Dating for a Cause

‘Tis the season to give back to your fellow man, why not do it while you are on a date? (And not in the way that you are thinking…naughty - Santa’s going to hear about that one).  Here are a few date destinations where your dollar goes back to helping other people, and then you can feel great as you date J

Housing Works Bookstore and Café ( 126 Crosby Street, 10012)

http://www.housingworks.org/social-enterprise/bookstore-cafe/

This is a really great used bookstore that has a huge selection of books, and also has a café in the back that serves the normal café fare as well as beer and wine.  My recommendation for a date there would be to have a competition with your date to see who can find the coolest book in 15 minutes.  Buy the books and whoever has the lamer book gets the first round.   All of the profits from this date will go to helping homeless New Yorkers who have HIV and AIDS. 

Dixon Place (161A Crystie St btwn. Rivington & Delancy 10002)

http://dixonplace.org/index2.html 

The space is really dynamic, in the front it is a bar/lounge where you can see live music, and drink pretty inexpensive drinks, in the back there is a huge theater space where you can see readings, plays, artist, and singers.  The theater/bar is run by a non-profit organization that is dedicated to giving emerging New York City artist a space to put on their shows.  Most of their revenue comes from the bar, so every drink that you have helps to support art in New York City!  Your date will think that you are a regular Rockefeller when you order that 3^rd round.

Don’t you feel good about yourself?  I thought that you would!  

Sunday Funday

Sunday Blues.  I hate them.  You hate them.  We all hate them.  They are that feeling that you get when you have that realization after a fun weekend full of laughing, adult sodas and late nights, that tomorrow you have to go back to work.  It is an awful feeling, with only one cure – Sunday Funday.  Call up that person that you have been wanting to ask out and have them meet you for brunch at Regional (2607 Broadway Between 98^th and 99^th)http://www.regionalnyc.com/.  They have incredible Italian food, and the best brunch drink special – you buy one drink, a mimosa or a bloody mary, and you get unlimited refills!  The wait staff is so friendly, and they are awesome about coming around with more of your favorite brunch beverage, and they never try to rush you out.  You and your date can relax, enjoy your brunch and giggle about the fact that you are pretty tipsy and it is completely light out.

Then there are two options:

-          If you and your date are sports fans, and want to stay on the booze bus, take the 1 train to Blondie’s (212 West 79^th St between Broadway and Amsterdam) http://blondiessports.com/ which is great place to watch football.  It is a really fun environment, there are so many people and the energy is so high, that it feels like a Saturday night (and Monday morning just might feel like Sunday morning, but that is another worry for another day)

-       Or If you and your date are more outdoorsy, and want to get off the booze bus, head over to the Green Flea Market (Columbus Ave btwn 77^th and 76^th) http://www.greenfleamarkets.com/ for some outdoor market shopping.  They have really interesting stalls, with vintage clothes, pieces of art, jewelry and a farmers market.  If you want to score some major points, buy a little something for your date while they aren’t looking – even an apple will do the trick – and I am willing to bet that in return you will get a high five, and maybe more.

Happy Hour Romance

Happy Hour Romance

With the days getting shorter and shorter we need more reasons to look forward to the night time – one thing that gets me through these cold winter weekdays are happy hour.  I love that bars in the city give me the high five of less expensive drinks just for getting there right after work, and they are a perfect casual way to take someone out without the pressure of having to plan a full evening.

Start at Barbounia,(250 Park Ave South New York, NY 10003) they have a great happy hour, $4 for beers, $5 for a nice glass of red or white, $6 for champagne cocktails and the space is very fancy – arched ceilings, marble bar and an all around classy atmosphere.  They also have great appetizers that you can get at the bar for only about $3 the hummus and fresh baked bread is my favorite.

If things are going well enough that you don’t want for the evening to end, head over to the tapas restaurant Sala One Nine (35 West 19th Street, NYC 10011 http://www.salaonenine.com/).  The dining room is really cozy, tin ceilings, low romantic lighting and exposed brick – it does really make you feel like you are in a restaurant in Spain.  The food is really tasty, the chorizo is awesome and I have a giant crush on the sangria (go for the pitcher, you deserve it).

If you want to take it to a whole new level of being the most romantic person your date knows- head over a couple of blocks to Madison Square Park where they are having an art installation called “Scattered Light” through February (https://www.madisonsquarepark.org/programs/madsqart.aspx) which looks really beautiful against the backdrop of the Chrysler and the Empire State Building. 

Then if all goes well hopefully you’ll be enjoying another one of my favorite winter pastimes: making out.

Over the River and Through the Hipsters to Williamsburg We Go!

Over the River and Through the Hipsters to Williamsburg We Go!

This is a great second or third date to go on with a special person who you’d like to knock the socks (or more) off of.

Start at Dram (177 S. 4^th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211 http://drambar.com/blog/) it is a very cozy, dimly lit, cocktail bar, where they have candles on all of the tables and dark wood lining the inside of the bar.  The drink menu is extensive and interesting – I’d definitely recommend getting a cocktail, they are all really tasty and talking through the eclectic ingredients (think absinthe and fino sherry)in the specialty drinks is a great conversation piece (my favorite is Lafayette Buck – it is perfecto!)

After drinks head over a few blocks to Fatty ‘Cue (91 South 6^th Street, Brooklyn 11211, http://www.fattycue.com/) which is a Southeast Asian bar-b-que restaurant, which is unlike any other bar-b-que restaurant I have ever been to.  Start your dinner with a Recession Special, which is a shot of pickle juice, then a shot of whiskey followed by a pbr tall boy – it sounds awful, but it is amazing.  The menu is mostly small plates, so you and your date can mix and match different tastes.  I’d recommend asking the waiter what their favorite things on the menu are.  Also if you want a professionals critics idea on what the best things on the menu are, check here : http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/fatty-cue/.  As a warning, most of their food is very smoky, so make sure to order one of their refreshing vegetable sides. 

There are two options on how to end your evening:

1.       Call United Taxi (718-349-5900) and have them whisk you right back into the city watching the approaching city from the back seat of their town car

2.       For the more adventurous (and one who doesn’t mind planning a little ahead) bring two airplane bottles of (insert your favorite liquor here) with you in your jacket pocket and stop by Supercore Café (305 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211 http://www.supercore.tv/)and grab a hot beverage to go.  Then mix yourself a hot cocktail to sip with your sweetie as you walk back to Manhattan over the Williamsburg Bridge.

Deal = Sealed.