Notable qualities: A gentleman with aspirations of one day becoming the chairman of the Federal Reserve

HANNAH McDONNELL: 22 / law student

Her interests: Travel, politics, business, juggling

Her perfect match: Ryan Reynolds and he would be a successful entrepreneur

7 P.M. PUBLICO STREET BISTRO, SOUTH BOSTON

RATING INTEREST

J.R. Cupid piqued my interest — to my knowledge, The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times don’t have comparable blind-dating columns. I always enjoy meeting new people, as I genuinely believe that everyone has something interesting to say.


Hannah I got input from my friends on what to wear.

J.R. I planned on arriving early, as Boston traffic can be quite unpredictable. (I now understand why statisticians use Poisson processes to model traffic flows.)

Hannah He was at the table when the host brought me over.

J.R. Hannah had a beautiful smile, and while she dressed a bit more casually than I did — not an uncommon situation for me, as I have an anachronistic tendency toward formality — she looked stylish and trim.

Hannah He was dressed very professionally and he was tan . . . from California!

STIMULATING TALK

J.R. Hannah was a voluble and adept conversationalist. As PhD students like myself have a tendency to prattle on about their research, I was glad the waitress intervened to ask for our orders. We covered many topics, from her recent travels in Europe to her fondness for The Proposal, and I appreciated that she had an optimistic outlook on life.

Hannah He is very intelligent. He is at MIT, and knows a lot about finance and economics. We talked about our postgraduate plans. We also talked a lot about football and movies.

J.R. We shared a mutual appreciation for the benefits of team sports in instilling principles that promote professional success. (I mentioned the oft-quoted Joe Namath remark, “Football convinced me that life is a team game.”)


Hannah He’s still a Patriots fan (thank God) although he’s from California.

J.R. I had the lamb chops and a berry tart for dessert. We sat in the “plein air” area of the restaurant, and it was the perfect atmosphere for a summer night.

Hannah The service and food were top notch. My Bolognese had a unique truffle flavor.

DOLLARS AND SENSE

J.R. Hannah is an ebullient and amiable person. On the whole, dinner lasted approximately 2½ hours. We arranged for cars to pick us up. I gave her my number before I left. A hug seemed like the appropriate way to conclude a first date.

Hannah We both said we had a great time and got into our Ubers.

SECOND DATE?

J.R. I feel like we would be better suited as friends than romantic partners. I’m uncommonly ambitious for an academic, and looking for someone who will challenge me to achieve great things, yet support me unconditionally along the way. It’s admittedly a high bar — but that’s how I truly feel.

Hannah He was very sweet and smart. I really enjoyed getting to know him but I think we will be just friends.

POST-MORTEM

J.R. / A-

Hannah / A

Go on a blind date. We’ll pick up the tab. Fill out an application at bostonglobe.com/cupid. Follow us on Twitter @dinnerwithcupid.