Few things in life are more sensual than food -- other than actual sex, of course. Food involves all five senses, as well as your hands and mouth, which is pretty much a recipe for getting all hot and bothered as far as I'm concerned. The acts of cooking and eating are the perfect excuse to get close to someone else, to lick something off a significant other's spoon, to place a tender morsel on their tongue, to share something spicy or something sweet -- few things make for better foreplay than that. At least not foreplay you can get away with in public.Lucky for us, Los Angeles provides plenty of opportunities to feed your appetite for food, and for the aforementioned foodie foreplay, of course. And, the best part is, there are a lot of delicious -- even decadent -- date destinations that don't cost decadent dinner dollars.
The best place to start for some culinary courtship is, of course, the Farmer's Market. What's sexier than sharing a bite of a juicy sample strawberry or feeding each other the fiery freshness of a picante pepper. It's hard to top the Farmer's Market when it comes to perfect daytime dates -- it's cheap, sustainable and perfect for people watching and conversation catalyzing. How can the conversation not flow freely when food is involved?
In my opinion, the best Farmer's Market for romantic roaming is definitely the Sunday morning Hollywood Farmer's Market at Sunset & Ivar. With tasty treats ranging from tongue-tickling tamales to cool coconut milk, there's something to please every palate. I especially recommend the goat cheese lady who always sets up in the middle aisle of the market -- her jalapeno goat cheese is a spicy, sensuous treat that's perfectly engineered to be lustily licked off the spoon of your significant other.
If you're looking for more of a meal, check out the newly-opened Farmer's Kitchen, where skilled chefs whip up delectable sustainable fare right from the Farmer's Market while also providing hands-on culinary training and nutritional education to the area's low-income locals. Last time I was there, my brunch of a fresh fritatta, savory spinach and sausage, perfectly prepared polenta, mouthwatering melted cheese sauce and fresh squeezed orange juice only cost around $10 -- less than what you'd pay for parking at plenty of places in the area.
If you're looking for something slightly more adventurous than the airy aisles at your local farmer's market, why not embark on a food-finding mission and take your date on a trip to track down one of LA's notorious twittering trucks of traveling tastiness. Anyone with Twitter (or a newspaper subscription) in the LA area has probably heard of Kogi's Korean Barbecue -- the Mexicasian fusian mobile that delivers delicious tacos with a tasty twist to Tweeps all over LA, who follow @kogibbq to find out where the palate pleaser will be parked every night.
If the fusian of flavors found in a Korean barbecue taco isn't quite exotic enough to thrill your date, try tracking down @ Dosatruck instead. It's a relatively new addition to the mobile munchies scene that offers the crispy crepes of its name sake, amongst other savory South Indian treats. And if you still find yourself fiending for fuel-fired fusion food, why not add @LomoArigato and @FishLips_Sushi to your roaming romantic repertoire for Japenese Peruvian fusion and fresh fish, respectively. All you need for a perfect culinary quest of a date is a car and a mobile device that gets Twitter. Simply crank up the tunes, roll down the windows and find your way to the finest food on four wheels. Call it a foodventure, and get bonus points from your beaux for creativity and cutesiness.
Just don't expect me to let you cut in line when it comes to those Korean barbecue tacos -- I don't care how adorable you and your date are, you ain't gettin' between me and my one true love.
Written by: Mollie Vandor - SpeedLA Dating Resident Blogger
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