, others were single little brats.

They all sat in a row behind me and my date, watching us carefully like hawks. I was like wtf? We didn't talk much either, she constantly turned to her friends talking. I was going to run the second I saw her with her gang, but for some reason kept cool.

Now that, would frighten me!

 

[Cyrus]

That's funny because I also took this girl to a mongolian place for lunch but she never called me back. All I got was a lousy UCLA t-shirt in the mail with a 'it's not you, it's me' note.

 

[Pengwuino]

That's funny because I also took this girl to a mongolian place for lunch but she never called me back. All I got was a lousy UCLA t-shirt in the mail with a 'it's not you, it's me' note.

owned.

Wait, why a UCLA tshirt?

 

[GeorginaS]

She sent you a t-shirt? As in, "I Went Out on a Date with Such And So and All I Got Was a Lousy T-Shirt"? Hee!

Oh, sorry.

 

[lisab]

Ah, my worst first date. Actually it was not just a first date, it was an only date.

A guy had been flirting with me for some time...I even remember his name, Ray. I wasn't sure of Ray, I had mixed feelings about him. He was the kind of guy who looked good on paper - a great resume - but I got weird vibes from him.

So, he asked me out. I thought, oh, ok, it's just a date. He suggested breakfast at a place he said was the best breakfast place around.

A breakfast date...I had never heard of that, but it appealed to me. By design it would only be a few hours.

We showed up at the place, and it was filled with all his buddies...turns out this was a regular hang out for all of them. They all start congratuating him, insinuating that this was a "morning after" breakfast! And he did nothing to refute it !

I didn't even see that one coming.

 

[Evo]

Ah, my worst first date. Actually it was not just a first date, it was an only date.

A guy had been flirting with me for some time...I even remember his name, Ray. I wasn't sure of Ray, I had mixed feelings about him. He was the kind of guy who looked good on paper - a great resume - but I got weird vibes from him.

So, he asked me out. I thought, oh, ok, it's just a date. He suggested breakfast at a place he said was the best breakfast place around.

A breakfast date...I had never heard of that, but it appealed to me. By design it would only be a few hours.

We showed up at the place, and it was filled with all his buddies...turns out this was a regular hang out for all of them. They all start congratuating him, insinuating that this was a "morning after" breakfast! And he did nothing to refute it !

I didn't even see that one coming.

That's pretty bad!

 

[Cyrus]

Ah, my worst first date. Actually it was not just a first date, it was an only date.

A guy had been flirting with me for some time...I even remember his name, Ray. I wasn't sure of Ray, I had mixed feelings about him. He was the kind of guy who looked good on paper - a great resume - but I got weird vibes from him.

So, he asked me out. I thought, oh, ok, it's just a date. He suggested breakfast at a place he said was the best breakfast place around.

A breakfast date...I had never heard of that, but it appealed to me. By design it would only be a few hours.

We showed up at the place, and it was filled with all his buddies...turns out this was a regular hang out for all of them. They all start congratuating him, insinuating that this was a "morning after" breakfast! And he did nothing to refute it !

I didn't even see that one coming.

That's hilarious! I mean, what a scumbag, why I ought ta..!

 

[Ivan Seeking]

The worst date? Probably the one where I was told right up front that she didn't believe in premarital sex.

But that is the only reason we went out, thought I??!?

 

[Astronuc]

Ok, I don't know this guy. I drive to this place and find him among the hoards of rushed business people looking for a quick meal.

We get in line in front of a confusing series of food bins containing raw ingedients. I have no idea what to do, but follow the signs "choose one meat", "choose a vegetable", "choose some noodles", choose a sauce". There is a throng of people lined up behind me. Out of desperation, I start flinging stuff into my bowl so I don't hold up the line.

I end up waiting in line in front of some huge grill manned by a group of teenagers tossing the contents of the bowls handed to them. Finally a teenager finishes tossing my food on the grill, dumps it into a bowl and hands it back to me. My date starts looking around for a place to sit. We eventually find a place and there I am, with a bowl of things I can't recognize, amid a crowd of very noisy people. I eat the food, which was at least edible, although not something I would ever order and try to make polite conversation, while shouting loud enough to be heard over all of the noise. We finish, I get in my car and drive off, never seeing the guy again.

