What Foods Feel Romantic to You? (Even If They’re Random!)

The first time my boyfriend and I met, we had coffee-it wasn’t a “date”, were both widowed, and just looking for a new friend, some good conversation. He showed up with a loaf of his homemade kalamata and rosemary sourdough, and a wedge of really good cheese (Grafton Nudist, maybe a subliminal message). Four years later, and our favorite thing is to grocery shop and cook together. We never take our second chance at love -or a good meal- for granted.

I know a lot of people associate chicken soup with mom, grandma, sickness, comfort but hear me out… it is super sexy. Nothing beats seeing my husband chop and prep all the ingredients and then wait patiently for it all to simmer, then delicately carry over two brimming hot bowls. Mmmmm!

everything/ all meals are romantic when you are in love- but my favorites are: ice cream and a walk pasta and red wine sharing french fries figs, cheese, honey, dates- perfect picnic I also love having salmon or a lovely piece of fish, it makes me feel very grown up and sexy haha honestly i just light candles and pour something sparkling, we take turns cooking, and then when the food is in front of us, we kiss. it makes every simple meal feel like a date

I’ve become obsessed with seltzer and lime since cut out alcohol three years ago. No matter how fancy the mocktail, I find nothing as refreshing and satisfying as a seltzer with lime. I typically do the shopping but was sick this week. My wife came home from the store with a lime saying: did you know you can have restaurant quality seltzer and lime at home?? I felt so loved!

Chinese food. We eat it for birthdays, new years always (since I was a kid) and anytime we need to reconnect. Something about those to-go boxes for left overs in bed hours later while re-watching sex and the city or gilmore girls – it’s giving meryl streep in heartburn. there is no better feeling in the world.

two glasses of red wine after the end of our theatre performance, when everybody else went away, the space with only one little light on, we drank our wine just the two of us happy we did our work well for another evening

The first ever meal I made my now husband was a very basic pasta with tomatoes and cream and bacon. Something my mother made as a quick weeknight dinner while we were growing up. He was waiting for an important call and it came while we were eating so he stepped away from the table. When he came back he sat down and suddenly beamed as he said ‘I am so stoked right now! I didn’t realise how much food I still have left. This is so so good!’ Now every time I make the dish I think about that moment and it makes my heart warm. It wasn’t a big moment to him but it was unforgettable for me because – yay I made a nice meal and also yay the guy I like enjoys my cooking.

Shower cheese. Hear me out. My husband loves to grill, and we often grill halloumi. Halloumi is delicious in any form, but it is at its absolute best when it’s fresh off the grill—gooey, melty, almost too hot to hold on to but worth the scorched fingers. One day, I was in the shower while he was grilling. Rather than wait for me to finish and come eat like a normal person, he walked into the bathroom, told me to stick my head out, and popped a piece of fresh-off-the-grill halloumi into my mouth. It was amazing. He’s done this several times since. Shower cheese. Gets me every time.

These comments brought tears to my eyes. I am a professional baker and had a terrible day at work today, one of those where I questioned all of my career choices. This post reminded me how food (especially pastries!) can be a part of such special moments in people’s lives. Creating these spots of joy are why I do what I do. Thank you all for sharing. Back when my husband and I first started dating, he was hyperfixated on a homemade tofu and veggie stirfry. This guy didn’t own a single seasoning, but he was so excited to make it for me. I appreciate nothing more than when someone cooks for me, even if it is completely flavorless :) true romance.

My husband has gotten into sourdough baking and measures out the flour grams with such precision and care that I fall in love with him all over again when I watch him from across the kitchen island. He takes such pride in presenting me with a perfect loaf, it is the most romantic thing!

BIG LOL at the pastrami sandwich during labor. WHY would a partner think that’s a good idea?

