Brooke and Jeffrey: Second Date Update - Second Date Update: Discount Dining

Episode Date: May 5, 2022

One of our listener's claims he has a fool-proof way of picking out the perfect restaurant for a date, while getting VIP treatment and a discount!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ugh, we're so done with New Year, New You. This year, it's more you on Bumble. More of you shamelessly sending playlists, especially that one filled with show tunes. More of you finding Gemini's because you know you always like them. More of you dating with intention because you know what you want. And you know what? We love that for you. Someone else will too. Be more you this year and find them on Bumble.

Joel, the holidays are a blast, but the financial hangover, that can be a huge bummer. If you are out there and you're dreading the new statement email that reveals the massive balance that you may have racked up, well, you could use our help. That's right. I'm Joel. And I am Matt. And we're from the How To Money podcast. Our show is all about helping you make sense of your personal finances so you can ditch your pesky credit card debt once and for all, make real progress on other crucial financial goals that you've got, and just feel more in control of your money in general. You know it. For money advice without the judgment and jargon, Listen to How to Money on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hi, I'm Ed Zitron, host of the Better Offline podcast. And this January, we're going to go on the road to beautiful Las Vegas, Nevada, to cover the Consumer Electronics Show, tech's biggest conference. Better Offline CES coverage won't be the usual rundown of the hottest gadgets or biggest trends, but an unvarnished look at what the tech industry plans to sell or do to you in 2025.

I'll be joined by David Roth of Defector and the writer Edward Ongueso Jr. With guest appearances from Behind the Bastards Robert Evans, It Could Happen Here's Gare Davis, and a few surprise guests throughout the show. Listen to Better Offline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever else you get your podcasts from. Second Date Update When you're picking a restaurant for a first date, what criteria do you tend to look for? Depends on the date. No fluorescent lighting. Yeah, I mean, are you looking for a place with a nice atmosphere, a romantic setting? Do you look for a spot that does live music and entertainment?

Do you look for someplace that has a dollar menu and toys with the meals? Depends on the person, I'm telling you. I saw two seven-year-olds in big wheels pulling through the drive-thru the other day. It was so romantic. That's cute. Hopefully they go out again. But it's different for everybody. And one of our listeners, Matthew, sent us an email

asking for help. And in it, he said he has a very unique and genius way of choosing where to take his dates. So I'm excited to hear it and maybe learn something useful. Matthew, welcome to the show, my friend. Hey, guys, thanks for having me. Yeah, we'll get to your date strategy in just a second. But first, tell us about who we're going to be calling today and where'd you meet her? We're calling Julia. Uh-huh. And we met on the dating app Hinge. Okay.

Okay. I'm not familiar with that one. That one's my favorite one. That's your favorite? You like it more than Bumble? I do. Why? You can see the most personality in people.

It's not just pictures. Okay. Oh, I should get on Hinge. Wait, wait. How do you put your personality onto a dating app? And you like personality? Well, I can see the most personality in people. It's not just pictures. Okay. Oh, I should get on it. Wait, wait. How do you put your personality onto a dating app? And you like personality? Well, I can see if they're boring. Okay.

All right. Matthew, what do you think? Why do you like Hinge? Yeah, no, I agree with her. That's the reason I like it is because it makes you answer questions about yourself. So you can kind of tell a lot more about a person, I think, than some of the other apps. Okay. And what could you tell about Julia?

Well, one fun thing is that they make you do three truths and a lie. And I knew her lie right away. It said her favorite animal was a peacock, which is nonsense. That's nobody's favorite animal. I don't know. They're beautiful.

They are beautiful, but name one person you know that's their favorite animal. I don't think I question people enough on that one. I'm not skeptical when I ask somebody, what's your favorite animal? And they say gorilla. Oh, you liar. No, it's not. But wait.

There's no way. You were right, though. Julia hates peacocks or something? It's not that she hates them, but that was her life. It was not her favorite animal. Okay. I mean, that's a good start to your relationship if you're already able to call her on her BS. Exactly. I mean, obviously you guys started off with a good connection. What did you guys end up doing for your date? We met at a

restaurant, a Greek restaurant to have dinner. Okay. And how did you choose that place? Because you said you have a unique way of choosing. Yes, I do have a unique way of picking a restaurant and sadly i think maybe this was my downfall with her one thing i do is i wait until the restaurant has experienced like a problem like a public foodborne illness or something what the heck no just hear me out hear me out okay i wait because, one, the lines are always shorter. For a reason. True, yeah, for a reason. Right.