That sounds like the food court near the corporate office in SD. There's about a dozen little shops the sell various ethnic foods - but no Mongolian grill. It's noisy, except for outside, which is just crowded. Not a place I would take a date at lunchtime. In fact, there aren't too many places that aren't crowded and noisy at lunchtime. I know a couple of hole-in-the-wall places that are actually next-door to each other - one is Turkish/Persian and the other is Japanese (sushi, sashimi and noodle dishes) - but they require someone who enjoys that particular cuisine.

One of my worst dates (I had a few in the beginning) was a blind date that I set up myself. I had left a note in her dorm mailbox, after I had seen her at a dance. Another girl I knew in the same dorm reported that this one girl was really excited and curious. Well - when I met her, I could see she was disappointed. She was apparently expecting a taller man - like a football player. To make matters worse, I had injured my knee that evening while jumping over a chair at my dorm, and I was limping pretty severely as we walked to an on-campus movie (Paper Chase, IIRC). She was very nice though.

After the movie, I walked her back to her dorm, and we said good night. I knew at that point we'd probably not be going out again. We had occasional encounters on campus, and they were always cordial.

 

[Moonbear]

Hmm...I like Mongolian BBQ. I certainly wouldn't consider it fast food...all the ingredients are fresh and you can mix whatever you want. It was a favorite when I was in grad school, but then, at that time, you could still go back as many times as you wanted. Now they put a limit of only one trip per person, so it's an art to mound the food up in the bowl so you get a decent meal after it has all shrunken down from cooking. Of course, the key is to entirely ignore the instructions. Though, I agree it would be a bad place for a first date, because you spend so much time standing in lines and then the places are usually pretty noisy, so not an easy place to get to know someone.

I've been lucky; I haven't had any bad first dates, unless they were so bad that I've blocked them all from my memory. Usually, things go downhill after the first date rather than on the first date (I guess I only date guys who have at least mastered the art of the first date, even if they are completely clueless about everything after that). Though, I wish they had been bad first dates...it would have saved me the time and trouble of subsequent dates or boring, clingy guys.

 

[Kurdt]

I guess I've been lucky too. I've never really had a first date to go wrong.

 

[Astronuc]

Hmm...I like Mongolian BBQ. I certainly wouldn't consider it fast food...all the ingredients are fresh and you can mix whatever you want. It was a favorite when I was in grad school, but then, at that time, you could still go back as many times as you wanted. Now they put a limit of only one trip per person, so it's an art to mound the food up in the bowl so you get a decent meal after it has all shrunken down from cooking. Of course, the key is to entirely ignore the instructions. Though, I agree it would be a bad place for a first date, because you spend so much time standing in lines and then the places are usually pretty noisy, so not an easy place to get to know someone.

I'm not familiar with Mongolian BBQ, except possibly for one in a mall in SD, and that was probably on a weekend, so the lines weren't too bad, and it wasn't that crowded.

Based on Evo's description ("some huge grill manned by a group of teenagers tossing the contents of the bowls handed to them"), the particularly Mongolian BBQ does seem like a fast food place, especially at lunchtime. I'd be leery of a group of teenagers tossing my food onto a grill.

During my university days, there was a small Mongolian grill that I really enjoyed. Unfortunately, it wasn't popular, so it didn't last long. The owner actually cooked the meal and it was kind of like teppanyaki that one sees in some Japanese restaurants. The patrons would sit around the grill and select ingredients, meats, vegetables, etc, and the chef prepared the meal and placed it in front of the patron. It was a rather laid back and relaxed place.

I don't like noisy, crowded places, so taking someone on a first date to Mongolian BBQ sounds like a really bad idea.

 

[Vanadium 50]

The worst date? Probably the one where I was told right up front that she didn't believe in premarital sex.

Is that like not believing in Santa Claus?

 

[Vanadium 50]

They all start congratuating him, insinuating that this was a "morning after" breakfast! And he did nothing to refute it !

"So, how do you like your eggs in the morning?"
"Unfertilized."

