“I’ve got a pretty face & a pretty extensive urban spoon wish list… We all know that getting what you want in life can be tough. Which is why I’ve decided to let someone else finance my dreams. My dream? To eat in pretty restaurants without costing me a penny. You had me at Elk Tartare, lost me at chin strap. Follow me to learn who I screw over, bang and love as I navigate Toronto’s diners, drive-ins & dives.”
That’s the summation of this gal Erin’s pseudo-controversial blog, A Penniless Girl, Bad Dates & Plenty of Oysters. Her story’s been getting some heavy play thanks to the likes of outlets such as Toronto Life and AM640. What’s the deal? Essentially she’ll go on a date with anyone shy of a pegged-legged goat so that she can taste her way across our fair city without forking over a dime. Some are calling her immoral, that she’s profiting off the good intentions of kind strangers. She’s been compared to a female Tucker Max (Note: We’ve read I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell, and that comparison is far from apt), a prostitute who accepts food in lieu of cash, and a slew of other not-so-nice names.
We kind of think she’s brilliant. Let us explain…
First off, while we don’t condone her dating methodology, you have to admit there’s a cleverness that abounds in her practices. We get it: Eating out ain’t cheap. With the slew of amazing restaurants that are consistently opening and adding to our own personal must-try lists, what is a struggling foodie supposed to do when presented with either ordering that foie gras terrine as an app at one meal or feeding one’s self the rest of the week? These are dark times for the financially-challenged, palate-prioritizing peeps. And really, what’s a two-hour convo with a boring stranger compared to a stunning meal at Farmhouse Tavern?
Second, and really, who hasn’t accepted a date or dinner with an “old friend” we (purposely) don’t get to see very often because of the chance of free food? Us media sort of do it, too, in our day-to-day lives. Albeit, since we’re invited to dine at these restaurants under the guise of being called “writers,” and “bloggers” and “tastemakers,” it seems a lot less shady. But are we not also selling our words and site pixels in lieu of gratis grub and marking the resulting prose and pics as “important” journalism just so we don’t have to worry about the bubbling expense report at the end of the month?
Let’s not chastise Ms. Penniless simply because her methods of dining out are unorthodox and shady. Nowadays we Facebook troll, Google, and archive tweet search anyone we meet in passing out of shear curiosity, so chances are if these fellas she’s reeling in to wine and dine her have any sort of gumption about them they’ll have already done the same and know what they’re getting into. And those who don’t, well, she has already spoken about certain shapes whose topographies are better left to the bedroom, so we doubt they’ll be too upset if they don’t get a chance at Date No. 2…