What Do You Eat to Celebrate the Joy of Dining Alone?
In the first half of February, food sites are awash with romantic dinners for two, but in many ways eating with another person is overrated. In addition to worrying about what’s in your teeth, you need to predict how the food will make you feel (or smell). It’s a little tiring, so eating alone on Valentine’s Day is actually sort of a rule.
Not only can you prepare food according to your requirements, but you can also abuse the discounts and discounts on wine, steaks, lobsters and any other “love” products that hit the market. (Get your chocolate the next day, though. A consistent chocolate sale is unbeatable.) I believe that everyone has a collection of foods they’d rather enjoy away from prying eyes, and we’ve put together ours to share with you.
Lots of popcorn bags
I prefer not so much lunch as a bag (or two) microwave popcorn with garlic powder and Parmesan cheese. Yes, of course, from a bag so I can lick the oil off my hands when I’m done. Dessert!
Alicia Adamchik , Personal Finance Writer
Craft Dinner
My ideal food alone is Kraft Macy Cheese for several key reasons. First, I hate cold or hot mac and cheese, so I always have to eat everything in one sitting. No excuses. Already now, for one, this is the perfect pleasure. Second, there is nothing romantic about that fake cheese pack that comes with a light mac. It’s a mess. Yummy. When you add it to butter and milk drenched noodles, you feel like you are three years old. Third, the haters will hate, and I’m sure there are many people who will judge a 34-year-old man from time to time for succumbing to the most elementary taste. So I do it on my own time and leave the trendier lunch for the dates. Anyone want Olive Garden breadsticks? I am treating.
David Murphy, Senior Technical Editor
Stacks of (cheese) on stacks of (other things)
I prefer to dine at home with a girl – these are variations of “something apart”. Instead of deciding or trying to make something pretty, I take some bread or crackers along with whatever I might need – pickled vegetables, good olives, hummus, cheese, meat, avocados, and whatever else I want. spread based on carbohydrates and have a snack. From there, I can graze however I want without having to make my little forest of cans and containers on the table presentable. Also, I love the solo plate of cheese and crackers. I like pretty smelling cheeses and I usually want them all for myself, so it’s best to eat alone.
Virginia K. Smith, Managing Editor
Garlic steak dinner
While I love cheese and all pickled dishes, if I really want to celebrate the joy of being alone, I treat myself to a retro-style steak. I take a very large rib, sprinkle it with oil and serve it with a wedge salad (with lots of red onions), loaded with baked potatoes, and a whole head of fried garlic for mashed potatoes and steak. Buying a steak for one means you can buy the more expensive steak, eat it all, and not worry about it being too full (or too garlic) for other activities together. Oh, and I usually enjoy a bottle of wine alone. Offclair doesn’t drink, but I still don’t like to share.
Claire lowe, food and beverage editor
Extreme Butter Noodles
I prefer the cottage cheese solo noodles. I felt sad just typing this. This is what I ate as a kid – I may have given up on anything other than that, sometimes with hot dogs – and it remains satisfying and soothing. I will not offer a RED DOT of ketchup because it will be OAR! I also identify very deeply with David’s description of mac and cheese, except that I am a 34-year-old man.
Melissa Kirsch, Editor-in-Chief
Stinking fish
My wife and I eat almost everything, but she hates it when I cook salmon in the house. Tilapia passes by, but the salmon fills the place with their fishy stench until morning. So this is my secret one-time lunch to make when she’s out of town. I even have to take out the trash before she comes back.
Nick Douglas, staff writer
Dirty wings
I prefer a lot of one-off meals, but my favorite is the table for one in this Korean chicken wing restaurant (hello to Bong Chun, this is life changing). I order a twelve-piece lunch. It is VERY difficult to eat well and my hands look like I’ve escaped a crime scene. I will never take my partner there if I want to retain some attractive qualities.
Josh okempo, staff writer
Taco Bell
Taco Bell, one. I’m not ashamed that Caesarito is my comfort food, but I know it’s best not to expect others to feel the same way.
Beth Skorecki, Health Editor
Forbidden Thai food
I am traveling for one person – Pad See Ew because my Filipino boyfriend is outraged by the popularity of Thai food in America, so when he leaves I take the opportunity to order some spicy Thai noodles.
Joel Kahn, Senior Video Producer
More craft plus pizza with anchovies
Craft-style shitty macaroni and cheese. My boyfriend is totally against the orange Mac. I especially like Aldi CHEESE CLUB. Anchovy pizza up there. I turned my ex to the anchovy pizza lifestyle, but my current partner is holding on. It turns out that when you grow up on a boat and eat only the freshest, recently dead fish, less and less is quite unpleasant.
A.A. Newton, author of Skillet
What’s your favorite anti-romantic food? How do you enjoy eating alone? Does it contain a lot of garlic? It seems to me that it should contain a lot of garlic.