Men who will pay for expensive dates but won't buy gifts, what's the deal?

I didn't think about it like that, it makes more sense now.

Yep! And even further, he also gets enjoyment out of amazing dinners like that as well, and like you said a gift to you doesn't benefit him at all. It's a sign that he is absolutely not willing to invest in YOU, but is happy to have a fantastic woman at his side (complete picture) for a nice dinner that he also gets to enjoy. It would probably look a little ridiculous if he did amazing dinners like that by himself, too. He probably doesn't want to go alone; ie. You're being used as an "eater friend" instead of being pursued as an actual potential romantic partner.

These are also the types who believe things like, "I did enough for her. Women don't deserve anything special just for themselves." They are stingy and misongynistic at their core. This is why dinner dates don't mean anything if he's not actually investing in you. Your life needs to be improving as a whole with items and help coming in from him from all angles. Nice dinners are a part of the whole pie of what HVM do when they genuinely like you and are actively pursuing you.

OP is wondering if they are worried about being used, maybe so, but I think they are more concerned with actually just using you.

Men are willing to use women for just about anything and everything, including just having a pretty eating buddy across the table. I was used as a vacation and world travel buddy for a long time. I had to learn all of this the hard way!