Wicked Game: La Bottega (7/10/2008)

When an old friend recently asked me about the dating scene in New York, I summed things up in one sentence: “In New York women outnumber men and douche bags outnumber nice guys”.

This imbalance of genders seems to mean perfectly sweet mid-western boys quickly figure out how much they can get away with, and then turn into Tucker Max. Of course the other side of the coin is that some women thrive in this environment. Such is the case with my friend Victoria.

Victoria had been in an on-again-off-again relationship for years when she decided to dust off her match.com account and start dating again. When I ask why she decided to re-enter the dating scene her response was:

“I need to start budgeting again.”

It seemed Victoria’s way of budgeting involved ensuring multiple free dinners from multiple Match dates. One warm summer evening I was having dinner with Jade on the patio at La Bottega at the Maritime Hotel, when we discovered Victoria was at the same restaurant on one such Match date. After our meal we met up with Victoria and her date at upstairs cabanas.

As we sat sipping at our mojitos and attempting strained conversation; a second man wandering by and approached Victoria. It quickly became obvious that this man was Victoria’s second date for the evening and she had scheduled the two dates too close together to allow for a polite exit. The five of us squeeze in together with a potential suitor on each side of Victoria. While Jade and I silently communicated our shared awkwardness at the situation; Victoria seemed completely comfortable.

I watched as Date #2 chatted animatedly with Victoria as if sensing the nearby competition. Date #1 became more and more uncomfortable, slowly coming to the realization that his role for the evening was solely to provide dinner. Eventually Date #1 managed to gather enough self respect to leave for the evening and Jade and I retreated shortly after.

Victoria had always shared stories with us about how she stacked her dates to provide an evening’s worth of appetizers, dinner and desserts from multiple men. But seeing it was like watching someone fall down, you’re not sure if you should help or laugh. However badly, you may think Victoria treated these men, there is one thing you should know; they both called the next day. They always call.

All’s fair in love and match.com.

*Recognize this song title? Post in the comments section.