To JDate or Not to JDate...

I was at dinner at Frank with a girlfriend of mine about a week ago.  She's kind of in the same place I am, just moved to NYC for a better job and she just broke up with her boyfriend of a couple of years.  She's fantastic, smart, funny, down to earth, just a really great person to hang out with.  Her situation is different from mine in that her relationship ended because she was just not that enthused by the person she was with.

After hearing about my mostly (mis)adventures with a dating website, she decided that she would do the same thing, just on JDate rather than Match.com.  I think most people are pretty familiar with JDate but to those who aren't, JDate is a dating site that mostly attracts people of the Jewish faith...or people who would like to date a Jew.  My friend is Jewish and she's always said that finding someone from the same faith is extremely important to her.

After helping her with her profile (for most people it's hard to self-pimp, not so much for me because of my healthy dose of narcissism ;)), she posted it and has been on the site for about a week.  I think that the dating websites are extremely helpful in meeting new people, especially for those of us coming out of a relationship.  After all, when was the last time you met someone you actually liked (or could hear) at a bar? Also, it's much easier to deal with rejection when it's not done face-to-face but rather in the form of an ignored email or "wink".

For me, I think it's interesting to see what these people write, what they deem important enough to share and whether or not they are able to put a coherent sentence together.  That combined with pictures (some with obvious boobalicious women photoshopped out) make for a pretty complete profile of someone.

Now don't get me wrong, there's a lot of false advertisement on these dating sites.  You can remember the time I wanted to chew my arm off at a hockey game (see here).  But hey, at least you're checking these people out sober, rather than with half a dozen drinks under your belt in dim lighting.

I'm excited to see how things go for her.  I think her experience will be different from mine.  She's much sweeter than I am and is going into this with a much more trusting and open mindset than I did. 

As for Frank Restaurant (88 2nd Ave, NYC (212) 420-0202), the food was amazing.  It's a small Italian restaurant that features homemade pastas (new specials everyday) and a mouth-watering wine list.  I had the butternut squash ravioli and my friend had the Rigatoni al Ragu.  Mine was delicious but I'm pretty sure I ate all the meatballs out of hers, lol.  Anyway, if you find yourself in the East Village, check it out.  Just remember to bring cash.  Check the menu here.

Lesson Learned: Men may come and go, but your friends will always be there to help pimp you out.