Twitter user @BaconFlavoring thought it'd be a good idea to pretend to be stood up at an Outback Steakhouse on Valentine's day. He documented his plot to arrive at the Australian-themed chain on February 14 all dressed up and seemingly excited for a date who would ultimately not show up. Here's the (pretty obvious) catch—the stunt was all a ruse to score free dinner...and it worked.

"If I went to Outback Steakhouse by myself tonight and asked for a table for 2, then got progressively sadder as the night went on alone, do you think they’d give me my steak for free?" he first tweeted Thursday afternoon. In preparation for his scam, he called ahead to the restaurant to say his date was running late, and posted a picture at his table for two: "In case you were wondering whether I’m taking this seriously...y’all. i wore a suit jacket," he continued.

He even ordered his imaginary date her wine of choice: "'Well I remember she said she loves chardonnay so why don’t we start with a glass of that.'" He then finished the loaf of bread and faked a voicemail to his missing date as the waiter approached.



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if I went to Outback Steakhouse by myself tonight and asked for a table for 2, then got progressively sadder as the night went on alone, do you think they’d give me my steak for free? — Phteven (@baconflavoring) February 14, 2019

People started to take notice. "The waiter just talked to the bartender," he updated. "I’m sitting in a booth at the bar and every single person within eye range has glanced at me at some point during the evening." He even gave his fake date a name and backstory, calling her Katherine and filling his growing fanbase in on their love story: they met at the grocery store, hands grazing as they went for the same bag of shredded cheese...

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By the end of the thread, he reported back the mission was "successful." A couple at the bar had paid for his meal. Ultimately, he donated $50 to the American Civil Liberties Union as a thank you and got his leftovers to-go.

The scammer in question was only identified to WBDJ 7 News as "Stephen." Stephen shall remain a hero—or a villain, depending on your point of view—forever in our hearts.

Megan Schaltegger Editorial Fellow Megan is a Delish editorial fellow and University of Missouri alum.

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