Op-Ed
A Pleasant Surprise
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Don't Miss Out
March 30, 2007 - 12:00amOn Wednesday night I had a date lined up with someone whom we’ll call The Scum Bag (TSB). Several days prior, I heard him talking to his cronies about how many girls he’d macked on Spring Break, and I immediately thought about my column. This guy, I thought, would certainly add some spice to the restaurant/date series. So I asked him out. At first he was thrilled by the idea of a review, which I swore would remain anonymous. But, just a few hours before our scheduled dinner plans, TSB called and canceled. That scum bag.
There I was, left with a reserved table for two, a nearing deadline and no date. I had to quickly recalculate my options. Who on earth would accept a dinner offer just one hour in advance, and with the date critic no less? I could conceive of only one answer: a younger guy. The one thing I had going for me at that desperate moment was my age. I figured younger dudes would willingly accept a date with an older woman, even under these frenetic circumstances.
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So, I begrudgingly found myself a spry freshman boy to accompany me to dinner. Due to our age gap, The Younger Guy (TYG) had one strike against him from the start. For many college women, “going younger” is as reprehensible as the clap. And though I like to consider myself open-minded, that stigma was admittedly difficult to shake.
I quickly suggested a venue, for fear that TYG would insist on Mongo Wok at RPCC for dinner. “How about Asian Noodle House on Dryden?” I asked. It’s close to campus, and they take City Bucks. Perfect. TYG happily complied.
I offered to pick him up from his dorm on North Campus, but he insisted on getting a ride to my house in Collegetown. Plus one for TYG. He arrived at my door wearing an adorable sports jacket, a sweater and jeans. Plus two! He was already redeeming himself. I still had my doubts about whether we’d be able to sustain a dinner conversation without getting sloshed. After all, he’s fresh out of high school, and I’ll be a college has-been come May. But, the date was already starting to look up.
We walked over to Asian Noodle House at 204 Dryden Rd., stomachs growling. It was 9:15 p.m. but the casual college eatery was still relatively hopping. A frenzied waitress greeted us at the door and sat us by the window, where an overwhelming aroma of Asian spices filled the air.
TYG revealed his vegetarianism as we browsed the menu for several dishes to share. Minus one. But I couldn’t hold this against him for long, because his noble dietary habits were actually — strangely — attractive. So, we compromised: a spring roll to start, stir fried with mixed vegetables and wrapped with rice paper skin ($3.95). Then we shared two entrees: Pineapple Fried Rice, stir fried with onions, peas, carrot, pineapple, cashew nuts, egg and your choice of meat (we chose tofu, $7.95). We also split a delicious Thai Red Curry with Tofu, mixed with coconut milk, vegetables and basil ($9.95).
I was tempted to order my usual dish: their renowned Pad Thai noodle ($8.95). However, TYG insisted that we branch out for variety’s sake, and his alternative thinking paid off. Everything we ate was delectable and the portions overly generous. I even left with a nice sized goody-bag of leftovers, which my roommates gratefully devoured hours later. According to them, cold leftovers from Asian Noodle House might even be better than the hot dishes that get delivered to your table.
Thus, a meal at Asian Noodle House is like a two-for-one deal: dinner for now, drunken munchies for later. In addition to the fabulous food, you’ll never find faster service from a waitress who seems to run the place like a one-woman show. The only potential downfall is, unless your significant other enjoys a good Asian-spiced cologne, you’ll likely have to shower off those food fumes once you leave.
Although I’d expected stellar food from Asian Noodle House, I didn’t initially have such high hopes for TYG. As we conversed over dinner, I waited for him to crack an immature joke or begin a tirade about being deprived because freshman girls go for older guys. But he did no such thing. Instead, we talked about “real people” things, like classes, job hunting and spring break. Every now and then, TYG inserted an anecdote about the trials of pledging his fraternity, which reminded me just how long ago I did that myself. But all in all, I found that “going younger” was a pleasant surprise.
TYG even insisted on paying for this date, using City Bucks of course. Plus two more for TYG. He even insisted on walking me back to my house, where his buddy picked him up and drove him back to North Campus.
On my way home, I pondered the younger man stigma that TYG had managed to debunk on our enjoyable date. If freshman girls are going for the older guys, that leaves fewer guys for us “older women” to snatch. Maybe the solution to our dearth of men is picking up a TYG of our own. You never know, he cold be a pleasant surprise.
The Restauarant?
Asian Noodle House
Perfect for casual dining.
3 Stars
The Date?
The Younger Guy
A pleasant surprise.
3 stars
Missy Kurzweil is a senior in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She can be contacted at mek37@cornell.edu. Don’t Miss Out usually appears alternate Thursdays.