Champagne and caviar? Turns out the key to Hoda Kotb’s heart is a Bloomin’ Onion.
When Page Six asked the “Today” show co-anchor where she likes to be taken on a date, Eleven Madison Park wasn’t exactly at the top of the list.
“I like Cracker Barrel, Cheesecake Factory, Olive Garden and Red Lobster and Outback,” Kotb told us. “Do not diss any of those. Chili’s!”
The “Today with Hoda & Jenna” co-host was honored at the Hudson River Park Friends for their 8th annual playground committee luncheon held at Pier 59 on Friday.
She recently told “Entertainment Tonight” she is already planning a third date with the mystery man introduced to her by Jenna Bush Hager.
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Aside from disrespecting strip-mall dining options, Kotb told us she has some dating red flags.
“Someone who’s not polite,” she said. “If they don’t hold the door, if they don’t listen, if they start eating before I eat. You got to be polite. I’m a manners person.
“I never saw my mom open a car door. My dad always opened it. So manners matter.”
Kotb recently had a scare with her daughter Hope, 3, who was hospitalized last year. She told Page Six how the experience has changed her outlook.
“Money and fame and all of those things don’t matter,” she said.
“If you want real happiness in life, I mean, you got to be able to pay your bills, no question. But happiness comes when you wake up in the morning and you look around and you are happy with your kids, your life, who you are, what you represent. That’s what happiness is because everything else goes away.”
She added: “once you buy that new car, after the new car smell is gone, you’re like, ‘Now I’m complaining about something else.’
“You got something you dreamt about and then you’re like, ‘Wait, I don’t really like that anymore.’ You got to love other things, man, and I think once you got your kids and your health, the rest of it’s OK.”