 

[physics girl phd]

I'm not fond of Mongolian BBQ... but that's largely because years ago a crazy friend had a whole gang of us drive to Columbus OH from Dayton OH (about an hour) to have the experience (which she raved about). We were not impressed. There would have certainly been better places to eat in Columbus for the hour's drive. This was before Dayton had one of the franchise establishments... and it too, certainly had better places!

 

[physics girl phd]

"So, how do you like your eggs in the morning?"
"Unfertilized."

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

That's easy. It was my first date with Stella de la Belladonna. When I went to pick her up at her house, the whole family was there and I was introduced one by one. There was her mother Do\tilde{n}a Donna, and her sisters Lisa, Mona, Gioconda, and Ingrid. Along with the introductions were a lot of these subtle criticisms about my dirty t-shirt and jeans, about my untrimmed beard, about my long hair and about my feet on the furnature. They asked me where I would take her and I suggested we snag some Chinese takeout and head back to my pad. However, the scowl on her face indicated that she was in no mood for noodles. So I said we'd eat Italian at Momma Yolanda's. At dinner I told her I didn't think much of her family on account of how critical they were. Although she didn't say anything, from the look on her face I could see that they made her angry too. Then came the bill. Surprise! I hadn't budgetted for such a fancy restaurant so Stella had to help out with most of it. When I took her back to her house, I started pulling off her blouse, but she struggled free and ran inside. What a lousy date.

 

[turbo]

Probably my worst (in some respects) was my first date with my wife of 34 years. I picked her up at her apartment, and we headed to the State Fair on my motorcycle. I got a flat tire, removed the wheel and left her with the bike while I trudged around trying to find some place open on a late Saturday afternoon that could repair an inner-tube. I found a gas station that had hand-tools and patching supplies, and the guy (who had to watch the pumps) charged me a little for the use of the tools and supplies. I got back to the bike (and my new girlfriend, who was none-too-pleased about the long wait) and we went to the Fair for a bit, looking at exhibits, displays, etc (stuff that didn't cost anything beyond the admission tickets) because I was really low on money. When it was getting dark, we headed back to Solon and in the darkness, I didn't see the porcupine in the road until it was too late. I couldn't avoid him, so I slowed as much as possible and hit him square in the middle. My new GF grabbed me pretty tightly when I braked, which worked out pretty well, since we both managed to stay centered on the bike, and I kept it under control. When I dropped her off at her place, she didn't invite me in or indicate that she might like to see me again. Luckily, I'm a persistent cuss.

 

[Topher925]

Have you ever been sitting down talking with someone and just thought to yourself, "it would be awesome if a meteorite fell from space and obliterated my skull right now"? That was what my last first date was like. This girl would not use words smaller than 4 syllables and was ridiculously pretentious and conceited, and that says a lot coming from me. It took her 20 minutes just to tell me she didn't like tuna fish and explain her philosophical reasoning behind it. The best part is that it took 2 hours to find a restaurant "suitable to her standards".

 

[FireSky86]

I just turned 23 and I am still a college student. I haven't been out on a date in over a year.

What does that say about me?

 

[Pengwuino]

I just turned 23 and I am still a college student. I haven't been out on a date in over a year.

What does that say about me?

That you're a grad student?

 

[FireSky86]

That you're a grad student?

Not even close. I'm on the 6 year college plan of a 4 year degree. Transferring schools from different states has messed me up credit wise. Imagine transferring from New York to Georgia and only one or two class credits count. Sucks.

Maybe I just don't like people I guess. Being hard of hearing since birth could be a reason for it. Or it could be a reason for being such a whiner.

Would any of you resort to dating websites? I haven't.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

I took a girl out for coffee and we just sat and talked. She told me that she had several near death experiences. I was startled. I told her that a friend of mine had a near death experience too and asked her about hers. She said on one such occasion she had a ticket for a flight and just missed the flight which happened to crash and all the passengers had died. And there was apparently some safari she had been on where a rhinocerous had charged the truck and luckly they were able to out run it.
I explained to her that these were not what were generally referred to as near death experiences. She asked what I meant so I told her about my friend who had been stabbed in the chest with a 13" dagger and had died on the table at the hospital where he had visions of going to the other side. She didn't seem to see much of a qualitative difference.
So we played some chess. I won three games in a row fairly easily and suddenly she had to leave. We never talked again after that.

