The NYC dating scene has become so brutal that women are allegedly stealing men’s salads just to get a date. A TikTok creator named Nicole recently went viral after describing this unusual tactic. Her video has racked up more than 617,000 views and 2,200 comments.
Here is how the scheme reportedly works. A woman walks into a Midtown Manhattan restaurant and grabs a salad order that belongs to someone else. She specifically targets men who work in finance. The salad receipt usually has the man’s name printed on it. She then looks up that name on LinkedIn and sends him a direct message. She apologizes for the mix-up and offers to buy him a replacement meal. That apology becomes an invitation to a first date.
@nicoleeorrr It’s rough out here #nyc #nycdating #dating ♬ original sound – nicole or
Think of it like fishing in a tiny pond. When the fish stop biting, people start using stranger bait. Nicole believes the tactic shows how desperate the NYC dating scene has become. She urged men to approach women first. She warned that the NYC dating scene should not be so hard that women resort to taking someone else’s lunch.
“Men, just please step up,” she said. “Or your lunch is gonna get taken every week.”
Nicole also shared other creative methods women are using. For instance, some women make bracelets that display their phone numbers. They hand these bracelets to attractive men at bars. Other women secretly photograph men at bars and set those photos as their phone backgrounds. They then ask the men to take a picture of them using that phone. When the man looks at the screen, he sees his own face. Ideally, he realizes the woman is interested in him.
Nicole said these examples are only a few of the ways women are trying to make connections. She blamed the trend on a lack of men approaching women in New York City.
Not everyone found the video funny. Several commenters criticized the salad tactic and called it stalking. One person wrote, “The salad thing is called STALKING.” Another asked, “How’s this not considered stalking?”
However, some commenters pushed back with a different complaint. One person asked whether anyone had considered the male perspective. That commenter said several friends had simply stopped trying to talk to women at bars. According to the commenter, those men felt treated poorly whenever they tried to start a respectful conversation.
Consequently, the discussion highlights differing views among commenters about how people should approach potential romantic partners. This disagreement is especially sharp in a city where Nicole said traditional approaches have become less common.
Clearly, the NYC dating scene has left many people frustrated and looking for answers. If you are single in the city, do not steal someone’s lunch. Instead, try saying hello. A simple conversation costs nothing and beats a salad theft every time.