There’s a song by Stompin Tom Connors (Canadian country folk icon) called Cornflakes that’s about exactly this feeling: “when I wake, my little sugar she makes, me feel like cornflakes, snap crackle and pop”

I grew up in a family with some seriously disordered eating and it completely shaped my approach to food and my body,among other things. The first girlfriend I had who enjoyed eating and made sure I ate – made it okay for me to eat – was like opening a whole world to me. All these years later, I think of her with great fondness. She gave me permission to feel hungry and to nourish myself. It changed everything for me.

From the start, my boyfriend and I bonded over a shared love of good food—not necessarily fancy, but the kind that is well-made and memorable. In our first weeks of dating, we discovered a tiny Syrian takeout spot that served the most incredible lamb kebab. The place itself was anything but romantic—just a shack with two plastic tables under this harsh, bluish-white light. But when I took my first bite of the dürüm, completely lost in the moment, he watched me with an adoring expression and blurted out, “Oh my God, I almost said the L-word.” We both knew from the start that we were serious about each other, but as two divorced adults, we were careful not to rush things. So when he let that slip, we both recognized the vulnerability of the moment. Instead of overanalyzing it, we just grinned at each other for a while, understanding everything that didn’t need to be said. A few months later, on our first trip together, he took me to a similarly unforgettable kebab place in his hometown. Once again, I took my first bite and swooned. And that’s when he actually said it, this time without hesitation: I love you. The little Syrian place is still a favorite of ours, an unassuming corner of the world that holds something deeply cherished between us.

We’ve happened to have eaten crème brûlée on two major milestones: the day we got engaged (in Central Park after eating it at Tavern on the Green) and back to Australia (where we currently reside) my husband surprised me with a romantic, home-cooked dinner as his way of announcing he was ready to have kids (I was getting itchy feet, ha!) Three kids and 15 years later, just seeing it on a menu makes me swoon.

There’s an old fashioned burger and fries and shakes drive in, next town over. Because it’s Montana it’s only open in the summer. We only go on the way home from hikes or cabin trips or camping. Sometimes my husband pretends he doesn’t want to stop. “Oh honey, it’s xyz time, they’ll be such a long line and it’s so hot”. And then I say “I already promised the dogs tho.” And we each always get the same thing, they have the best veggie burgers and banana chocolate pb milk shakes. And it’s not expensive. And the onion rings are so salty. We’ve been going for so long, it just feels like the happiest of days. We get home, tired, and dirty, and full, and the dogs plop and sigh and it just feels like, we are where we’re supposed to be, and with who we are supposed to be with.

Chocolate covered strawberries eaten together is very sensual and romantic. But sometimes comfort food like cereal can be too all depends on the mood and timing!

I’m not a big breakfast eater, but I have to force myself to eat something lest I turn into a monster part way through the morning (which wouldn’t be ideal, given that I teach little kids!). This week, I’ve been taking little bites of the Irish soda bread I baked for St. Patrick’s Day as I’ve been getting ready in the morning. Yesterday, I came into the kitchen to find that my partner had warmed up a piece of the bread, cut it into little pieces, and schmeared just the right amount of Irish butter onto each little piece. He said he knew I could only stomach little bites at a time and thought it would be easier for me to just pick them up each time I passed through the kitchen in my morning routine (knowing that sitting down for a proper breakfast just isn’t in the cards for me on a weekday). I fell even more in love with him at that moment. If you find someone who will butter your bread for you at 7am, you hold onto them!

Had to come back to this post after I just saw this listing on Etsy! Thought of Joanna + Freddy 🙃https://www.etsy.com/listing/697347994/?ref=share_ios_native_control

One of my all-time favorite movies is Moonstruck, and once, for Valentine’s Day before we had kids, my husband made me steak with a side of spaghetti with just olive oil & garlic. In the movie, Nicholas Cage is freaking out, and once he’s calmer, Cher says she’s making him a steak, and he says he likes it well done, and she says, Well you’ll eat this one bloody to feed your blood. (Omg love that movie.) Now it’s become a tradition, so every so often, now with our kids too, we have steak to feed our blood. -Cher also says, You got any whiskey? How about you give me a glass of whiskey? So we have our steak and spaghetti with a little whiskey.