But two, the kitchen is going to be immaculate and on their best behavior because they just got in trouble. Because the health department was just there. You hope, but that's why restaurants get shut down all the time. They do get warnings they get more and then they don't follow up on the warnings and then they get shut down by the health department well yeah i don't go when they are shut down though i wait until they're cleared and reopened and then i go oh my god yeah you see it but you said it may be your downfall please tell me this didn't backfire for julia was there like a big f on the front door before you walked in from the health department?

No, they had a passing grade, which I thought was good. Honorable. Oh, I would have been like, oh, passing grade. This place is not good enough for me. So wait, what happened? What went wrong? Well, they brought out our entrees and then it came up like, how did I pick this place? Because we were having a nice time.

So you told her? I did. I told her. did i told her i worked in a restaurant that had like mice run on the food line and we didn't even get shut down so to get shut down scares me matthew do you want to know the name of that restaurant just in case future date second date yeah you can give that to me off the air when we're done all right we'll have alexis write it down you. That's a lot of information to give Julia on a first date.

Not only is she now scared to eat the food, had you already eaten at that point, or had you not? We were in mid-meal when it came up, and I should have thought twice about it. It just kind of happened naturally. She probably dropped her fork. Did she stop eating? She did slow

down pretty hard. To break? So, yes. Okay. Ouch. Oh, man. And then I'd just be sitting there scared. Like, am I going to get food poisoning in 30 minutes?

You start thinking you're sick. Yeah. And it's not that you're cheap because it's like the same price. Yeah. Well, no. Actually, I mean, to be fair, they had to flash the prices a little bit. No! To get people in the door.

I got it. Discount first date. It discount first date gas station sushi were you able to get the date back on track after revealing that to her um i mean we changed the subject and i thought we had a good time but at the end of the night she got into her uber and she kind of left in a hurry yeah i mean you could see where that'd be a red flag i mean you obviously know that maybe you shouldn't have brought that up on the first date. I mean, I guess so. But we did have immaculate and exceptional service. We had like three waiters at our table basically the whole time. There was nothing else for them to do. They had nothing to do. Yeah. No one else was there. There may be a reason.

I don't know. It could be something else. So that's why I was calling you guys. I was hoping we could find it out and maybe you guys could help me get an answer from her. I feel like this is more of a health and welfare check than it is a... Yeah, who knows? She may have gotten something and that's why she left in such a hurry. Are you guys going to be shocked if we call her and she's like, oh, I loved the cheap discounted Greek food. That wasn't it at all. I'm going to be shocked.

We'll find out. Let's play a song. We'll come back. We'll call Julia for you and we'll try and get you a second date update, all right? Great. Thank you so much, guys. Okay, hold on. Second date update.

If you go to a restaurant and you see a little sign up in the window giving it a D rating, remember, that D stands for date worthy. No, it does not. Hey, D equals diploma, too. That's right. Means you're going to pass. At least it does for one of our listeners, Matthew. He recently went out with a woman named Julia and took her out for dinner.

And in the middle of the meal, he told her about his unique method for choosing where to eat. He purposely seeks out places that have been shut down recently for health violations. Because when they reopen, they have no wait time. The chefs in the kitchen are on their best behavior and the food is sometimes even offered at a discount. After sharing all that information with Julia, she kind of lost her appetite and ended up leaving shortly afterwards. So now he's reached out to us asking for help. And I'm wondering, Matthew, did you ask our morning show for help because we have a D safety rating and we just reopened?

Well, you guys did say that D stands for diploma, but also for delicious, right? Okay. There we go. You know, I actually think that this could work out for you because we are her security blanket because we will give you guys a date at a restaurant that has a good rating with the health department. At the end of this, she can't say no to that. Oh, I thought you guys were giving gift cards and I could use it at any place that I wanted to. No. It's normally like a... No, man.

Definitely not for you. You stop going to these places. Yes. I'm sure we can find a spot that was recently shut down and get you a gift card there, though. No, let's not do that. If you really want to. I'm willing to help our listeners out. Oh, my God.

