Romance and Food

I like to do things outside of romantic surprises, and transpose the romance to a different situation where you still get the same feeling. For instance, this site, while I hope is not at all a stretch for a romantic surprise, is outside the normal realm of surprises. It’s not tangible, but it catches you off guard and is laden with love.

A similar situation arises as I reminisce over a few romantic dinners in particular. The first was another one I had long imagined doing for you: the roof. There was a building nearby my old house that was situated right next to a hill, providing the perfect bridge to the roof. I brought you there one night with candles lit, delicious food, a blanket laid out, and a romantic allure of the stars above us and the ambience of distant city noise.

My family had just moved into a new house, but I still had the keys to the old one, and 1 week before the people who bought it moved in. It was too coincidental that these elements were at hand the same time our anniversary was passing, so I had to take you there one night. The set up was the usual: blanket, music, candles—but this time, I had to add a little extra. It was a turbulent time in your life and you needed something more substantial than solace. I hoped this anniversary surprise alone would elevate your spirits, but just to be sure I bought you a slew of gifts, like Barbie dolls and a Franco De Vita CD. We listened to his beautiful music as we ate the food I prepared, and your smiles told me you had completely forgotten all about your troubles.

In previous discussions I remembered you saying how you always wanted to do a romantic dinner in your own home, with candles and flowers everywhere. Of course, one night I eventually surprised you at the apartment with flower pedals covering the floor, the table set, candles lit at every conceivable corner, and I cooked a delectable meal for us.

Yet another one for the history book of my surprises’ shortcomings, and to balance out this collection of flawless romantic dinners thus far, is the night I decorated the porch. I planned on cooking a meal I’ve never made before, a dish with shrimp, lemon juice, and guacamole. I decorated the patio with Tiki cups and candles on the table, large cutouts of sea animals and palm trees taped to the walls, flowers scattered across the floor, and sheets hung up to conceal us. It was to be a nice dinner with an underwater ocean theme, something to switch things up, but the whole thing was ruined because the avocados were not at all ready to be cooked, so we ended up ordering delivery. I still enjoyed it and you really liked the atmosphere I had created (and you know the food we ordered was gooooooood!).