But with less Tina Fey and Steve Carell and more inexpensive ideas.
A date with your sweetie doesn’t have to cost a fortune – or involve snooty New York restaurants, crooked cops and a shirtless Mark Wahlberg, regardless of what Hollywood tells us – in order for you to have a good time. Inexpensive entertainment abounds in the Twin Cities. Here are three date ideas (including food, natch) for you and your beloved to try on for size.
Outdoor Activity Date:
Rent a canoe – or 2-person kayak for the same price – at $16 per hour. Rentals are available at Lake Calhoun, Lake Harriet and Lake Nokomis. Paddle around for a couple hours, and see the city from a whole new perspective. Lake Calhoun also offers bike rentals for a low $8 per hour.
Then enjoy an outdoor dinner on the lake at The Tin Fish. Feast on fish tacos from $3.95 to $6.95 or fish and chips for $11.95. The Tin Fish is open until 7:30 PM daily through Labor Day weekend, and will stay open as long as weather permits in throughout September and October.
A Date for Dancing, With A Side of Spelunking:
The Wabasha Street Caves offer cave tours plus swing dancing every Thursday evening. An odd, but inexpensive, combination.
Cave Tours – Thursdays at 5 PM, and Saturdays at 11 AM, 45 minute walking tour, $6 a person.
Swing Night – Thursdays at 6 PM, dance lessons at 6:15, dancing from 7 to 10 PM. $7 per person at the door.
Have dinner before, or lunch after, your tour at nearby Boca Chica. They’ve been serving delicious and authentic Mexican food since 1964. Most of their dinners top out at just $15 an entrée.
An Old-school Movie Date:
There are still two drive-in movie theaters operating around the metro area – Cottage View Drive-in in Cottage Grove and Vali-Hi in Lake Elmo. Both charge just $8 per person.
Vali-Hi is currently showing 3 movies per night – Grown Ups, The Expendables, and The Other Guys, starting at dusk. Cottage View is showing 2 movies – Nanny McPhee Returns and Inception. Movies start at dusk.
Bring along a gourmet car picnic. Either make it yourself, or pick up some tasty pre-made items from Kowalski’s or Byerly’s. I recommend packing stuff that’s easy to eat in the car, like sandwiches. And if you’re getting sandwiches, consider stopping by one of my two favorite (and inexpensive) sandwich shops – Maverick’s Roast Beef or Brasa Rotisserie. Both are located on the east side of town, closer to the drive-ins.
If you REALLY know your sweetheart, and he/she is up for an adventure that could end well… or in tears (not really, but possibly disappointment), check out this offer from the musical, Wicked, and the Hennepin Theatre Trust:
“The Wicked touring company and Hennepin Theatre Trust are pleased to announce that a lottery for a limited number of seats will be held daily for each performance of Wicked during the Minneapolis run August 11–September 19.
Each day, 2 ½ hours prior to show time, patrons who come to the Orpheum Theatre Box Office – 910 Hennepin Avenue, Mpls., 55403 – will enter their names, and thirty minutes later a drawing will be held for a limited number of seats to the next performance. Tickets will be $25 each, cash only. This lottery is available only in-person at the box office, with a limit of two tickets per person. Winners, with valid photo I.D., must be present when their names are called or they will forfeit their tickets.”
BTW, tickets usually start at $38 a piece and go up from there. Plus tax. OUCH.
What fun and frugal date ideas to you have? Share with the couples, please!
Date Night
But with less Tina Fey and Steve Carell and more inexpensive ideas.
A date with your sweetie doesn’t have to cost a fortune – or involve snooty New York restaurants, crooked cops and a shirtless Mark Wahlberg, regardless of what Hollywood tells us – in order for you to have a good time. Inexpensive entertainment abounds in the Twin Cities. Here are three date ideas (including food, natch) for you and your beloved to try on for size.
Outdoor Activity Date:
Rent a canoe – or 2-person kayak for the same price – at $16 per hour. Rentals are available at Lake Calhoun, Lake Harriet and Lake Nokomis. Paddle around for a couple hours, and see the city from a whole new perspective. Lake Calhoun also offers bike rentals for a low $8 per hour.
Then enjoy an outdoor dinner on the lake at The Tin Fish. Feast on fish tacos from $3.95 to $6.95 or fish and chips for $11.95. The Tin Fish is open until 7:30 PM daily through Labor Day weekend, and will stay open as long as weather permits in throughout September and October.
A Date for Dancing, With A Side of Spelunking:
The Wabasha Street Caves offer cave tours plus swing dancing every Thursday evening. An odd, but inexpensive, combination.
Cave Tours – Thursdays at 5 PM, and Saturdays at 11 AM, 45 minute walking tour, $6 a person.
Swing Night – Thursdays at 6 PM, dance lessons at 6:15, dancing from 7 to 10 PM. $7 per person at the door.
Have dinner before, or lunch after, your tour at nearby Boca Chica. They’ve been serving delicious and authentic Mexican food since 1964. Most of their dinners top out at just $15 an entrée.
An Old-school Movie Date:
There are still two drive-in movie theaters operating around the metro area – Cottage View Drive-in in Cottage Grove and Vali-Hi in Lake Elmo. Both charge just $8 per person.
Vali-Hi is currently showing 3 movies per night – Grown Ups, The Expendables, and The Other Guys, starting at dusk. Cottage View is showing 2 movies – Nanny McPhee Returns and Inception. Movies start at dusk.
Bring along a gourmet car picnic. Either make it yourself, or pick up some tasty pre-made items from Kowalski’s or Byerly’s. I recommend packing stuff that’s easy to eat in the car, like sandwiches. And if you’re getting sandwiches, consider stopping by one of my two favorite (and inexpensive) sandwich shops – Maverick’s Roast Beef or Brasa Rotisserie. Both are located on the east side of town, closer to the drive-ins.
If you REALLY know your sweetheart, and he/she is up for an adventure that could end well… or in tears (not really, but possibly disappointment), check out this offer from the musical, Wicked, and the Hennepin Theatre Trust:
“The Wicked touring company and Hennepin Theatre Trust are pleased to announce that a lottery for a limited number of seats will be held daily for each performance of Wicked during the Minneapolis run August 11–September 19.
Each day, 2 ½ hours prior to show time, patrons who come to the Orpheum Theatre Box Office – 910 Hennepin Avenue, Mpls., 55403 – will enter their names, and thirty minutes later a drawing will be held for a limited number of seats to the next performance. Tickets will be $25 each, cash only. This lottery is available only in-person at the box office, with a limit of two tickets per person. Winners, with valid photo I.D., must be present when their names are called or they will forfeit their tickets.”
BTW, tickets usually start at $38 a piece and go up from there. Plus tax. OUCH.
What fun and frugal date ideas to you have? Share with the couples, please!