He might have a big sexy bulge (in the wallet pocket) and a short life-expectancy  (his high animal diet suggests that).  She may be acting in a very cunning way here ...

Save the world: Reduce greenhouse gas emissions 5% annually.

Note the very end of the article:

"When a guy sits down and eats something fatty and big, you wonder if they eat like that all the time," said Brice Gaillard, a freelance design writer. "It crosses my mind they'll probably die early."

Although that was in the context of suggesting men must publicly adhere to a different diet ("Real men...must eat kale") than women. Mmm, prescribed gender rolls roles...delicious.

Does it bother anyone else that the article's title refers to women in their thirties as "girls"?

"Does it bother anyone else that the article's title refers to women in their thirties as 'girls'?"

I'd refer to any woman who acted that way as a "girl." And I'm only 25.

Though I'm not dating anymore, I'd rather have a woman who is adventurous and wants to try new things than someone who sticks with something boring and bland. (Most steaks in restaurants are from factory farms and taste like, well, nothing.)

I'm glad I'm not dating these days, since the idea of being genuine is so old fashioned. It seems more like peacocks strutting around trying to impress each other than people trying to get to know someone.

Don't you eat sharks or something?

I once ordered a salad on a date only to have the young man in question inform me that he wouldn't judge me if I wanted to order something more substantial.

Nice try buddy. I just wanted the salad.

Great post, Kate!

I can't stand women that just pick at a salad... Eat something for god sake...

Steak would have been a hard thing to handle during my first date with my wife. It was a Lynnard Skynnard and Styx concert.

I think that a woman who is engaging and fun to be around is more important than what is on her plate that night.

So, we're dealing with a salad, nuts, and fruits crowd here.  Oh well, have fun, and watch those toxic dressings you've been using.  I suppose nobody here want a few bites of raw yellow fin tuna or raw prime beef fillet to go with that salad, right?  No octopus?  Oh well.

Beware the toxic dressings though, my friends.

Onward through the fog

In college it seems to be the exact opposite. Don't like seitan? Say goodbye to those hot vegan boys. If you want the skinny boys in college, vegan is the way to date.

Not that I believe in modifying my diet to get dates. If you pretend to like food you don't actually like, you are attracting men who are attracted to your act, not the real you.

Does anyone else find it alarming that the NYT and other respected papers make a habit of identifying trends based on skimpy anecdotal evidence?

In this article, we hear from a few individual daters:
Two women who attribute their dating success to ordering meat
One vegetarian who wonders if eating a burger might improve her dating success
One woman who doesn't want to be seen eating too much
One woman who doesn't just want to order the salad

And a few "experts":
"Restauarateurs and veterans of the dating scene" (This could mean anything from "I phoned the top 50 Zagat-rated restaurants for their take, and posted a poll on the top five online dating sites" to "I asked my single friends and someone I know from high school who runs a cafe.")
Wollensky & Smith's Concept VP (clearly an unbiased source, right?)
A dining editor from Time Out NY

Oh, and Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton have been seen eating burgers or professing their intent to eat same. Color me convinced!

Will the NYT commission me to write an article about how going vegetarian to stop global warming is a hot new trend? I promise it will be just as compellingly sourced.

I have to say that The New York Times story on women eating beef had some valid points, and brought back fond memories of one of my first dates with my future husband, about 7 years ago. He took me to Les Halles, where the menu is, you guessed it, beef and more beef, and I ordered, you guessed it, my favorite then and now...prime rib! At one point, it was clear that I would have to pick up said beef in order to fully enjoy the bone, primitive though this may have appeared. I debated briefly whether this would turn off my date, but quite the contrary, he concluded from my actions that I was an independent, take charge kind of woman. Would this have happened had I picked up a piece of quiche and wolfed it down sans fork? Who's to say...but my decision to wolf down the prime rib in this case was a true reflection of me, and had nothing to do with impressing him.  

Beef is not my favorite although I like it for a change every now and then, and in very small portions.  What's the deal with expecting people to eat 16 onces of red meat or even more?  It's hard on the liver and takes forever to digest.  In fact, folks with compromised immune systems are advised to avoid red meat.  But I still like it occasionally.

You mentioned the French ... some Vietnamese recipes were heavily influenced by the French but they could make any meat go a long way.  They're pretty good at balance of taste, heat (watch the peppers!), starches, fruits, and vegetables.  A bowl of Pho (noodle soup) might only have a few teensy pieces of meat in it, but is good with me.  Na Trang, mainly seafood in soup with Chinese spinach, is my favorite, though.  The pineapple makes it somehow very special.  /sammie

Onward through the fog

Even the author of this tripe seemed a bit annoyed - perhaps it was forced on him by his editor (who's lover owns a steak joint)?

Pathetic indeed but I can guarantee there are women in NY right now testing the (bloody) waters, simply because of those three little words: date, proposal, wedding.

Isn't anyone else bothered by the false dichotomy presented by the NYT article, Grist commentary and subsequent posts?  It's not as though the only choices are elfish-waif-vegan-in-a-hemp-skirt or obsessive-man-chasing-beef-eater.  I'm vegan and I honestly don't eat that much salad.  It's great on the side with a savoury nut roast or tofu quiche entrée, but I love food too much to subsist on leaves alone.  So I don't.  On a side note, I don't have that much trouble at restaurants.  Could just be that I'm a college student so my friends aren't really in a financial state to blow a ton of money at a steak house, but by and large I have no problem with someone else choosing where we eat.

My main point is that the snarkish criticism and side-taking doesn't help anything.  We're all just doing what we can.  I happen to forgo animal products.  If that's not a good option for you, no biggie. But what the heck does either choice have to do with finding someone to love?

Cheers,
Keaty

Well, said. The false dichotomy thing was my first thought when I read the article in the Times.  Vegetarian food runs the specrum between salads on the light side and more hearty fare.  I've rarely just ordered a salad at a restaurant.  

Interesting that in the UK, news articles have described how eager people are to show off their eco-friendliness in order to attract mates. Wish the same could be said in NY City.  At any rate, I've never had a man express disapproval of my my veggie diet. And if a man did give you a hard time for having a vegetarian/vegan diet diet, I think that should give a woman signals that he's not the most open-minded and tolerant of people.

I thought this was an insanely sexist article.  I mean, really, in 2007 we're still supposed to be either picking at salads or going all out just to prove we don't pick at salads?  I'm just sick of everybody thinking that what a woman eats is a topic for general conversation.  How about eating what you like?  And I bet steak and salad aren't the only things on the menu.

Personally, I try to pick an original spot where the food is remarkable enough to spark the conversation.  If your potential date mentions they've never tried Ethiopian food, why not go out for some doro wat?  If you're using food to learn about someone's personality, wouldn't you rather gauge things like how adventurous they are or how much joy they take in delicious new dishes?  Come on, people, you're in New York, live a little!