Let’s face it – date nights can get sort of predictable. When we have a date night, my husband and I usually go to one of our fave restaurants or – more embarrassingly – hit Lowe’s or Home Depot to research some home improvement project – can you say “old married couple??!”
Sometimes I wish we could think outside the box a little and take advantage of some of what the city has to offer. I thought I’d ask around to some friends to find out if there were some fun date night spots around Charlotte we’re missing (apparently I’m not alone in my boring life because lots of friends I asked also had a hard time coming up with ideas). Some of these are from my super smarty stay-at-home dad friend, Brian – can you guess which ones?
Please chime in here – I know there are loyal CSP readers all over town that know the best kept secrets – share them!
– The Comedy Zone in Charlotte or Fort Mill – very useful if your husband is just not that funny to you at the moment.
– Trivia night at Brixx uptown – Saturday nights at 7:30 – since we’re the same age and went to the same college, my husband and I are super competitive with who’s smarter – I bet we’d both feel equally dumb at trivia night.
– Wine and Design, drink wine (BYOB) and paint a picture or Painting with a Twist (same concept) – they had me at “drink wine.”
– VBGB Beer Hall and Garden – This is for AFTER you’ve bribed your husband to go to the paint and wine place – it’s a big, open place with with a great beer selection and a yummy menu. Also useful as a diversion tool when the credit card statement comes in with too many Lululemon purchases.
– Check out a concert at the NC Music Factory (totally my favorite live-music venue in Charlotte) and head to Osso or VBGB for dinner and drinks – maybe even pretend you’re on the “Bachelorette” and rekindle old feelings for each other?
– Get your art fix in a NODA gallery crawl – like a pub crawl, but instead of visiting only watering holes, you can meander at your own leisure past a lively street scene through a collection of street vendors, galleries, shops and boutiques. Admission is free. You might have to visit VGBG for your next date night – see notes above.
– Make a date “day” – instead of hiring a babysitter at night, hire a babysitter on a Saturday morning or Saturday/Sunday afternoon. Maybe play tennis or get in your work out together, grab lunch and a matinee. Very useful if you’re like me and like to have a couple of cocktails at dinner and just end up falling asleep in a 9:00 pm movie.
– If you can swing a full night away, try the Westin or Ritz uptown – my husband and I did this for our anniversary one year. It seriously felt like vacation because we don’t hit that part of town that often. One thing to note: a new attire might be in order because what we moms wear is NOT in style in the Uptown bar scene.
Your turn! What’s your favorite unique date night in Charlotte?
6 comments
All really good ideas. We struggle on date nights, too. Our last date night consisted of dinner outside in Stonecrest, followed by ice-cream and listening to the live music.
You could go downtown and hit the Bechtler or Mint Museums too – to do something a little different. Or scale the Mint Museum like Emily did on her date. Can’t everyone do that??
One of our best date days was heading up to the White Water Center and kayaking on the river in a 2 person kayak. Super fun!
Great ideas, because my hubby and I always wind up eating at one of 5 places and then grocery shopping on the way home. So sad!!
We too have ended up swinging by the grocery store on our way home from our date night dinner, LOL!
On a better date night we went to dinner and then to Petite Philippe on Selwyn for dessert and wine, it was a nice change.
Several years ago my husband and I played on a sports league together. It was a lot fun. Hmm, might look into that again!