Katie, 22, is an actress who doesn’t date actors. But what she didn’t know was that her date, Ryan, a 24-year-old agent trainee at a literary and talent agency, also shies away from thespians. The review? A so-so night at Chelsea’s Trestle on Tenth, where the daters’ impressions of each other were mixed and the vibe was purely platonic. In this case, save your 12 bucks and just wait for it to come out on DVD.

He said:

I thought the 15-minute walk to Trestle on Tenth was a good idea to help me relax on my way to meet Katie. The hot and humid night had a different idea, though, and by the time I arrived, I was praying that my deodorant would kick into overdrive.

I immediately spotted Katie at the bar and was pleasantly surprised at how pretty she was, since I had never seen her picture. After a few awkward moments of trying to cool myself down, we settled in at our table.

The atmosphere at the restaurant was great and the service and food even better. The photographer caused quite a stir when he came and paraded us around to take pictures all over the restaurant. As everyone in the packed restaurant tried to figure out who we were, I made a comment about how I felt like Posh and Becks coming to America, which I think went right over Katie’s head. She must not be a soccer fan, but who is?

She told me that she and her mom were avid Meet Market readers – Hi, Mom! – but the conversation was slow-going at first as we tried to find out what we had in common. I felt like there was a wall I had to break down, and she wasn’t very receptive to conversation at first. She did say that she was nervous, and admittedly, I was as well. When she said she was currently in acting school, considering I’ve worked a lot with actors in my profession and not had the best experiences with them, I was immediately turned off. However, we started to click better towards the end of the meal when we discovered that we had the same sense of humor and taste in movies and TV shows.

We both walked all the way back to my train station, except this time it was much cooler and I was much more relaxed. I don’t think I see things going forward romantically with Katie, but I am glad we met and hopefully we can hang out in the future. We exchanged numbers, and before she hopped into a cab, we talked about catching a movie at the Bryant Park summer movie series. Hitchcock’s “Psycho” under the stars? Sounds like the perfect night to me.

Rating: —

She said:

I showed up at Trestle on Tenth about 15 minutes early because I knew I had a slight advantage on Ryan – I had seen his picture and read his profile, but all he knew was my name. I figured that the least I could do was get there early so he wouldn’t have to sit in suspense wondering if every girl who walked through the door was his date.

I was greeted very warmly by the owner, which helped put me at ease since I was a little nervous. I figured that I’d wait for Ryan at the bar and enjoy a glass of sauvignon blanc – “Dutch courage,” I think a past Meet Market dater called it. Ryan showed up right on time and we were shown to our table.

One of the reasons I picked Ryan to go on the date was because I thought we would have lots to talk about. He works for a talent agency, which is of some interest to me as an actress with a limited knowledge of the business side of the industry. He mentioned in his profile that he had a unique outlook on life due to a childhood accident, which particularly resonated with me. He also mentioned that he was relatively new to the city. I love New York and have been here for some time, so I thought I would have some fun things to share with him about my experiences here. As it turned out, all of this was true, and the conversation flowed very easily – so much so that when our waiter first came to take our order, we hadn’t even opened the menu.

When we finally did get around to perusing the menu, I was impressed. One of the things I love about New York is all the wonderful restaurants, and Trestle certainly lived up to my expectations for a great meal. I ordered the lamb saddle, Ryan got the halibut, and for a starter, we split the crepinette of pork shoulder, which was unbelievable.

But to be honest, as comfortable as our conversation and as excellent as the meal was, I didn’t feel a real romantic connection with Ryan. Don’t get me wrong – this guy is a total sweetheart. I would hang out with him in a heartbeat, and he’s exactly the kind of guy I would want most of my friends to date. But I guess I’m looking for someone with a little bit more New York experience. We’re just not quite in the same place; he’s almost too nice. I’m by no means looking for someone jaded or cynical, but I guess going on this date helped me to realize that I should be looking for a guy who’s a little more seasoned.

We finished up our meal, I walked Ryan to the subway and we exchanged phone numbers. If he calls me, I’d certainly like to hang out with him again, but only as friends.

Rating: —