Oysters on the half shell and a bottle of cab. My husband and I have shared this meal every Thanksgiving this last decade. It gives me heart eyes every time I think of it.

A few months into dating my now husband, he made me gluten free, soy free pumpkin bread. No other reason to make it besides making something I could eat without issue. The first time we said I love you was over that pumpkin bread. I don’t eat soy free any more, but my husband always remembers and finds recipes/restaurants that cater to gluten free diets. He even planned a trip to Philly because I showed interest in going so I could get a freshly fried yeast donut sans gluten. The gluten free life can make you feel like a burden, but he makes it an adventure.

We had a “sex and sushi” stage early in our marriage, but now that we cook together rarely due to work, every meal that he makes is an act of love.

One night, pre kids my husband planned a romantic evening that still makes me blush. First we smoked to get a buzz, sensations were heightened. Then we made out. An our later we got hot and heavy. An hour after that, he got really, let’s say creative, with his tongue and things proceeded. Afterwards ,still high he threw Doritos and Trader Joe’s chocolate chip cookies together in a ziploc bag, shook it. It was the best sweet and savory snack I have ever had. I crave that combo from time to time whenever we have a bag of Doritos and cookies at home and always think of that night.

Pasta carbonara

Joanna, you are definitely in the love phase of your relationship cause there is nothing romantic about a bowl of cereal. The crunching of the cereal, the slurping of the milk, and the scraping of the spoon on the bowl drives me absolutely batty. Not sexy at all lol

Olipop gives me really bad gas, so that would most certainly not be on my list.

I feel like the more casual a meal, the more romantic. Anyone can have a nice meal with proper silverware but being able to eat something like ice cream or pizza feels like another level of intimacy for me. For our first date, my husband and I went to a local bar and grabbed 25 cent buffalo wings and beer. He said he knew then, when I ordered a Lagunitas beer (and pronounced it properly), that I was the girl for him.

For me it’s something that takes some prep and a lot of chopping. Bolognese, roast chicken with veggies and mashed potatoes, any kind of braised dish. All that work makes me feel like I’m gifting something to myself and my husband. Plus his reactions to a really nice meal are such a treat for me. On Tuesday I made that zucchini pashtida from a CoJ post and it felt very romantic that night! It’s simple but a little fiddly, and different enough from my usual weekday meals to feel special.

I was a single mom for 5 years after my divorce. I did everything for everyone and often would wake up at a ridiculously early hour. I enjoy my coffee immediately when I wake up. One morning about a year into dating my now husband he got out of bed, and when I went to get up he said “please stay here and let me serve you for a change”. For the last 4 years he has brought me coffee in bed every morning since without fail. Regardless of how tired he is or how he is feeling, sometimes he will even fall back asleep afterwards. Acts of service are definitely my love language and hearing him in the kitchen while I get to lounge for an extra 5 minutes is the most romantic gesture.

fresh sliced apples and cold seltzer given to me quietly when when i seem hungry

My husband is so generous with his time and effort making food, much more than I am. He’s been making weekend breakfast for decades. When our daughter was a young child she recorded Saturday morning breakfast chaos on a cassette tape. Now he makes breakfast every Sunday for him and I and it’s my favorite meal in the world. Bacon, egg and cheese in an English muffin and home fries. Why it’s so good, idk. He also makes home made pizza , the sauce and dough and he’s really perfected it ( since we no longer have access to East Coast pizza ha ! ) The thing that brings tears to my eyes when I think about it is, last year when the Oscars were coming on TV, I heard him in the kitchen and I said “What are you doing ?” He said ” Making soft pretzels for the Oscars !” He has never been interested in the Oscars awards show, doesn’t know new movies, etc., but he made an event of it for me. This unexpected gesture touched me so much. His soft pretzels are so good ! But even on a day to day basis, nothing is too much trouble for him. Whereas I’ll talk about making cookies for a few months til I finally get around to it ! Maybe ! We are so different. I love him so much (40 years)

