Dating apps are fun and low-pressure ways to meet other people. Apps like Tinder and online sites like Match.com have grown in popularity because of their ease of use – meet other singles without leaving the comfort of your home? Sounds like a great idea!
If you’re a foodie or someone with a special dietary concern though, these apps might come in handy the next time you’re feeling ready to mingle.
1. Dine
Advertised as a dating app “that isn’t about superficial love at first sight, but an opportunity to experience someone’s company and a new culinary adventure,” Dine is a free to use app which currently is available for the iPhone and coming soon for the Android.
The instructions are simple – sign up, meet new people daily, send them a request to dine, and if they accept your request, you pick a time and place to meet and eat!
There’s no awkward messaging back and forth, no struggling with being consistently charming, and most importantly, no hitting up random bars and restaurants to find a suitable mate.
Plus, Dine matches based on similar food preferences, which is a major plus.
The PROS:
The first benefit of Dine is that it has an app available for the iPhone. It also builds a dating pool based on your interest in restaurants, which is cool.
Through your mutual interest, the app pretty much picks the location for your first date. The app wants you to build a pool so they can show you people that you’re more likely to date to “swipe through.”
One of the other pros is that women can interact for free while men can not, which is a common premise of many of the female-friendly applications used.
The CONS:
Unfortunately, your profile only actually covers the basic info like height and weight and then there’s a freeform part where you describe yourself.
Also, you can only swipe through 5 profiles a day or else you have to spend roses (which are essentially tokens to get more swipes for the day.
There aren’t a lot of opportunity for matches if you have a limited number of swipes. That said, they give you some roses just for signing up and completing a profile.
You also only get to choose three restaurants that you like in your area, which limits your dating pool as well.
2. Gluten-Free Singles
Skip the struggle of finding someone with similar dietary needs and join Gluten-Free Singles.
Described as “a dating, networking, and informative website where you never have to feel alone, awkward, or a burden because you are gluten-free,”
Gluten-Free Singles is not an app, but an online community where people who are gluten-free for health and fitness reasons or dietary needs can talk exclusively to other gluten-free singles.
To sign up, all you need is an e-mail address and a photo.
The PROS:
This dating site doesn’t have a mobile app, which is kind of a hassle for on the use.
There is a section in the profile where you describe what you’re looking for and the app’s minimum age requirement is 18.
You also have the opportunity to express why you’re going Gluten-Free, which can be helpful for people who might specifically be looking for someone like them – for instance, if you can’t eat Gluten because you have an intolerance, you might prefer to be with someone who also has an intolerance or Celiac’s disease rather than someone who is Gluten-Free by choice.
The CONS:
The app does more than just connect users on a romantic or platonic level, it also hosts events, posts recipes, and recommends producers and services. The profile doesn’t have a lot of information on it.
3. HiDine
“Chivalry is alive” – that’s the slogan for this fast-paced dating app.
HiDine is an application where you can swipe through profiles for people and restaurants in your area to both form your interests and develop connections with singles looking to find a dining partner.
While the application is free, men are required to put a down payment on the restaurant bill before any offline activities can occur.
The PROS:
One pro for HiDine is that it has a user-friendly mobile app. The second pro is that it’s incredibly easy to use and straightforward.
The CONS:
This is another app that makes you login with Facebook, which to me, is a major drawback.
The app is also kind of a rip off of Tinder – the color scheme is similar, the formatting is similar, the app is essentially Tinder for food.
The app also has a copulationist premise – “At HiDine, we believe in old-fashioned chivalry. Men pay for first dates.
You spend enough time and money on clothes, shoes, hair styling, and beauty products. Before you even sit down at the table with a guy, you have invested in the date to look your best.
Any man should appreciate that. And the last thing you should worry about is who is going to pick up the bill” -and though there’s a section where you can state your interest, by nature, the app is not congruent with same-copulation partnerships.
“Our male members pick up the tab, so you can focus on being the naturally charming person you are, no strings attached.”
That sounds just a little heteronormative to me. The app also links you to the closest city to you. For instance, from my home in New Jersey, I was swiping through people and restaurants in New York City, which is about 45 minutes to an hour from me.
