Op-Ed
Singing Praises
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Don’t Miss Out
April 12, 2007 - 1:18amEvery girl at Cornell secretly dreams of dating an a cappella guy. It’s true. There is something effeminately attractive about a man who can sing. Maybe it’s his understated security with his manhood. Maybe it’s that we subconsciously hope he’ll get up at Open Mic night, fix his eyes on us in the audience and say, “This one’s for you, baby.” I don’t know. What I do know is that, when I managed to score a date with one on Saturday night, I was elated. The perks of writing this column are endless.
An a cappella friend of mine, knowing my fetish for musical men, passed my number along to one of his singing buddies who blindly (but confidently) called me on Friday afternoon.
“If you’ll let me,” he said suavely, “I’d like to take you out on Saturday night.” That was it: he’d just dubbed himself The Charmer (TC). Needless to say, I had little trouble accepting such a polite offer, and quietly hoped for an after-dinner serenade.
All potential blind-date tension was eliminated when TC arrived at my house the following night and immediately addressed the situation head-on: “It’s slightly awkward that we’re doing this, right?” He smiled and I laughed. “O.K., just making sure.”
My roommate, who was eavesdropping from the TV room, gave me the “ooh he’s cute!” eyebrow raise. Apparently I wasn’t the only one falling for this guy’s self-assured charm.
TC and I drove down to Ithaca Ale House, the relatively new American-style café in the Commons. On the way, he initiated some chit-chat about “how my day was,” and by the time we reached the restaurant, our date already began to feel not-so-blind.
Inside, Ithaca Ale House took on the feel of a downtown New York City hipster café. The bar was overflowing with couples and singles enjoying the dozens of beers on tap. We followed the host to our table for two in the back.
On blind dates in the past, I’ve often used the menu as a handy conversation piece to avoid awkward silence. I’d talk about the appetizers and pretend to be indecisive, hoping that the meal-choosing process would incite a healthy flow of dialogue. With TC, however, there was no need for such shenanigans. Our conversations flowed just fine; so well, in fact, that we hadn’t yet opened our menus when the waitress came to take our order.
My premature comfort with TC struck me when I asked him, mid-conversation, if I had food stuck in my teeth. At that point I wondered what made this particular date so relaxed. Were we a match made in heaven or was this guy just a dating stud? As dinner progressed, I realized it was probably the latter. TC could have hit it off with Marla Hooch on a date; he was simply that engaging. But I’m a sucker and soaked in every minute of his charm nonetheless.
The festive atmosphere at Ithaca Ale House, featuring live music in the background, perfectly complemented the casual tone of our date. The menu — consisting of appetizers, sandwiches, salads and specialty pizzas — also fit our light-hearted mood.
TC and I started with the mini crab cake appetizer, which I highly recommend. We then moved on to share two entrees, both delicious: a specialty pizza topped with tomato, basil, prosciutto, arugula, grilled vegetables and goat cheese; and the Ancho Chicken Salad, with fresh greens, avocado, tomato, jicama and roasted corn with a chipolte citrus vinaigrette.
What I love most about this hip little joint is its effort to pair beers on tap with certain dishes on the menu. If you’re a sampler like me, you can opt for a “flight” of five different brews. My personal favorite was the Flight of Wheats, featuring Blue Moon, Purple Haze, Flying Dog, Ithaca Apricot and Magic Hat #9. I’d never known before that beer can be formally tasted like wine, rather than guzzled from a can. What a fabulous discovery. I highly recommend stopping into the Ale House for a flight sometime.
TC and I finished up and walked to his car, where he revealed a bottle of wine that was miraculously stashed in the back seat. “Just in case the date went well and deserved an extension,” he said. A bit cheesy, yes, but his tactic worked. I invited him back for a glass of wine — maybe two — and then sent him home. He may not have scored any bedroom action (it’s a date column not a sex column), but he did get an old-fashioned goodnight kiss.
TC’s failure to serenade me was a slight letdown. But, I’ll admit, belting out a song may have been semi-awkward for him in a public restaurant. I’ll be attending his Spring Fever concert next Friday, though. Maybe TC will fix his eyes on me in the audience and say, “This one’s for you, baby.”
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 appears alternate Thursdays.