Dates to entice any mate
No matter what your ideal date may be, Dallas has what you’re looking for, from wine-tasting to Stars hockey games. Here are more ideas for eclectic dating fun.
Outdoor Dates
If you and your date want to be outside, the Dallas Farmers Market is a wonderful place to go. Open year-round, Farmers Market carries Texas-grown fruit and vegetables, as well as produce from all over the United States. Sample every kind of fruit, veggie and peanut – all for free – the perfect meal. Farmers Market also showcases flowers in the spring and contains a furniture warehouse filled with Texas-style decor. Located at 1010 S. Pearl St. in downtown Dallas.
Traders Village is a 106-acre flea market open every weekend and hosts more than 1,800 vendors. Admission is free. It is open from 8 a.m. until dusk Saturday and Sunday. Located at 2602 Mayfield Road in Grand Prairie.
Another great place to take a date is the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, where you will be surrounded by vivid colors and sensuous smells. The Women’s Garden contains an enclosed sanctuary, wind-activated harps and a reflective basin. Admission is $6 and parking costs $3. It is located at 8535 Garland Road and occupies 66-acres on White Rock Lake.
If you or your date are animal lovers, the Dallas Zoo is the place for you. It costs $7 and is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Dallas Zoo features one of the nation’s best exhibits – the Wilds of Africa, a 25-acre reserve that recreates six animal habitits: desert, forest, bush, mountain, river and woodlands. Just off I-35E, the zoo is at 650 S. R.L. Thorton Freeway.
The Dallas World Aquarium and Zoological Garden provides an atmosphere that can’t be beat. Large tanks of clear blue water house thousands of different kinds of water animals. Walk through the water tunnel and be surrounded by sharks, sting rays and sea turtles. Admission is $10.95 for all adults and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is located at 1801 N. Griffin Street. (214) 720-2224
Theme Dates
If you really want to get creative, try a theme date. A Texas theme is a great start. Check out Billy Bob’s Texas, with its vintage honky-tonk atmosphere and urban cowboy country music. Billy Bob’s is the perfect place to take a date who likes to two-step. If dancing isn’t your idea of fun, it offers pool, slot machines, an arcade and several bars. Billy Bob’s also offers live bull riding in its arena on Friday and Saturday nights as well as concerts. Located at 2520 Rodeo Plaza in Fort Worth.
The Fort Worth Herd can get anyone into the Texas mindset. This late-1800’s cattle drive recreation takes place twice a day at 131 E. Exchange Ave. in Fort Worth and is free. Authentic-looking cowhands herd cattle through the Stockyards National Historic District which also has the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame and Cowtown Coliseum for after the show.
If an eclectic atmosphere is your idea of a great date setting, Cubra Libre is the place to go. Located in the Knox/Henderson area, this hip bar and restaurant serves great food downstairs accompanied by a contemporary bar and patio upstairs.
Sushi & Sake: Since the sushi trend has hit Dallas, new Japanese restaurants have popped up all over town. The combination of sake bombing and California rolls has become a new diet for many SMU students. Sushi on McKinney was voted “Best California Roll” by The Dallas Observer for 2002 which said, “At this solid, unpretentious and thoroughly popular sushi palace, they make this old standard [California Roll] flawlessly. The flavors meld and blend in your little puddle of soy sauce.”
Just a few tips
For memorable dates bring along a disposable camera and make it your goal to finish it. Once the pictures are developed, drop them by your date’s house and make plans for your next Dallas adventure.
If you have the opportunity to buy or pick up something from the best part of your date, it will remind them of you in the future. Pick a flower from a garden, get your picture taken at Medieval Times or just pick up a match book from a restaurant.