4. Same Plate
The Same Plate is a free dating website where users are encouraged to start conversations about food.
It’s you’re run of the mill dating site with a heavy emphasis on sharing meals, cooking, and eating dinner together.
To start, you sign up with an email address and post a profile picture – which, of course, should have some food involved.
From there, conversations blossom.. usually about how delicious the food in on your profile looks.
Pretty soon the site will include an online feature so users can post videos of themselves making their favorite recipes and creating elaborate meals.
The PROS:
The profile contains an age range option so that you can find people within your comfort zone of dating, which is helpful.
The Same Plate doesn’t have an age requirement, so users over the age of 18 can participate from now until they’re 90. (Although I’m sure the app doesn’t discourage anyone over the age of 90 from participating)
The CONS:
Unfortunately, SamePlate doesn’t have an app for mobile use, and their website isn’t brilliant phone friendly.
A mobile app would allow users to upload pictures more quickly – when you’re making a meal, you could take pictures in the process and upload them immediately instead of waiting to upload them to your computer.
The application is more freeform than anything and offers ample space for users to describe themselves.
http://sameplate.com/os1/index.php
5. Paleo Connect
A paleo diet described as an effort to go back to eating how we’re biologically designed to eat.
Crossfit enthusiasts and health nuts alike have praised the benefits of a paleo diet and discussed how one must have total discipline and strength to follow it.
This diet limits your sugar intake – nearly cutting it out of your diet completely. That said, it would be much easier for those who follow this diet to spend time with others who follow the diet.
Paleo Connect is just that. Self-described as a place for you to “browse profiles of people in your area & meet up with fellow Paleo/ Primal/ Low Carb/ Crossfitters locally,”
Paleo Connet, like Gluten-Free Singles, matches people based on their immediate location and their eating/exercise habits.
While this isn’t the most efficient formula for finding love, having an interest in fitness and a paleo is a good place to start.
The PROS:
It’s easy to create a profile on this website, and it doesn’t connect through Facebook for strategic dating opportunities.
The profile also efficiently weeds out those who might not be all that serious about the lifestyles of others and puts a heavy emphasis on your history and current relationship with paleo and exercise.
It also asks you what you’re looking for, which cuts out any unwanted messages or come-ons from people who are looking for something different.
The CONS:
One of the biggest setbacks of this application is that there is no easy to use the phone app.
You also cannot sign up unless you’re at least 26 years of age, which is also pretty major.
There are plenty of people who are Paleo who are under 26, so they’re losing an entire market of cross fitting health conscious Millennials.
6. Suppr
Suppr is an app that was created by a junior at NYU who was inspired by some comments she read on YikYak and NYU Secrets about loneliness.
The app is simple – download the app and log in through Facebook, edit your profile and connect with people who are interested in the same restaurants, if you match with any of them, a chat will open, and you can take over from there.
The PROS:
The first pro is that there is an app for the iPhone and the Android. The app allows you to review places that you’ve been before as well as meet up with people around you.
There’s also a nifty section where you can test out some of the features on the app without committing to creating a profile.
The trouble with this is that it only allows you to use certain features, like looking at different places in your area and seeing reviews.
The CONS:
The application connects through your Facebook and accesses your friend list, so if you’re friends with particularly interested family members or are feeling bashful about online dating, this isn’t the app for you.
The app also asks to have the ability to posts to your Facebook, which also doesn’t allow for discreet use.
From the description, the app also doesn’t allow you to chat with people before you invite them to eat, which is a major drawback as casual conversation through text is the easiest way to determine whether or not you’d actually like to eat with someone – admittedly you don’t actually have to eat with them until you can chat, but still.
The application is also not that user-friendly. I had trouble logging into the app several times when I first logged into it, then when I did finally log in, the app logged me out before I got the chance to use it. This update might just be buggy though, so try it out for yourself.
The next time you’re looking for a date with a paleo diet or just someone willing to try that new Indian place around the corner, sign onto one of these fun apps and get to swiping. Happy matching!