Not so sure about romantic, but my partner and I developed a habit of going to the Whole Foods hot bar a few years ago when one or both of us has a Shitty Mood Day. Eliminated decision fatigue and we’d go looking like total slobs but get something tasty and decently nourishing. We’d sit and usually not talk because we’d just be in our own heads processing stuff, but still side by side. It made for fond memories of hard times. The sad part is it’s totally different at Whole Foods now. Ironically I never buy actual groceries there, only the hot bar. But the Amazon purchase has slowly ruined nearly every level of interaction at that store. There’s an ugly and disorganized Amazon return booth right by the cafeteria seating. We go less and less often, maybe just 2x a year now because we’re also very thoughtful about who our money goes to, and Bezos ain’t it. We’re slowly finding other Shitty Mood Day places.

When I was a younger lady, I would cycle across the city where I was living at the time to perch at my favourite bar in a tiny French restaurant and order myself a French 75 to sip while waiting on an order of Moules Frites. Salty, perfect shoestring fries. Definitely an extravagant gift to self while juggling two jobs and a full university course load. In my mind’s eye, I can still conjure up the pretty clay bowls they served Moules Frites in. The chef was this burly man who dominated the space. I always felt insanely sexy reading and drinking my cocktail while stealing glances at him at work. Swoon!

We started a weekend tradition of splitting a jalapeno cheddar scone and a fruit and cream cheese danish from our local cafe. We eat while listening to an episode of the podcast Ologies and then I lay with my head in his lap while he lovingly strokes my hair. That’s romance to me.

For me, it’s not really any specific food, but the manner in which it’s shared. For example, we ordered sandwiches awhile ago and my husband decided his was so delicious that he needed to make sure I had some as well. There is something so sweet about making sure your partner shares in your enjoyment.

When my husband is up before me (more often atm in late pregnancy!), he will bring me a cup of tea in bed, either on his way out of the door when he has an early start, or just to start my day off cosily. On the rare occasions I make a pot of coffee when I’m up first, I bring him one (he prefers a full caffeine dose first thing, not just tea). What makes this doubly romantic to me is that my dad used to do the same thing for my mum (he was an early riser who didn’t drink tea or coffee, so this was 100% just for her) so it feels like a little generational echo.

Julia Child’s chocolate mousse. Years ago we gave up on the crowded Valentine’s Day restaurants and decided to make it together instead. It’s what we do every year now. When our three kids were little, we’d make it after they went to sleep and then, because it has to set, we’d end up eating it well after midnight. Our kids are now teens so we can make it anytime now, but they love it so we have to (at least) double the recipe! It’s funny how still, all these years later, my hearts gets a bit fluttery with that first bite.

Both my husband and I are big readers. He typically reads nonfiction (very dry stuff!) and I read ALL the fiction. He was looking for a new book a couple weeks ago and I asked if he’d read my favorite book (Ordinary Grace by William Kent Kreuger) and I found him that night reading it! He finished in a few days and absolutely loved it. I’m repaying the favor and now reading his favorite fiction book, All The Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy. It’s not my typical read and I’ve had to use Cliff Notes, but I am really enjoying it so far.

The SECOND basket of rolls and cinnamon butter we share at Texas Roadhouse… because you can only eat 4 rolls before eating an entire meal in front of the one person who not only won’t judge you, but will keep up lolol <3

We met online. I had a 60 mile radius (from Norfolk, VA) and “they” sent me a Canadian living in Ontario near the Michigan border. During his first trip to visit me, he whipped up a classic Caesar. He rubbed the inside of the bowl with garlic and coddled the egg. (EEK! I don’t eat eggs – BTW.) But I ate that delicious salad and will never forget it. Within the year, he sold his house, quit his job and moved to VA. He’s been making that salad for me for the last 14 years. What can I say? It’s damn good salad and he’s so sexy when he crafts it.

