I picked the $12 diner coffee date over the $60 movie night and honestly I'd do it again

Drew Rivera · 2026-09-30T08:50:03.388196+00:00

Back when I was doing the online dating thing around 2019, I had two first dates lined up for the same weekend and only enough energy for one. Option A was this guy who wanted to meet at a fancy spot downtown, tickets and dinner, probably $60 each. Option B was a girl named Marisol who just said meet me at this old diner off 5th, the kind with cracked vinyl booths. I went with the diner and we sat there for almost 4 hours over coffee that cost $2.75 a cup. She talked about her grandma's tamales and I talked about my busted truck and neither of us checked a phone once. The fancy guy texted me twice that night asking why I went quiet, which honestly told me everything. Looking back, the cheap dates always felt more honest because nobody's performing when the stakes are low. The movie tickets and the nice wine just make you think you're having a good time when you're really just watching a screen. Has anyone else noticed the low key first dates turn out better than the big planned ones? I feel like the pressure ruins it.

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I picked the $12 diner coffee date over the $60 movie night and honestly I'd do it again | Bad Date Diaries - Talk Freely