archivefood on a first date

This is it, then. It's official. It's getting hotter, you can smell barbecues and you're never three metres away from someone with a Magnum hanging out of their mouth. It's summer. While you nibble on picnic food, drown your sunburn in aloe vera and endure weeks of barbecue-related food poisoning, don't let these 25 losers make things worse for you. This summer, you should never date a man who… 1. Wants to "try that latest pop-up place" he's just read about. Summer is ruined by these ironic "burger n spiralized mango" joints...

“Let’s meet for dinner. 7pm.” As statements go, it’s fairly innocuous. No hidden agenda, no gameplaying. As far as you’re concerned, you’ll be eating, chatting and maybe worrying internally about how much wine you can allow yourself on a school night. But transport that remark to the run-up to a first date, and I run for the hills, stomach churning with a dread normally reserved for statements like “The PIN you have entered is incorrect” or “And next on ITV2, a four-hour Katie Price reality show retrospective”. Going for dinner...