Singles serving

A dramatization of the author’s big night at DuMont Burger.

Photographs: Zandy Mangold

Tuesday
DuMont Burger (314 Bedford Ave between South 1st and 2nd Sts, Williamsburg, Brooklyn; 718-384-6128)

8:41pm
I enter a house packed with Billyburg couples canoodling over mounds of fries. The communal table is full and the bar is standing room only. I hold my coat and sweater, trying to blend in while Michael Jackson’s “Black or White” blares on the sound system.

8:53pm
Still standing, I order a Sweet Action ale. Come to think of it, sweet action is precisely what I’m looking for.

9:21pm
A mass exodus leaves the bar empty. I claim a stool in the center, allowing room for an influx of males. Meanwhile, I chitchat with Innis, the bartender. Rosita’s words echo, Jedi-like, in my mind: “The best conversation starter is food.” I ask cute Innis for a dinner recommendation; he puts in an order for his favorite burger.

10:13pm
Finally: A guy with lower-lip scruff deposits himself two stools away from me. He eyes my half-eaten meal.

10:24pm
His food arrives and I attempt contact, asking what he’s ordered. “Same as you,” he answers coyly. Score one, Rosita.

11:03pm
By now, the strangers at the bar are like family. Innis and the rest of us debate what’s the best food in Williamsburg: Diner’s steak and eggs, Marlow and Sons’ cardamom ice cream, date cake at Moto.

11:40pm
My scruffy friend introduces himself as Sam, and orders another round. Is it worth staying? Content and full, I pass him my card should he want to share further dining suggestions, or possibly a date…cake.

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