I think any meal with the person you love can me romantic the best times I have had with my husband really is just fast food drive thru and sit in the car and talk

McDonald’s breakfast. We don’t eat at McDonald’s for any other meal, but something about their full breakfast has enchanted us. Sometimes if we wake up early on a Saturday, my husband will turn to me and say “McDonald’s breakfast?” like it’s some illicit indulgence. It’s become our cheesy little “date” (which we laugh about!)

Hot steamy ramen and a tall cold beer!

and coffee too. I always feel (and hope that) the letters and cards we wrote to each other are/will be like a cup of coffee. It feels that way too. Life is forever different, with a taste of gentleness brewed from across the ocean, no matter what life brings you.

Instant ramen noodles coz that’s what we both craved for since childhood and still do. I love how he would share with me even though he can finish it all, just like all the good food, thoughts and books (food for soul) he would share with me generously. They are breakfast from heaven, like the perfect pastry from a beloved French bakery.

I think it’s because of Lady and The Tramp… but spaghetti and meatballs! Also, my husband and I have this joke that the only time he ever suggests we get takeout for dinner is when he’s messed up somehow. So now I’ve started to view takeout as a very romantic gesture – it’s its own apology!

Not technically a food, but mulled wine is forever ruined for me (or has spicy memories…I’ll see myself out) along with the boozy fruit. It was about me, I liked myself in his presence.

When my boyfriend and I first met, I was preparing to start an egg freezing cycle. Initially, I was wary of how he would respond to something so heavy. Early dating was supposed to be light and breezy! Instead of going on adventurous dates, we stayed in: getting to know each other over takeout sushi before I administered hormone injections. He always arrived with an extra treat: fruit from my favorite local market or homemade bean salads. When the cycle went poorly, he brought bags of crispy fried snacks from the Indian grocery store around the corner—foods I craved after months of healthy eating in preparation for the cycle. I still associate that time with deep sadness. But I also remember the early tender feelings unfurling in my living room, how my heart squeezed every time he knocked on my door, grocery bags in hand. The food he brought over made me feel so cared for, full of the thoughtfulness and generosity he’s shown me ever since. Bean salad as romance! Who would have guessed

Steak (rare) frites with a good red wine. Idk why, but that is romantic, intimate and sophisticated to me. Even better if bearnaise sauce is part of this. Also, I find many pastas to be romantic food — no better example than the pasta aglio e olio cooked in the movie, Chef. But also other pastas like linguine vongole, amatriciana bucatini, cacio e pepe, and a good old spaghetti meatball. Roast chicken and potatoes a good standby too. Shared pizzas with good wine. Good wine or a good mocktail!

Olives from the deli olive bar, quality cheeses…Hello Humboldt Fog! Salami, a loaf of artisan bread. One of our early dates was wine tasting in Sonoma, but the weather was rainy, so we had an indoor picnic back at my apartment later. We still prefer picnics for lunch on road trips…more fun and relaxed than a restaurant! Cheaper too!

I don’t know about the food itself, but weekend breakfast at home feels so romantic to me. Early in our relationship, my husband and I used to eat breakfast together while listening to the Mortified podcast and it felt homey and loving and sparked many conversations about our own embarrassing moments. He does shift work so we rarely ever have breakfast together now, but it’s always lovely when it happens.

Sharing a piece of fruit, especially a really good tangerine. We take turns peeling off all the extra white bits of pith and handing the pieces to each other. It reminds me of the fruit plate that my husband’s mom makes for his dad every morning, it’s the only way he will eat fruit… but I have also found it really touching – something about it expresses the fullness of their love.

Pizza: late night in college with my besties, coming home after moving away and getting it from my favorite place with my parents, great slices in Italy, many shared pies with my husband (and he makes a killer deep dish), as a little treat during a rare night alone…. This post has me realizing pizza is my love language?!?

When I met my husband he had zero spice tolerance having. Everything was ordered mild or no spice, which was a borderline dealbreaker for me. But the morning after going with him to a boozy work event, all I wanted was dumplings in spicy chili oil. His hangover food of choice is a full English breakfast, but he came with me and ate the too spicy for him not spicy enough for me dumplings. Him forgoing his hangover cure so I could have mine told me everything I needed to know about whether I was making the right decision staying in a new country for a man I met in a bar. Almost 10 years later, his spice tolerance is almost on par with mine, and his dumplings are always eaten with chili crisp.

