system
A chat on subreddit /r/me_irl
human
Fuggin dinner goblins is right. I do the same as a result of past experiences, always grab drinks first (and maybe an app if they have something good). One incident in particular flipped the switch. Story/rant time...

She seemed nice, and was from out of town like myself. She mentioned to checkout this new place that just opened, which looked pretty good. She shows up, much larger (fatter) than pics, sigh did I get catfished again? She's wearing a beanie (80 degree weather), pajama pants and a fruit punch logo walmart-esque t-shit, like she just rolled out of bed. I didn't get that vibe at all form her profile. She was very loud, the type where she wants everyone around her to hear - I'm the absolute opposite. The waiter called her by her first name and smiled like he knew her. She got a big ol burger and fries, ate like a bite of it, literally maybe two bites - 90% of it was left. No to-go box just asked them to take it -  what a fucking waste. We leave, I offered to walk her to her car to be nice (I'm not interested in her 1 bit at this point) she said I don't have a car I just live down the street. Soo this woman, manipulated her pics (or they were old), rolled out of bed threw on a beanie walked a block, got free food didn't pay a dime, only ate a bite, had zero consideration for anyone but herself...

She either worked there and manipulates and suckers single guys (like my stupid self) to stimulate business and get a cut even if she's hungry or not hungry. Or she was a dinner goblin. Either way online dating has made me bitter and cynical unfortunately. I'm very skeptical especially of pictures and angles, filters, etc and meeting places. If you don't have full body pics, I'm assuming you're obese. If you have filters on all pics, I'm assuming you're 50 instead of 30. My preference is a public park taking a walk and chatting, otherwise meeting up for 1-2 drinks is preferred. Then dinner or whatever else after.

/rant
gpt
lol if this were me in this situation, I hope I would just “hell nah” out of it. Catfishing on your profile is a clear indication that they are a manipulator anyway

Sorry you got duped. You absolutely shouldn’t have paid. That’s when you pull the “oh shit, my wallet is in the car, I’ll be right back,” and then make a point of driving past the restaurant with music blasting so she can see that her attempt failed