 

[En_lizard]

i never had a date let alone a worst one.

 

[Pengwuino]

She said on one such occasion she had a ticket for a flight and just missed the flight which happened to crash and all the passengers had died. And there was apparently some safari she had been on where a rhinocerous had charged the truck and luckly they were able to out run it.
I explained to her that these were not what were generally referred to as near death experiences. She asked what I meant so I told her about my friend who had been stabbed in the chest with a 13" dagger and had died on the table at the hospital where he had visions of going to the other side. She didn't seem to see much of a qualitative difference.

What exactly do you call those kinds of situations? Like the missing a plane flight that crashes or walking out of a building right before it explodes or crazy stuff like that? Any cool technical term? haha, other then "coincidence".

 

[phyzmatix]

...I had injured my knee that evening while jumping over a chair at my dorm...

As you do!

 

[phyzmatix]

My worst was when I was still in high school, it wasn't so much the date that sucked as the conclusion.

I was busy saying goodbye to this girl and back then I had this habit of adjusting my height to that of the girl I was talking to by spreading my legs accordingly (the shorter she was, the wider I spread 'em, you can see where this is going).

Long story short, her little sister (she must've been about 6/7) came out to see who the strange guy was and simply couldn't resist, so I ended my date with a completely unexpected and undeserved run-up kick in the fork!

That was also the end of that particular habit!

 

[tgt]

i never had a date let alone a worst one.

You might have.

How would people define to be a date?

 

[zoobyshoe]

I explained to her that these were not what were generally referred to as near death experiences.

Call me introspective, but I find there to be something particularly depressing about that kind of error.

 

[zoobyshoe]

My worst was when I was still in high school, it wasn't so much the date that sucked as the conclusion.

I was busy saying goodbye to this girl and back then I had this habit of adjusting my height to that of the girl I was talking to by spreading my legs accordingly (the shorter she was, the wider I spread 'em, you can see where this is going).

Long story short, her little sister (she must've been about 6/7) came out to see who the strange guy was and simply couldn't resist, so I ended my date with a completely unexpected and undeserved run-up kick in the fork!

That was also the end of that particular habit!

Did you ever date that girl again?

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Call me introspective, but I find there to be something particularly depressing about that kind of error.

You mean that people are not informed about the NDE phenomenon, or that we are? ;-p

I exaggerate when I say that she didn't see the difference. I'm fairly certain she was just trying to cover for her lack of knowledge by saying she thought they both fell under the NDE umbrella. Or perhaps she felt I was diminishing her experiences.

 

[phyzmatix]

Did you ever date that girl again?

Well, it wasn't her fault that her little sis decided to have a go so we did see each other a couple more times after that, but it didn't last long (that relationship was destined to fail )

 

[Kamie]

I met a guy at gym, pestered me for a while to go on a date with him...finally decided to give it a try...real hottie...pretty slow on the uptake though, as I discovered during the date. But to conclude a rather boring experience...a rather nasty surprise. All ended with him saying, "can u get the bill cos I don't have any cash on me"...<gag>...haven't seen that fool ever again.LOL

 

[zoobyshoe]

You mean that people are not informed about the NDE phenomenon, or that we are? ;-p

I exaggerate when I say that she didn't see the difference. I'm fairly certain she was just trying to cover for her lack of knowledge by saying she thought they both fell under the NDE umbrella. Or perhaps she felt I was diminishing her experiences.

I have the feeling she would have no problem believing her hair was having an Out-of-Body experience when she ran out of hair conditioner.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Well, it wasn't her fault that her little sis decided to have a go so we did see each other a couple more times after that, but it didn't last long (that relationship was destined to fail )

I would feel weird going back after a family member attacked me. Or the family dog, for that matter. On the other hand I might go back until the opportunity for the little sister to have an "accident" occurred: "Whoops! I accidentally squirted that whole tube of superglue and now Janie's glued to the chair!"

 

[phyzmatix]

I would feel weird going back after a family member attacked me. Or the family dog, for that matter. On the other hand I might go back until the opportunity for the little sister to have an "accident" occurred: "Whoops! I accidentally squirted that whole tube of superglue and now Janie's glued to the chair!"

