We’ve all seen the ads in the Chron for the It’s Just Lunch dating service. Now I’ve seen, and read in its entirety, The It’s Just Lunch Guide to Dating in Austin. This franchise operation publishes a locality-specific book for each of its venues.

The text is full of dating bromides and counsel. My favorite bit of advice is that one should not order spaghetti on a first date. An outfit called The Authors Team composed the text for the book, which is the same from place to place, and the local franchisee drops in the items for each of the lists of bars, restaurants, and the like, along with a brief descriptive blurb.

The book sells for $9.95, or you may borrow it from the library, as I did. It bears a 2005 copyright, and only three or four establishments mentioned no longer exist. Generally speaking, this book does contain useful and quite accurate information and would be of particular use to a newcomer, all apart from its intrinsic entertainment value.