Fast food may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of romance—it’s probably dead-last, actually—but it should warm your heart to know that Fast Food cares about your love life. At least, it cares as much as an institution can care about anything.
Some fast food restaurants like to cash in on Ultimate Date Night around Valentine’s Day, so they fan the flames of love by offering romantic touches big and small. Every February 14, White Castle lays their tables with fine linen and sends an actual waitstaff out to take your order. Starbucks offers a super-sweet, layered Strawberries & Cream Valentine Frappuccino that festively fades from Jackie O. Pillbox-Hat pink to My Little Pony purple. Qdoba offers a BOGO deal, but to get it, you have to kiss someone or something in front of the cashier—a significant other or a picture of Harry Stiles are just two popular options.
But Fast Food isn’t the only one showing the love. From the lovebirds who chose Taco Bell as their wedding venue after they couldn’t book the courthouse to the couple who met at White Castle in the 1980s and tied the knot at the exact same joint in 2013, people are finding ways to incorporate their love for fast food into their love for each other.
Happily, you don’t have to get married or wait until Valentine’s Day to turn a fast-food meal into a romantic interlude. Here are five ways to make fast food part of your romantic life.
Take it to the Park
Everyone loves a good picnic, and what’s more romantic than feeding each other chocolate-covered strawberries on a blanket under the trees? Feeding each other Chicken McNuggets and French fries on a blanket under the trees, of course.
Serve Breakfast in Bed
Why mess up the kitchen so early in the day? Next time you’re tempted to serve your beloved some breakfast in bed, sneak out of the house and head to Starbucks for a fancy-pants feast, like the Bacon, Gouda & Egg Breakfast Sandwich, or the Spinach, Feta, & Cage-Free Egg-White Breakfast Wrap, or the Bacon & Gruyere Sous Vide Egg Bites. Admit it: You probably couldn’t do much better than that yourself.
Have a Romantic Candlelight Dinner
It’s tough enough to work up the energy to make a utilitarian dinner that you can stuff into your face before you zonk out, much less spend hours in the hot kitchen concocting a romantic feast for two. Spend that kitchen time enjoying your date instead: Head to Boston Market and get a mess of comfort food, or hit Panda Express for Chinese takeout. Unpack it in the kitchen, plate it attractively, and maybe sprinkle on a little garnish of some kind. Serve it up with cloth napkins and a glass of wine, and you’ve got yourself some dinnertime romance.
Surprise ‘Em at the Office
If you’re in that delicious stage of a relationship where you miss each other with all your might during the day, surprise the love of your life with his or her favorite fast food selections at lunchtime. Head outside, and park yourselves under a tree, side by side, arms brushing against each other as you raise burgers to lips. Wipe mustard from each other’s chins, laughing, then walk around holding hands until lunchtime is over and you have to part once more. Alas.
Get Ice Cream and Goof Off
Head to the hustlingest, bustlingest part of town and find yourselves a Baskin Robbins or Cold Stone Creamery. Get a couple of ice cream cones, and walk around checking out the sights. Sit on a bench and people watch, check out some public art, or go window shopping. It doesn’t matter what you do. The point is finding romance and intimacy in the simple things in life…like fast food.
