Need First Date Ideas? 10 NYC Couples Share Their Delicious Beginnings

We get tons of inquiries at EE from young men and women that want the perfect place for a first date in NYC. Some are willing to spend some serious dollah billz and others are more conservative, not wanting to splurge on fois gras and Barolo until they have confirmed their date isn't a certified loony bird. We asked some of our favorite New York City couples for their first date stories and all the juicy details about that special day. Obviously they picked the ideal spots because they are still going strong. Single people - take notes. by Joleen Zanuzoski

Tom Costello, 28; Technology Account Manager & Melissa Savino, 28; Ad Agency Accountant 
First date: Wine:30 41 East 30th Street nr. Park Ave. S. A cozy wine bar with small plates for sharing and thirty wines by the glass is just the ticket to get your romance off to the right start. Costello and Savino shared the grass-fed beef sliders with Gruyere and pickles on Brioche mini-buns with house-cut Old Bay potato chips on the side. After dinner, they strolled uptown to The Campbell Apartment to imbibe on the deadly Prohibition Punch (rum, Grand Marnier, passion fruit juice, topped with Moet) and the rest, from what they remember, is history.

Elisa Horn, 21; Legal Manager & Amanda Ireton, Writer
First date: Shabu-Tatsu 216 East 10th Street nr. Second Ave. It didn't take long for Horn, a native Upper East Sider and Ireton, an LA girl to the core, to figure out they were "glutinous porkers with wildly different palates." Their official first date was at Supper in Alphabet City but since Amanda's LA palate "wasn't used to solid food", they "dined nervously for three hours on what would become a twenty-dollar bottle of Pellagrino." That phase didn't last long and finally they found true foodie love at Shabu-Tatsu, "a Hogwarts for couples with its bubbling cauldrons and interactive meals," says Ireton. Choose from a list of proteins like prime rib-eye, shrimp and pork to name a few and toss in a few vegetables like sweet potato, hakusai, watercress and Enoki mushrooms and get your Japanese hot pot goin'. Never has a first date been so steamy.

Jamie Robbins, 27; Lawyer & Heath Shyman, 28; Maritime

First date: Barbounia 250 Park Avenue South nr. 20th St. The romantic decor and dim lights of this Mediterranean favorite in the Flatiron neighborhood weren't the only things that drew this happy couple to Barbounia for their first date. They fell in love with the scrumptious mezze, the excellent cocktail list, Chef Efraim Naon's famous flatbread - and each other. Who knew tzatsiki was the secret sauce to create true love? 

Justin Brown, 25; Visual Merchandiser & Nick Daniele, 28; Communications Specialist 

First date: Bocca di Bacco 828 Ninth Avenue nr. 55th St.  Although they found each other online, Brown and Daniele's first date was at Bocca di Bacco in Hell's Kitchen. It's a place that finds the right balance on so many important first date factors: not too loud, not too quiet; not too young, not too old; not too casual, not too dressy. They sat at the bar and had a few glasses of wine. As Nick drank white and Justin drank red, they started to kindle one of the best duos in town. Although the actual bar at Bocca is relatively small, they have large, stone high top tables right beyond it. Their recipe for a perfect first date? Sit down, order some divine Italian small plates, drink more wine, and fall in love. 

David Zuckerberg, 30; Associate Publisher & Liz Schnur Zuckerberg, 28; Specialized Education Teacher

First date: Haru 220 Park Avenue South nr. 18th St. Two days after they met each other, David and Liz knew they needed some sushi and sake to set the tone of their first date. They just celebrated their one-year wedding anniversary, so obviously "sharing fish with a stranger that you think you may fall in love with" is just the recipe to get to the alter, ladies. As they got to know each other, they enjoyed the edamame dumplings, miso black cod and tons of sashimi and washed it all down with order after order of dry sake. Details are a little fuzzy following all those sake carafes, but all you need to know is it ended perfectly.

