womenlunch
As someone who prefers to wake up around 9:30 a.m. (Pacific Time), I find lunch to be the most important meal of the day. And yet, so few people take this time to get the proper nutrients they need—or, from a more singular purpose, to look for a potential date. We seem resigned to the fact that dating options don’t make themselves known until happy hour. But let me tell you from experience, seeing people in the bright light of day can save you a world of regret later. After all, pinot grigio goggles have a surprisingly short shelf life.
With that in mind we continue our tour of area dating locales and have become a regular patron of Brio Tuscan Grille At Waterside Shops in Naples. From a single guy point of view the restaurant is frequented by a large number of attractive females—and from a single woman POV there are plenty of martinis for which to help you lower your expectations. Those libations also seem to help with the story telling, as eavesdropping is an Olympic-level sport at the venue’s outside tables. Phrases like “Do you think I should?” “Isn’t he still married?” and “You have to keep massaging them until the swelling goes down” are batted about.
“The reason so many women are here during lunch is so that they can deconstruct their dates, phone calls or text messages from the night before,” says Lauren, a 36-year-old realtor blonde from North Naples. “It seems like every table is filming its own version of ‘Sex and the City.’ Every group seems to have their Samantha, their Charlotte, their Carrie. I know we do.” (Why does everyone forget about Miranda?)
“And sometimes lunch is the only time we have away from the men in our lives who are making us crazy,” she says laughing, followed by the requisite hair flip. “And what’s nice about (Brio) is that you can sit outside and see if any cute guys come walking by.”
But why bother, I thought you just said that the men you bring into your life just make you crazy?
“Hmm, I don’t know,” says Lauren. “I guess because they give us another reason to sit here drinking our pomegrantinis. You want to try mine? They’re sooooo good.”
Yep, the most important meal of the day.