Sushi, because my (new!!) husband and I ate it often when we were dating. He was new in town and wanted to like it so I took him to a local place that never disappoints and we became regulars. But now that we’re married, we’ve started a pizza night tradition. He preps the toppings; I make the dough and we binge on British crime drama. We met at middle age so we were both competent cooks already and love cooking for each other and with each other. We received ATC’s cooking for two cookbook as a wedding gift and have been plowing through the recipes. The gifter recommended doubling the sauces and she was right. Every recipe has been yum. So, I guess, having been single for half my life (ditto to the husband), that the most romantic meals are the ones you share with someone you love. It doesn’t really matter what it is. It’s just such a joy to share it!

This makes me think of the Seinfeld episode where George combined some of his favorite things including pastrami sandwiches and sex. TV came next. So I guess pastrami?

When we were first dating and before we’d introduced our kids to one another, he made a tray of nachos which we ate while watching “Singles” and sorting through a load of little-boy laundry. Seeing him sort tiny mismatched socks while crunching nachos was … FIRE.

Convenience store cake thanks to 2000 rom-com Down to You! (It’s so bad it’s good🩷) https://youtu.be/hv-NLU3Rp_0?si=SquIt6ich4nyi7ki

I still remember the first time my husband made pancakes for me- the morning after our first night together. We’ve been together for fifteen years, married for ten now and his pancakes make me feel all dreamy in love and young again. He also makes me the prefect cup of coffee and that is pure poetry.

I need to have novelty cheeses in the fridge at all times. The romantic part is that he knows what that means and picks out all these cheeses he’ll never eat…all for meeeee!

My husband’s roast chicken and potatoes, the ultimate swoon-worthy meal. How the house radiates with its aroma, how my husband radiates with his love and devotion when he prepares it. It was the first meal he made me when we first started dating; the first meal i requested when we brought our baby home; and now, tire-eyed and in the throes of new parenthood, it’s the meal we have to make us feel most connected, most “at home” in our new reality.

omg “The butcher paper grazed my arm.” LOLOLOL

I would have to say chocolate, especially since buying me a bar of chocolate and leaving it on my nightstand is my husband’s thoughtful gesture of choice. I love Ritter sport milk chocolate with whole hazelnuts and even though he gives it to me as a gift, he’ll frequently accept a taste if I offer it. Also, I usually eat it in bed which kind of amps up the romance factor? 😄

Flamin’ hot cheetos because it’s one random thing I bonded with my husband about when we were first dating (met online and I was living in another country at the time). Also chocolate chip pancakes, because it’s what I made for him when he came to visit me for the first time (we now make them for our kids every Thanksgiving Eve and regale them with this story). And Little Debbie’s valentine cakes that we had at our wedding. We bought them in February and froze them. So I guess you could say that we have pretty highbrow taste. :)

pancakes…shaped like hearts! which is a cliche AND perfection.

Much like Eric and his fiance, my husband and I love to split a soda. It’s just the right amount! He’s with his family right now and last night he was thinking about drinking a cream soda in their fridge. I told him he should go for it. “No, no, it’s too much,” he told me. Ah, the joys of being married for ages.

Omg the sound of other people chewing makes me want to gag and I can think of nothing worse that listening to the crunching/slurping of corn flakes in milk! Too funny!

Smashed cucumber with Sichuan chili oil from Peaceful Restaurant in Vancouver. We went to a clinic to confirm my pregnancy, and that’s what we got for lunch after walking out into the light of a new reality. We were crying from spicy oil and big feelings and my heart starts to race again whenever I eat that dish.

Yes to two bowls of cereal! There’s something so intimate about it to me for some reason! The cold milk, the crunch, all snug in the bowl. Rice Krispies for us!