Evanston vegan chef Brandon Byxbe said he came across a casting call two years ago for a new NBC dating show executive produced by Ellen DeGeneres for vegan singles.

Byxbe, of Michigan, said he's found it challenging dating people in Chicago because he's not into the bar scene, so he filled out an application for the show and sat for an on-camera interview.

Nearly two years after stumbling on the casting news, the 35-year-old owner of Amazing Kale Burger in Evanston is set to appear on the season finale of NBC's "First Dates," a dating docu-series executive produced by DeGeneres, but not exclusive to vegan singles. The episode is scheduled to air at 7 p.m. Friday.

Though the show wasn't what he thought it would be, Byxbe said he was "already, like, excited so I just stuck along for the ride." He is one of dozens of singles from around the country who agreed to be set up with a stranger on a date at MK restaurant on the Near North Side in July 2015.

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