Sometimes you're stuck in the same-old dinner-and-a-movie dating rut. We've all been there. Here, washingtonpost.com's Entertainment Guide staff offers expert suggestions that can help you build a better date.
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♥ Is there anything more romantic than riding a Metro escalator? There you are, standing single file, facing each other, shorter person on the higher step, letting the world pass you by. To max out that transitory pleasure, start your date at the Wheaton Metro station, home of the longest escalators in the system. Above ground, keep the surprises coming. Nearby Good Fortune Chinese Restaurant serves dim sum on weekends. In another walkable distance, Mia Casa/Ijing Music Studios has private rooms for noraebang karaoke -- just like "Lost in Translation."
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♥ This is how you get down when fate tosses you a bonus: unexpectedly nice weather on a Sunday. Start by checking out the chess fiends in Dupont Circle and maybe getting your own game on with your date. Then head over to browse the stacks at Second Story Books. Great conversation can be sparked by reading and music preferences. When the hunger kicks in, have a meal at Raku and sit outside. Get dessert at SweetLicks and eat your treats while walking over to Meridian Hill Park to listen to the drummers.
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♥ We start the day off in cozy curl-up mode, with a strong cup of Route 66, with beans from Misha's in Old Town.
Once energized, we head to Tranquil Space yoga studio for some spine elongation, mind-body awareness and some decompressing from a long week. For a quick post-yoga spritz, we might breeze by Teaism for a cup of chai and a salty oat cookie.
We don't have reservations for dinner, but that's fine with us. Instead, we'll grab a crab cake sandwich and sit at the long communal table at Market Lunch in Eastern Market, perhaps followed by a little stroll among the artist stalls.
We'll stop at Cheesetique in Del Ray, for a late-afternoon nibble of some strange and wonderful fromage, and while away some at-home time with a good bottle of something red, perhaps from Spain. I have a big crush on the 1998 Dominio del Arenal Crianza, a Tempranillo-Shiraz blend that I recently discovered at Best Cellars in Arlington.
Dessert will be none other than red velvet cake, which promises to be featured on the menu at Majestic Cafe in Old Town. If we're just too pooped from all the mutual pampering, perhaps we can leave that until Sunday, with some time noodling around the shelves at Kulturas Books.
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♥ When you're tired of the hustle and bustle of Washington, it's nice to just get out of town -- even if you're only heading 15 miles upstream. For an afternoon of awe-inspiring natural beauty and a touch of exercise, pack a picnic and head for Great Falls Park (that's the one on the Virginia side of the Potomac River).
Watch the river roar down the Mather Gorge from one of the observation posts, hike the River Trail, examine the ruins of Matildaville, the 18th-century town established by Revolutionary War hero "Light Horse" Harry Lee. (You may want to time your visit to coincide with one of the ranger-led hikes that examine history or geographic features of the park, as they provide a good overview without being too long or physically demanding.) You could eat at a table in the designated picnic grove or, if you're more of a rebel, spread a blanket on the cliffs overlooking the water and do some vulture-spotting while you dine, listening to the roar of the falls.
By this point, you've probably worked up a thirst. That's when you head for the traditional Old Brogue Irish Pub in the Great Falls Village Centre, where, if you're lucky, you can grab a seat by the fire, enjoy a pint of Guinness and listen to traditional Celtic music.
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♥ The wow factor -- it's essential to any date. You don't have to try anything over the top to keep your date in awe, just check out the Air and Space Museum's Dulles outlet, the Udvar-Hazy Center. A little drive allows time for conversation and that's a fine start. Plane buffs and novices alike appreciate the sprawling glory of the Udvar-Hazy's collection, including the space shuttle Enterprise, SR-71 Blackbird, Concorde jet and 100 other air and space craft. After a tour of the hangar, it's a short drive to downtown historic Leesburg to the more charming Lightfoot restaurant. Settle in for lunch or dinner, but keep in mind the bar menu offers a satisfactory respite all afternoon.
