Love is a restaurant where the three Fs flirting, foreplay and the other one all appear on the menu. How and what patrons order there depends not only on their appetite and mood, but also on their gender.

A woman can feel downright sickened by the sometimes grossly caloric and even greasy nature of flirtation, which is palatable only if it's presented in small portions with subtlety and panache.Foreplay I'd better not say "on the other hand" is an extremely delectable appetizer that, as far as women are concerned, is served in frustratingly small helpings.

I've noticed that in restaurants as well as in relationships,
appetizers are ordered and savored far more often in the early courtship stages than later on, once a romantic bond has been forged.

All too often, the man, out of zeal or cheapness, wants to give the appetizer a miss and go directly to the main course. He may regard such delicacies as being far too pricey, relative to their power to satisfy his hunger.

The woman, meanwhile, may not yet feel ready for the heavy pleasures of the main course. She's hankering instead for the more delicate and subtle tastes and sensations accompanying the hors d'oeuvres. Kisses, caresses, back rubs and romantic chit-chat are all listed in this first part of the menu. Many women can happily build an entire meal of appetizers without feeling in the slightest way deprived.

While the woman is sighing over the appetizers, her partner is doing his manly duty vis--vis the wine list. In all matters involving ardent spirits of both the potable and non-potable kind, the man knows that he must find just the right balance between good taste and gay abandon. Between the
erotic charge of being tipsy vs. the danger of tippling too much and eventually toppling.

When everything is going really well, both partners are ready for dessert at the same time, and both are well pleased with what they've ordered. In the best of all possible worlds, they linger over the last course long enough to savor every bite but not so long that any of its decorative luster melts away.

Unlike most restaurants, we never get tired of this one. Whether dining with one person or one person after another, we pull up our chairs and pull out the menu with the same childlike thrill every time.