Not all great romances begin with love at first sight — some need time to develop. Take Melissa, 26, and Juan, 25. The two OkCupid members met offline for their Meet Market date at the kosher steakhouse Reserve Cut in the Financial District. They didn’t have hearts in their eyes at first glance, but over banter about global politics, the night ended on a high note for the young lady from Queens and the gentleman from Brooklyn.
She said:
My first thought about Juan: Cute, but maybe too cute. He was bearded and had thick-rimmed glasses, which is very Brooklyn. But he had me at his Velcro shoes, his homage to Jerry Seinfeld. I respect that — and find it incredibly endearing. The mood at Reserve Cut was jovial; the staff, very accommodating. On our second drink, Juan and I decided to compare notes on our Ok- Cupid profiles and came to the conclusion that they accurately represented our personalities.
Overall, we had a rollicking time and exchanged numbers. I’d be down to hang with him again. He made me laugh — how could I not?
He said:
All I knew about my date was her name: Melissa, which means “honey bee” in Greek.
Would she sting or be sweet like honey?
When she finally arrived, my first impression was she seemed like a woman you’d introduce to your parents. It warmed my heart when Melissa opted for a whiskey sour. That was my first drink of choice after becoming legal. As we sipped our drinks, the conversation started flowing. We talked about our mutual interests, then moved on to topics like China-West relations and Brazilian society. Our steaks arrived, and were cooked to perfection. Everything was going well, until Melissa, from Queens, told me my Jerry Seinfeld shoes were “very Brooklyn.” I wasn’t quite sure it was a compliment.
I would consider seeing Melissa again, but only if I was confident she could see past the shoes into my soul — hipsters need love, too!