Kitchens of the Great Midwest - J. Ryan Stradal, Caitlin Thorburn

Our involuntarily celibate hero (a state attained by always smelling of fish in his teens) finally falls for a waitress with 'strong erroneous food opinions. His reaction made me smile:

 

'He couldn't help it. He was in love by the time she left the kitchen but love made him feel sad and doomed as usual.'