Dates that Beat the Heat
With temperatures in the upper 90s, strolling the monuments is not really a great date option right now. Rooftop bars are doubling as saunas. So how do you raise the heat in your dates and stay cool at the same time?
Bowling
Dinner dates are great, but you want to stay creative. Take your significant other on an old school date by going bowling. Lucky Strike in Gallery Place is an upscale, modernized version of traditional bowling alleys. Serving more than just pizza and beer, you can treat your date to a delicious margarita and crispy fish tacos for a refreshing dinner fit for the summer weather.
Another location that is relatively new to the DMV dating scene is Pinstripes. Located in Georgetown, this new kid on the block offers bowling and bocce. Check out their website ahead of time as the bowling alley has different specials each night. Friday night is 50/50 wine night, which means all bottles of wine $50 or less are 50 percent off. If you arrive early enough, you can also enjoy half-price appetizers.
Movies
Keep the night retro by going to a movie after knocking down some pins at the bowling alley. But forget the typical movie theaters. Instead, check out Landmark E Street Cinema for some cool indie films. You can purchase movie tickets ahead of time on their website. The theater has gourmet concessions serving a large variety of wine, beer and spirits.
Landmark’s Bethesda Row Theater is located on Woodmont Avenue in Bethesda. Other theaters showing indie films in the area are West End Cinema, AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center and the new Angelika Pop-up Film. Located on 23rd Street NW between M and N Streets, West End Cinema shows independent, foreign and documentary films. AFI Silver Theatre in downtown Silver Spring also shows a large variety films ranging from silent films with live musical accompaniment to digital state-of-the-art cinema. And the newest area micro center from the people who brought us Angelika Film Center in Fairfax’s Mosaic District, Angelika Pop-up Film at Union Market has reserved seating in an old warehouse showing indie and arts films.
Museums and Art Galleries
If it is a first date and you do not want to have any sort of friendly competition at a bowling alley or want to sit in silence at a movie theater, then head to your neighborhood museum or art gallery. The Torpedo Factory in Old Town Alexandria is a fun, creative spot to go on a date. You can visit each of the six galleries and the 82 different artist studios. You can even leave the date with a memento as much of the smaller art pieces tend to be for sale at decent prices. Post-date, head over to Chart House and dine indoors with a great view of the waterfront.
Should Old Town Alexandria not be your cup of tea, head to Dupont Circle where 11 art galleries keep late hours on the first Friday of each month. They also offer wine and hors d’ouvres. Help support local artists by visiting galleries such as Alex Galleries, Foundry Gallery or Fondo del Sol Visual Arts Center. Alex Galleries features contemporary American and European art. At Foundry Gallery, you can check out different lectures by member artists. Fondo del Sol operates as a nonprofit and features immigrant artists and African-American works.
Although outdoor movies, yoga on the mall and monument touring make great dates, sometimes it is just too darn hot out. With these suggestions, you can bring some creativity to the usual dinner and movie date. Your significant other will thank you for keeping him or her out of the heat and in air conditioning.
Dating and Relationship blogger, Sara Maldonado is a writer and social media guru currently navigating the sea of men while having an affair with the city of Washington, DC. She enjoys coffee, laughter, and a good hair day.