Lauren Ruicci, 29; Owner of LARUICCI & Steve Walker, 31; Graphic Designer

First date: Pisticci, 125 La Salle Street nr. Broadway Ruicci is a mega-watt jewelry designer, decorating the wrists, cuffs and lobes of notable performers such as Rihanna, Mary J Blige and Beyonce. Walker, her equally high-powered graphic designing boyfriend, courted her in Michigan and then they moved to Harlem, eating Spicy Specials and sharing an apartment with another couple that enjoyed activities such as those chronicled in Fifty Shades of Grey. To escape the bondage, they went on their first NYC date at Pisticci. Ruicci raves about their Maltaglianti with ricotta, spinach and lamb - "it's topped with a heavenly dollop of creamy ricotta that melts in your mouth and makes my mouth water just thinking about it." Ruicci and Walker's love of Italy and Italian food started in Harlem and has since migrated to the West Village where they frequently cook Italian food for each other between frequent trips to Florence. 

                                                        Photo: Brian Lynch

Demetre Daskalakis, 38; Infectious Diseases Doctor and founder of Men's Sexual Health Project  & Michael Macneal, 27; Fitness instructor & creator of The Monster Cycle

First date: Robertas 261 Moore Street nr. Bogart St., Bushwick, Brooklyn

There is nothing tame about this Brooklyn power-couple and it all started with a wild and crazy first date. Macneal wanted to do something unique and fun so he invited Daskalakis to Roberta's Sunday Tiki Disco. Every second and fourth Sunday from May to September, Roberta's hosts this party in their outdoor garden, filling it with straw tiki huts, disco DJs, frozen gin and juice and most importantly, Roberta's epic pizza.  Macneal thinks this is the ideal place to bring someone you are trying to get to know better because "it brings out the person's true personality... or lack there of." Obviously, Daskalakis was all about the gin and juice, tequila shots from the unsavory ice sculpture, tiki huts and his date because they recently tied the knot and are happily married. They have Roberta's garden filled with fresh pizza toppings and that tequila ice sculpture to thank for igniting their special spark. 

Julie Orchier, 28; Marketing Director & David Zucker, 32; Sales Executive

First date: Desnuda Winebar & Cevicheria 122 East 7th Street nr. Ave. A  and Il Bagatto 192 East 2nd Street nr. Ave. B.  This food-lovin' couple is in the process of planning a delicious September wedding and if it's anything like their first date, it's going to be a night to remember. They kicked if off at Desnuda Winebar - dimly lit, romantic, and they go back every year for their anniversary to savor the tuna and hamachi ceviche that they first enjoyed together. After they both declared in unison that "they don't do Riesling" after a waiter's wine recommendation, they quickly realized that their palates were the same and before they knew it, they were eating off of each other's plates and waxing poetic about food. Still hungry, they scurried over to Il Baggato and shared a bowl of delicious spaghetti scuié scuié. Talk about love at first bite!

Amy Elbaum, 27; Sales Executive & Michael Kramer, 30; Graduate Student 

First date: Mercadito Avenue B 179 Avenue B nr. 11th St. This recently engaged All-American couple kicked off their lifetime of happiness at Mercadito in Alphabet City over a variety of tacos and spicy pineapple margaritas that Elbaum claims "are the best in the city - they have the perfect combination of fresh fruit with a kick" and when paired with the carne tacos, it's a match made in heaven. This couple thinks Mercadito is the ideal first date spot - cozy and cute without being "obviously romantic" and the small plates are ideal for sharing. 

Evan Machowsky, 28; Financial Advisor & Lauren Saiger, 28; Founder of Eatery Expert
First date: A Voce 41 Madison Avenue nr. 26th St. Of course these food aficionados would go to A Voce, a three-star New York Times rated-restaurant and the chef at the time, Andrew Carmellini, is a James Beard Award recipient. Machowsky wasn't fooling around when he called Saiger an hour before they were supposed to meet and told her to head to Madison Square Park. From there, they walked to A Voce. Machowsky knows his way around the kitchen, but he also can skillfully navigate a menu and this caught Saiger a bit off-guard. He proceeded to order a three-course meal before Saiger had time to get over the $$$ prices, and she ordered the cheapest thing on the menu at the time - the chicken. Always one to under-order and steal bites from other people's plates, Lauren knew Evan was the one for her when she didn't even have a chance to mooch some steak off his plate because he was already cutting it in half to share with her. After munching on doughnuts dipped in chocolate and finishing off two bottles of wine, they ended one of the most memorable meals of their relationship. And Lauren's been stealing bites from Evan's plates ever since. They are engaged to be married in October at another foodie mecca - Chef Dan Barber's Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Bedford, NY.