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♥ You may find this hard to believe, but going out to see live music on a date doesn't have to involve getting tickets ahead of time. There are, for you independent music-minded fans, low-key, easy-access places in Washington and the suburbs that don't involve exorbitant ticket surcharges and parking headaches.
Jazz lovers who appreciate a hole-in-the-wall vibe should check out HR-57, a gritty and altogether cool club on 14th Street NW. (The home-cooked food is pretty good, too.) Indie rock fans know all about the Black Cat and the 9:30 club; but for a more intimate, more indie experience, get to the Warehouse Next Door, across from the new Convention Center, or the tiny but ambitious Galaxy Hut on Wilson Boulevard in Arlington. IOTA is a great roots rock and country venue in Arlington, but is very often sold out. As an alternative, try Half Moon Bar-B-Que in Silver Spring for a dose of rockabilly and honky-tonk or Jammin' Java in Vienna for folkier, singer-songwriter fare. There's also reliably good bluegrass every Wednesday night at Madam's Organ in Adams Morgan and live blues Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at New Vegas Lounge on P Street.
Some of those venues have cover charges, but they aren't hefty; and many of the clubs showcase local bands and artists, so your big date is also helping support the area's music scene. Remember, going out on a date to hear music shouldn't be something you have to plan ahead weeks in advance. There are clubs that allow you to indulge your spontaneous music-loving nature.
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♥ I'd like this, please: A spin out to Anthropologie at Tysons for a pretty frock, followed by a session of mud and massage at Mandarin Oriental's The Spa. After a restorative doze in Room 9 at the Tabard Inn, I shall be suitably dressed and refreshed. Then it's off for drinks by the fire at the Tabard's cozy lounge and a taxi to Minibar.
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♥ A date? That's all? How about a weekend? Okay, I'd settle for a night at the Hotel Monaco, room-service breakfast, Seventh Street art-gallery browsing mid-morn to mid-afternoon, afternoon tea at the National Galley Cafe (good ice cream), a nap back at the hotel and dinner at Cafe 15. In lieu of nap, I'd take a taxi to Georgetown Relish to pick up some velvet Miu Miu shoes and a Narciso Rodriguez something or other, and a nip into Justine Mehlmann for appropriate jewelry.
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♥ Nothing says romance like a library, right? Instead of spending two silent hours in a movie theater, why not check out the American Treasures of the Library of Congress at the Library of Congress? See how compatible you really are by comparing your favorite historical artifacts -- will you pick first edition "Wizard of Oz" book from 1900 or perhaps the first edition (as in "rough draft") of the Declaration of Independence?
You will need something to eat, but leave the fixed-menu price gouging to the rest. When it comes down to it, who doesn't love pizza? Whenever it's on the menu you're probably too embarrassed to order it, so why not head to a place where it's the specialty? That would be 2 Amys, which has the best pies in town. After an early dinner there, head to the Improv for some comedy to close the evening, because those who can laugh together, can live together.
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♥ The next best thing to curling up with a good book? Going on a date with a fellow lit lover. Start the evening by attending a reading at Politics & Prose, the Connecticut Avenue bookstore that's ideal for browsing while you get to know each better. Then head to Teaism, where you can munch on tempura and talk authors. (Come on a Sunday night and catch Myth, the ongoing poetry slam event.) No writerly evening would be complete without a caffeinated nightcap; end the date with a cup of Joe at Tryst.
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♥ During cold snaps, the ice rink in the National Gallery of Art's Sculpture Garden is filled with families as well as couples on dates. It's a fun way to spend a few hours, and the sculpture makes for a picturesque backdrop. Problem is, the rink can get a little crowded. If you want to lace up your skates for a date, try the lesser-known Pershing Park Ice Rink at 14th and Pennsylvania Avenue NW. The cost of admission and skate rental is cheaper than at the National Gallery, and late-night sessions on Friday and Saturday give you and your honey more room to hold hands. But Pershing Park has another advantage: It's across the street from the Willard Hotel's Round Robin Bar.
After two hours of twirling around the ice (and hopefully not falling too often), stop in for one of bartender Jim Hewes's warming seasonal drinks, which include homemade eggnog topped with cognac or the more traditional Hot Toddy.
