Who should pay?

This debate is a ever raging one but we just had to bring it up. When it comes  to a man and a woman going out on a date, who should pick up the tab? We here at  Flair have varying views which have been expressed over time. But before we get into what we think, we’re going to tell you about a real occurrence.

We got wind of this scenario the other day. Here it goes:  a guy invited a girl to a party.  It was their second time going out. She agreed but told him she would be bringing a friend along.  He said it was cool and off they went. There was no cover charge to enter the venue and the trio purchased no beverages while at the event. After the party, seeing that the night was still young,  the initiator suggested  going to a little watering hole for drinks and conversation. Upon arrival each person ordered a drink and the girl, who is the guy’s romantic interest,  ordered a serving of fries and wings.  Everyone munched on the food, will talking and having their drinks.  When the waitress came around to take an order for a second round of drinks, the romantic interest passed on ordering a second, her friend  took a refill.
The young man eventually asked for the bill and the waitresses announced that the bill was $1,700. The young man  asked, “So how are we going to split this?” The female friend didn’t hear  but when he repeated the question, the romantic interest immediately took out a thousand dollar bill and placed it on the table. The guy then said, “I only have my card.” He used the card to pay the bill  and pocketed the money.

Generally we don’t agree with this. One view, expressed by a male and female, is that a man especially, if he invited the woman out, should pay the bill.  This they also believe goes for a platonic relationship.
The other view, expressed by some women, is that nothing is wrong with splitting the bill between platonic friends, however, if a person, and note that word person, that means man or woman, is invited out on a romantic date, the person who made the offer should pick up the bill.

That should be the basic protocol unless there is a discussion about extenuating circumstances and an agreement is reached. We are not supporting any ‘boopsing out’ around here.  You know those people who order what they would never buy for themselves just because someone else is paying.
Neither does this view support the invited party bringing an entourage with him or her. However, if the initiator agrees to the invited taking a guest , then the initiator should foot the charges. The third party is then given the opportunity to offer to pay for his/her portion and then the initiator gets the opportunity to decide what he/she wants to do with that offer.
But in no case should the invited come up out of his/her pocket. That’s just what I think what do you think? Who should pay?