It's just a mild case of Giardia. It's fine. Yeah. All right. So, you ready to do this, Matthew? I'm about to dial Julia's phone number. Sounds great. Let's go.

Okay. Let's do it. Hello? Hi. I'm looking for Julia julia yeah this is she all right all right good nice and healthy my name is jeffrey i'm calling from the radio show brooke and jeffrey in the morning how you doing today oh um well you know i'm good but you said you're a radio station? Uh-huh. We're a show. Yeah. A station. Well, we are the station, let's be honest. I like that confidence, Jeffrey.

I like that. You're not management if you're listening. Yeah. But we do a segment on our show called The Second Date Update. Have you ever heard of that before? You know, now that I think of it, I have a friend, I think, who likes those segments. Oh, good. So somebody emailed us after they went out with you.

His name's Matthew. Ugh, yeah, I know who he is. Okay. What was that ugh? Well. Oh, I heard that. Matthew told us a little bit about your date together, and he admits that he may have made a couple mistakes.

Just about the possible salmonella that you may have gotten from the restaurant. I mean. What Brooke's talking about is that he shared with us his strategy for choosing a restaurant. And he said he told you about it during the date, too, where he's trying to pick out places that have recently been shut down for health violations. Oh, yeah. Yeah, he told me about that. And, you know, the thing about it was the timing he picked to tell me. It was like when our entrees came out and we were in the middle of eating our food.

I know. You think you have like a bomb in your stomach that's going to go off later? I think he just felt connected to you, though. And he wanted to share and be 100% honest with you and have a nice moment. Yeah, Jeff, I like that. Not everything needs shared. I mean, he knows that it was a mistake. That's the thing, Julia.

He knows he shouldn't have told you. He feels like that he does this often, and it's a very safe practice, according to him. I mean, do you really think it was a mistake? Because I got the feeling that this was not going to be the last time he did that. Well, he said he's done it a lot. It might be the last time he does it if you end up together. No, I don't think so. Well, you can appreciate a man.

You can appreciate a man who's good with money. He thinks these things through. He has a plan. Like, it may not be the best plan, but at least he has a plan. Remember, he eats at these places, too. I mean, he's alive. He's healthy. No, but he doesn't drink at these places.

When he said that in the middle of the meal when our entrees came out, it all made sense. Like it all clicked because before when we sat down, he brought out his own silverware and he brought out his own little juice box and a travel cup. And I was like, yes. And I was like, what is all of this? And every time I asked about this weird stuff that he was bringing that he didn't bring any for me, he was like, oh, it's just a thing I do. Don't worry about it. What? Oh, that's why. He brought his own set of silverware and didn't have anything for you?

No. And then the entrees came out and he was like oh the food is really good don't you think and i was like yeah i guess it's okay it's fine and that's when he told me how he picked this restaurant oh my god that's weird man so was there anything redeeming about him or was that just too much no it got worse at the end of the meal when we were wrapping things up, he says, you know, I really like this place. I want to keep the crowds down. And he pulls out this fake plastic cockroach from his jacket pocket.

No. And he says, will you go into the kitchen and flip it into some of the food without the cook noticing and take a picture? Oh, my gosh. No. Now I do not like that. That's got to be a joke. Yeah, it's got to be something that he's trying to have a little bit Oh, my gosh. No. Now I do not like that. That's got to be a joke. Yeah, it's got to be something that he's trying to have a little bit of fun with you.

And then what are you going to do? Just walk into the back of a kitchen at a restaurant? Look the other way, please. I've got to slip this in and get a picture of it. Thanks for the euro. What was behind you? Nice kebab. You think he was being serious?

Yeah, I think he was serious because he went on to say, you know, I'll distract the chef and tell him it was an amazing meal while you do it. Oh, my God. Isn't it weird that I just can't get over the fact that someone would have the audacity to just walk into a restaurant kitchen? Just order takeout, dude. That is so weird. Maybe all those restaurants that have been shut down over the years was because of Matthew. Dude, seriously.