 

[Moonbear]

You mean that people are not informed about the NDE phenomenon, or that we are? ;-p

I exaggerate when I say that she didn't see the difference. I'm fairly certain she was just trying to cover for her lack of knowledge by saying she thought they both fell under the NDE umbrella. Or perhaps she felt I was diminishing her experiences.

Or maybe she did know what the difference was, but considered the type of NDE you meant to be total hogwash and at that point decided you were a big flake for believing your friend's story and wanted out fast. That's the sort of topic where you just have no idea what the other person might be thinking as you're discussing it. Here's a rule of thumb...avoid talking about death on a first date.

 

[skeptic2]

Being hard of hearing since birth could be a reason for it.

I read somewhere that it was embarrassing for Thomas Edison and his wife to be in public because she always had to shout at him. He eventually taught her Morse Code and what to others was a sweet couple holding hands was actually a private conversation, each one tapping out messages to the other in code.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Or maybe she did know what the difference was, but considered the type of NDE you meant to be total hogwash and at that point decided you were a big flake for believing your friend's story and wanted out fast. That's the sort of topic where you just have no idea what the other person might be thinking as you're discussing it. Here's a rule of thumb...avoid talking about death on a first date.

She brought up the topic.
My friend has a giant scar on his chest from surgery due to the puncture in his lung and absolutely believes that he went to the other side. I never declared any belief that he actually went there myself. I only related the story as something she might find interesting.
So women don't like to hear interesting stories in line with the topics they bring up?
No wonder I think women are crazy. ;-p

 

[misgfool]

Ah, my worst first date...

So what did you do at the breakfast? Slap him in the face and call him pig?

 

[lisab]

So what did you do at the breakfast? Slap him in the face and call him pig?

You know, I didn't even really catch on to what was happening at first...guess I'm a bit slow on the uptake for such things. Plus I was pretty young. So I didn't really do anything - I didn't know the proper way to handle such a situation...which I believe is to smile, dump a glass of orange juice on his head, and leave after a few choice words.

 

[misgfool]

You know, I didn't even really catch on to what was happening at first...guess I'm a bit slow on the uptake for such things. Plus I was pretty young. So I didn't really do anything - I didn't know the proper way to handle such a situation...which I believe is to smile, dump a glass of orange juice on his head, and leave after a few choice words.

Another great aspect of OJ, versatility.

 

[Vanadium 50]

I didn't know the proper way to handle such a situation...

The proper way is to make disparaging comments about his manhood and his sexual prowess.

 

[Moonbear]

She brought up the topic.
My friend has a giant scar on his chest from surgery due to the puncture in his lung and absolutely believes that he went to the other side. I never declared any belief that he actually went there myself. I only related the story as something she might find interesting.
So women don't like to hear interesting stories in line with the topics they bring up?
No wonder I think women are crazy. ;-p

No, I mean she might have thought she was bringing up the topic she was actually discussing...the near miss types of experiences. When you started talking about someone thinking they went to the "other side", she may have just assumed you believed it was true to share it and interrupt her story with what she viewed as a completely different topic.

But, yeah, she's the one who started the topic of death...I wasn't directing that comment specifically to you, just a general caution that it's probably not a particularly good topic for a first date. Her choice of topic was weird too.

 

[Moonbear]

The proper way is to make disparaging comments about his manhood and his sexual prowess.

Yep, pretty much. Unfortunately, when you have such a jaw-dropping experience, it's sometimes difficult to think of that needed witty retort when you need it. You end up smacking your palm to your forehead on the way home, thinking, "THAT'S what I should have done!"

 

[Kurdt]

You know, I didn't even really catch on to what was happening at first...guess I'm a bit slow on the uptake for such things. Plus I was pretty young. So I didn't really do anything - I didn't know the proper way to handle such a situation...which I believe is to smile, dump a glass of orange juice on his head, and leave after a few choice words.

A swift knee to the wedding veg would probably have been acceptable as well.

 

[dlgoff]

That's funny because I also took this girl to a mongolian place for lunch but she never called me back.

You dated Evo?