Evening · 8 ideas · easiest first
A date that isn't the first
After the first few dates, the drink-and-dinner routine starts to feel like a rerun. The fix is to do one thing you haven't done before, together, badly. Pottery, a cooking class, a drive-in, a bathhouse. None of these need you to be good at anything, and all of them give you a story. Ordered from a quiet evening to a whole production.
A long lunch at a dinner place
The restaurant you'd never afford at 8 pm, at 1 pm, for forty percent less, with the same kitchen.
- Cost
- $20–35 per person
- Best when
- Weekday lunch, 12:30–2:30
- Cheaper
- Prix-fixe lunch menus are the deal. Skip wine at lunch and it's half the dinner bill.
- Skip it if
- You have to go back to a desk after. Take the afternoon.
- Bring
- A reservation. The good lunch places fill.
A tasting flight at a wine bar
Three glasses, a card explaining them, and an excuse to sit across a small table for two hours.
- Cost
- $20–30 per flight
- Best when
- Tuesday to Thursday, when the bartender has time to talk
- Cheaper
- Many wine bars run a half-price bottle night early in the week.
- Skip it if
- It's a first date and you don't know whether they drink.
- Bring
- An appetite. The cheese plate is the move.
The small theater across town
Older films, odd films, a Q&A if you're lucky, and a lobby where people actually talk after.
- Best when
- Weeknight evening shows
- Cheaper
- Repertory theaters sell memberships that pay off at the third film.
- Skip it if
- You need reclining seats and a blockbuster.
- Bring
- Nothing. The popcorn is usually real butter here.
A planetarium show
Reclined seats, a dark dome, a calm voice explaining the sky. The best forty minutes of a hot afternoon.
- Best when
- Afternoon shows, any season; evening laser shows on weekends
- Cheaper
- Often included with science museum admission, which itself has a free day.
- Skip it if
- You fall asleep in dark rooms. You will.
- Bring
- A sweater. Domes are kept cold.
A one-off pottery class
Two hours, a wheel, a lump of clay, and something lopsided you'll keep forever.
- Best when
- Weeknight evenings or Saturday mornings; book a week ahead
- Cheaper
- Taster sessions are cheaper than a full course. Hand-building classes cost less than the wheel.
- Skip it if
- You want to be good the first time. Nobody is.
- Bring
- Clothes you don't mind. Short nails help.
Drive-in double feature
Two movies, your own car, your own snacks, and nobody checks what you brought.
- Cost
- $10–14 per person
- Best when
- Clear nights, April through October
- Cheaper
- Most drive-ins charge per person, not per car, but carload nights exist. Check the schedule.
- Skip it if
- Your car's battery is iffy. The radio runs for four hours.
- Bring
- Blankets, a cooler, bug spray, and a portable radio if your car doesn't like idling.
A bathhouse afternoon
Sauna, cold plunge, a hot pool, a nap in a robe. Three hours later you're a different person.
- Best when
- Weekday afternoons, when it's quiet
- Cheaper
- Weekday day passes are cheaper than weekends. Bring your own sandals and towel if allowed.
- Skip it if
- You're uncomfortable in a swimsuit around strangers. Fair; some have quiet single-use saunas.
- Bring
- Water bottle, swimsuit, a book for the resting room.
A cooking class
Three hours, a shared stove, a menu you'd never attempt at home, and dinner at the end of it.
- Best when
- Friday or Saturday evenings; weeknights are cheaper
- Cheaper
- Community centers and grocery stores run classes at a third of the price of culinary studios.
- Skip it if
- You wanted a quiet dinner. You'll be chopping onions with strangers.
- Bring
- An appetite and a container for leftovers.