Just leaving these plants around oh my god man i need to know whether or not he was being serious and julia we have a way to find out because i need to let you know matthew's on the other line listening he wants to talk to you oh my god no cockroach boy you there i here. What's going on? Well, if you want to keep the lines down and the prices down, it couldn't hurt to snap a quick photo. That does hurt the business. Are you serious, man? Oh, wow. No, guys, I'm just joking.

I'm like, I'm not serious. I'm joking with her. I'm joking with you. I don't know. Man, your timing needs some work, dude. Because I am not able to get a read on you. And what are you doing? Just walking around with a fake cockroach in your coat, ready for the joke at all times?

No, it's in my jacket. And I don't understand why you bring silverware for yourself, but you don't bring it for her. Well, I told her I was quirky. I particularly like that silverware. It's more contoured to fit my hand. I will say a good fork in the hand feels so nice. I mean, Julia, Julia, wait, wait. I'm not joking.

Julia, things taste better when they're off of certain material. Do you agree with that? Brooke is high. I'm not. You guys seriously don't think it was because the place got shut down and that's why he wanted to bring his own utensils? That's exactly what I mean. That's where my mind goes. You're not going to get sick from the utensils.

You're going to get sick from the food. I mean, everybody knows that. Don't trust Brooke. She brings in like old cabbage and crawfish salad. I'm just saying. I get what he's saying. And I don't think that's a reason to hate on him, Julia. You know what?

Even if it was a joke, like I don't want that to be a first date. I felt like I was being punked if he wasn't being serious. Yeah, I agree. Matthew, I think you've really put yourself in a hole here. You need to talk to Julia and try and dig yourself out. All right. Well, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to, like, ruin our first date. I thought other than the cockroach bit, we had a pretty nice time. What? Is that true? I mean, it was a weird date and i i mean he's an okay

conversationalist and he's got a funny sense of humor but it was just too weird yeah but weird isn't always bad i'm just saying weird can be good like if you give weird another chance maybe weird grows on you i mean as long as you go out on a date with somebody and they're not sniffing their fingers that's a good thing that's date with somebody and they're not sniffing their fingers, that's a good thing. That's a good date. I actually agree with Jeffrey on that one. That's right, you weirdo. Thank you. What is wrong with you people?

What else do you guys need from me at this point? I need to ask you something, Julia, and that's would you be willing to go out on one more date with Matthew? We will pay for it and we'll make sure that it's at a place that has at least a B rating or higher. And we'll make sure they have nice silverware for you. Honestly, I think because of everything he did, you guys should just give me the gift card.

So I don't have to watch him bring his own silverware. You just you just haven't had the right spoon. Once you have the right spoon, you'll understand what Matthew's talking about. You want to know how I know you're getting old? Literally, yes. I'm just telling you. He's on to something.

I had the sweetest knife in my hand the other night. So, Matthew, man, I'm sorry. It sounds like she's not interested in seeing you again. Nah, bro. I could sorry. It sounds like she's not interested in seeing you again. I could bring you silverware. No. I don't think it matters anymore. Brooke and Jeffrey in the morning.

We're so done with new year, new you. This year, it's more you on Bumble. More of you shamelessly sending playlists, especially that one filled with show tunes. More of you finding Gemini's because you know you always like them. More of you dating with intention because you know what you want. And you know what? We love that for you. Someone else will too. Be more you this year and find them on Bumble.

Joel, the holidays are a blast, but the financial hangover, that can be a huge bummer. And find them on Bumble. How to Money podcast. Our show is all about helping you make sense of your personal finances so you can ditch your pesky credit card debt once and for all, make real progress on other crucial financial goals that you've got, and just feel more in control of your money in general. You know it. For money advice without the judgment and jargon, listen to How to Money on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Ed Zitron, host of the Better Offline podcast. And this January, we're going to go on the road to beautiful Las Vegas, Nevada, to cover the Consumer Electronics Show, tech's biggest conference. Better Offline CES coverage won't be the usual rundown of the hottest gadgets or biggest trends, but an unvarnished look at what the tech industry plans to sell or do to you in 2025.

I'll be joined by David Roth of Defector and the writer Edward Ongueso Jr. With guest appearances from Behind the Bastards Robert Evans, It Could Happen Here's Gare Davis, and a few surprise guests throughout the show. Listen to Better Offline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever else you get your podcasts from.