Heat up your relationship with these 3 summer date ideas under $30
Ah, late summertime sadness. It’s so hot your car bursts into flames even if you park in the shade. Maybe you’ve already gone to the beach and the idea of spending more cold hard cash is making your bank account sweat.
But if you have a special someone, you still need to keep stoking the flames. Whether you’ve been together three years, two months or three days, a summer date night is a must.
Here are three date ideas that cost less than $30 — complete with free wild scenarios thanks to my infinitely en fuego imagination.
Summer Date Scenario No. 1: Strangers in the Night
It’s a balmy evening. You are not you. Your partner is not your partner. You are two devastatingly sexy strangers converging on the Regal Manor Twin in Myers Park. Your names are both ridiculous and sophisticated, as if you were two notorious jewel thieves.
The air is flush with the heady scent of fresh popcorn. Pick up the tickets and once your sexy stranger arrives, treat them to a Zap Pack — a TV dinner-like cutout with room for popcorn, fruit snacks and a drink.
Sit in the back of the theater and, 35 minutes into the movie, the armrest goes up. That’s when you reach around and whisper, “Oh Francesca, this Zap Pack is the perfect amount of popcorn. Let’s elope this evening and adopt a stray pug!”
Cost Breakdown:
– One Zap Pack: $5.69
– Two movie tickets: $21.22
– Sexy stranger personas: Free
– Total: $26.91 (plus tax)
– Surplus: $3.09 (perfect for an after Zap Pack mint)
Regal Manor Twin, 609 Providence Road, Charlotte.
Summer Date Scenario #2: La Cottura Per Due
In case your Italian is not al dente, this summer date is all about Cooking for Two. I don’t care if you have trouble boiling water. Tonight, you are Le Cordon Bleu-trained chefs. Sure, there are convenient mail-order dinners that come to you in a big brown box, but where’s the romance in putting Pack A into Pack B?
Instead, drive to Pasta and Provisions on Providence Road and buy ingredients for homemade ravioli. This Charlotte institution sells the fresh and frozen pasta dough that’s ready to be cut and filled with pesto and topped with sauces and canned tomatoes.
You don’t even need a ravioli cutter. Follow this recipe sans the making dough part. Make a simple ricotta cheese and pesto filling and don’t overfill. There’s no better bonding experience than screaming at each other LOOK THE RAVIOLI IS FLOATING GET IT OUT BEFORE IT BURSTS.
Cost breakdown:
– Pasta dough: $4.99 per pound (you only need 1 pound)
– Basil pesto: $5.99 (for filling)
– Ricotta cheese: $6 locally made (for filling)
– Marinara sauce: $3.99 per pound (you only need 1 pound)
– Happily swearing like a sailor with your beloved: Free
– Total: $20.97 (plus tax)
– Surplus: $9.03 (Buy a $6.99 one-pound bag of their homemade cheese ravioli in case you mess up.)
Pasta and Provisions, 1528 Providence Road, Charlotte.
Happy Valentine’s Day from Lara, me, and Our Tour of Homemade Ravioli.
A photo posted by @lookitsjoanne on Feb 14, 2016 at 5:35pm PST
Summer Date Scenario No. 3: Escape the Kitchen.
Your kitchen is a disaster. There’s no sponge big enough to sop up this mess, and recklessly abandoning chores is hot when done for love. Flee to Sabor and share the nachos. Get the churros with strawberry ice cream for dessert. (Hint: The strawberry ice cream is only at the NoDa location).
Cost breakdown:
– Supreme Nachos with shredded chicken or vegetarian: $6.95
– Amigos Margaritas x2: $5.95 + 5.95=$11.90
– Churros with Strawberry ice cream: 4.95
– Additional damage to your kitchen: None
– Total: $23.80 (plus tax)
– Surplus: $6.20 (time for extra guacamole)
(Sabor Latin Street Grill – NoDa, 3205 North Davidson St., #105, Charlotte. Many other locations.)
Photo: Diedra Laird/Charlotte Observer
This story was originally published July 29, 2016 at 12:02 AM with the headline "Heat up your relationship with these 3 summer date ideas under $30."