He ages like ... cheese

The myth goes: men get better with age, but only some women age gracefully. Men in their twenties don't need to settle down because they will get more handsome and marketable, which can wait to be exposed to the dating pool until their late thirties/early forties. So, they wait and then they make shameless plugs to being "ready" when they are older. Case and point:
This week I was in LA for work and out to drink with colleagues, a group of older men come over to talk about absolutely nothing: so and so is an executive chef and someone else owning real estate. Honestly, after a long day, I just was not in the mood for entertaining the elderly. Then the classic lines from the fogies "what do you do?" "Oh, isn't that interesting..." "So do you have a boyfriend?" For some reason my answer, "yes we've been together for four years", doesn't deter men in their forties as easily as it does their younger peers. The man literally replies with "oh that's nice, you know, I'm ready for marriage now..." I wanted to say, "congratulations for making that revelation so timely in your life," but instead I made a really awkward motion to one of my co-workers mentioning the man's occupation and made the ever-popular escape.
Unfortunately, my thoughts about this man being pathetic seemed to anger karma and a waiter spilled red wine down my shirt and onto a practically new pair of beige shoes (luckily sparing my favorite cargo pants). Maybe karma is favoring the older men that capitalize on waiting? But honestly, did this man really think sans boyfriend someone twenty plus years his junior would be interested in a marriage-friendly male of his age?
And then I thought about the book and now movie "Think Like A Man" that argues men are ready to be married when they feel their life is where it's suppose to be: financially stable, career-elevated, and structurally sound in all other capacities.
Do women simply feel these stable platforms earlier on and men get the realization later? I think men choose to age like cheese, they teeter on curdled and come out as an acquired taste. But don't worry there are plenty of women closer in age that are single, fabulous, and spared of the cougar status. And these are the same women that age like a fine wine, women that know their worth, but no one has uncorked them yet. I'm no match-maker, but since wine and cheese pair well together, maybe if men stop believing in age ain't nothing but a number they could wind up with a nice bottle :)

Fine Print

I normally stay away from food/restaurant/dining reviews primarily because I'm not a certified food/restaurant/dining critic, and sometimes you might just have to chalk up a bad experience to the restaurant having a bad day. However, this I needed to write about because I think it's a customer experience that people should be cautioned of.
This weekend I decided to try my first Groupon and go to a wine tasting with the bf. The wine was delicious and I even learned a few things that will make me pause before ordering my staple Pinot. We arrive to Giorgio's in good fashion (not my typical 15 minutes late) and the honeys and I sat down for what he likes to call "one of my adventures." To our right was a nice couple from Edison, NJ (who apparently had reservations for dinner at Top of the Rock following the tasting). To our left were a brother/sister looking pair, the brother (we'll call him) obnoxiously called out random facts about his personal wine journey and how he loves reds. Needless to say, he continuously got the side eye all night from most of the participants in the class.
10 wines, two types of cheese, salami, mini pizzas (called artisan - but resembled a cracker with red sauce) - the night was going well. Even our instructor,  a Bulgarian woman named, Maggie could be named mildly entertaining and outright funny 10 wines deep. Then we started to pack up to leave.
So here is where I need to derail slightly so that you have the full picture: Groupon offers an ironically named and yet informative section on each deal called "the fine print", in which they intend to claim all terms and conditions that could be defined as "the catch". Nothing in this fine print section mentioned "you might get bamboozled at this deal site...."
Back to the story - the honeys and I were leaving and Maggie approaches us with the bottle of wine promised in the deal in addition to a $9.00 tax and whatever gratuity we would like to add. Now, all this is understandable as Groupon specifies "tax not included" however, I have two points, 1. someone could have mentioned/reminded us of this before/during/after we sat down for the class and 2. four people left while we scrambled through our bags. When we reveal a $20.00 bill and ask for the change she becomes very insistent that gratuity isn't included and that she only has $10 bills, mind you, on a Saturday night. Now, since I've worked in a restaurant before I cannot explain to you the rarity that early on a Saturday night you run out of change for twenties. Not only does it risk the chance that people just won't tip you - it's just not very smart business. So while we're debating on the reality that she really didn't have change for the $10 she handed over, two more patrons that did the wine class walk out. Here's my gripe: in the 4 minutes that you bamboozled us $20.00, six people walked out without paying the tax OR gratuity and with a free-ninety-nine bottle of wine.
I'm not cheap, but I'm wondering - was that legit? Or were we just the lucky couple selected for the price increase?
And Dear Groupon, is this something you support... the duping of customers?