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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxHE SAIDSHE SAIDSARAHxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxAGE: 35JOB: CEO and ePublisherTHEGIRL:HOBBIES: Antiquing, watchingcollege and pro football, workingout with my trainerTHE RESTAURANT:The Sidebarand Restaurant10 E. Gay St.West Chester, Pa. 19380610-429-8297FIRST IMPRESSIONS:• SARAH: Andy was laid back andseemed really sweet from the start. Iliked that he is tall, since I am only 5feet 2 inches tall. I liked his looks. Hewas wearing a plaid, button-downshirt and slacks and he jumped rightin and ordered a beer and started up acomfortable conversation.• ANDY: I thought she was cute andvery attractive. She was dressed verynice. My first impression was that sheseemed very easy going. I was excitedto get to know her better.THE RESTAURANT:• SARAH: Side Bar was packed! Iloved the crowd and the holiday vibe;it was a really cozy setting for afreezing cold night and a perfect datespot for sure.• ANDY: I’ve been to Side Bar for afew drinks but I have never been thereto eat. I like the atmosphere; there area lot of different ages there, so it seemsto appeal to everyone and it’s reallycomfortable.DRINKS AND APPETIZERS:• SARAH: Pinot Grigio always! And,we split the hummus plate and thehush puppies. They were verygenerous portions and we both lovedthe hush puppies and what I thinkwas a hummus dip that came withthem. When I go back, I am orderingup the hush puppies for sure.• ANDY: We tried the hummus andthe hush puppies. The hush puppieshad a nice cheese sauce to go withthem and were really crispy on theoutside. They served them withketchup, too, which was good. The/WHERE TWO SINGLES MEET AND REVIEWthe food & each other.hummus plate came with red peppersand olives and was tasty, too. Theportions were great! I got aHoegaarden to drink.AWKWARD BEGINNINGS:• SARAH: Two times: When Andycame in, it was awkward a bit for mebecause it’s the few seconds of a firstimpression and I was really nervous.Then, after we sat down on our ownupstairs for dinner, I realized the Novagame was right over his shoulder andthere was no way I was going to getthrough dinner without watching it.• ANDY: It wasn’t really awkward. Imean, dates are always tough becauseyou don’t know each other, but it wassurprisingly more comfortable than Ithought it would be and the conversationwas easy.ENTREES:• SARAH: Crab cakes were superyummy. And I’m not just saying thatbecause Andy is their crab supplier!They were really good. I wasn’t wildabout the sides that came with it,ironically enough!• ANDY: I got the Jerk pork tenderloin.It came with apples and homemadepierogies filled with sweetpotatoes topped with a really goodsauce. It was just enough of everythingand had a kick but not toomuch; I really liked it. Sarah offered tohave me try some of her crab cake andit was excellent as well. Then I offeredfor her to try mine. I liked that weshared.DESSERT:• SARAH: I was so full, and I am notmuch of a dessert person. But Andyinsisted I have a bite of his bananasfoster. It was delicious. There wassome insanely yummy caramel saucewith a liquer of sorts in the bowl and Iwish I had the appetite to have moreof it.• ANDY: We were pretty full. Theyhave a unique dessert menu, but weBY:MARYBIGHAMWC DISHsettled for bananas foster with icecream and it was was an excellentpresentation; the banana was cut longwiseand it was really good.SERVICE:• SARAH: Mitchell was our waiter;he was cool! And he was knowledgeableabout all the food and offeredrecommendations. It was great serviceconsidering how crowded it was; hewas perfect.• ANDY: Mitchell was our server andhe did a really good job. He wasattentive but laid back and he knewthe menu really well, so that washelpful.THE CONVERSATION:• SARAH: Andy definitely kept theconversation motoring. I kinda feltbad because I was facing the tv andNova was playing for the nationalchampionship, so I was superdistracted during parts of our chat. Idon’t think he minded too much. I’m ahuge sports fan and it was a greatgame. My mother would say its rude!• ANDY: She told me about how sheplayed field hockey in Connecticutand about her new fitness routine sheis doing. Staying active is important tome, too, so it was nice to talk about.She explained her business to me andit was nice to talk to another businessowner about the ins and outs of beingself-employed, so I found thatinteresting.• SARAH: I also tend to talk aboutwork a LOT so I tried not to go on andon about my website; not sure if I did agood job on that end. It was aninteresting dynamic, since we bothrun our own businesses but verydifferent types-his is a family owned,old-fashioned seafood biz and mine isa very modern, online magazine. Iwasn’t sure how the night was goinghalfway in. He was super hard to readand it started making me a littlenervous. Then he asked me myfavorite food and I said hands downTHEGUY:xxxxxxxDEC. 23, 2009 /PAGE 29xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxANDYAGE: 29JOB: Business OwnerHOBBIES:Volunteering,running, travelingspaghetti and meatballs. Andy asked me if I puteggs in my meatballs. I just started laughingbecause I do not cook at ALL! He was kind ofsurprised but then there was some insinuationmade on his part about cooking spaghetti andmeatballs for me sometime and I thought thatwas a ,cute way to give me a positive signal thathe was having a good time, so I felt a bit morerelaxed. I also found out he is part Polish, too,which was fun!AFTER DINNER:• SARAH: We had a very good vibe at dinnerand it was nice to hang out. I knew when dessertwas over the night wasn’t over. We met somefriends across the street at Spence where anawesome jazz band was playing. It was prettyloud with the band so I suggested we get a tablein the corner just the two of us away from thecrowd and that’s when things definitely got moreintimate and interesting.• ANDY: We decided to get a drink at SpenceCafe and listen to the band. Some mutual friendswere there, so it seemed like a great spot tocontinue our evening.LATE NIGHT:• SARAH: Let’s just say there were some sparksaround midnight at Spence’s. We got into acomfort zone with each other at the table. Ithought it was very endearing and made animpression on me. Some of Andy’s friendsliterally swooped in to Spence’s and kindabombarded our table at one point, just whenthings were heating up. I think they may havebeen partying a bit beforehand, too! They werehaving some fun at his expense and heckling usa bit. I excused myself to use the restroom.When I came back just a few minutes later Andywas at the table all by himself. I found out laterthat he shooed them away so that he could spendsome one-on-one time with me. I really likedthat!• ANDY: We really started to get more comfortablewith each other and relax at Spence. I got afew Samuel Adams Winter Lagers and was reallyenjoying myself and her company. At one pointher hand brushed mine and I noticed that shehad very cute small hands, it was nice. At the endof the night I had my arm around her and we gotpretty close. It felt good.CONTINUES ON PAGE 30 R