Hey couples! Savor your time together by spicing up your date night routine! Here are some ways to satisfy your hunger for food-themed adventures:
Cooking Classes
Turn off the TV’s food shows and turn up the heat with a hands-on culinary experience. There are tons of options for amateur home cooks to learn new skills or simply sample yumminess through a fun and flavorful cooperative activity. Find a class that aligns with your interests, such as Italian fare, sushi making, vegan baking, etc.
NEAR YOU
- Publix Aprons Cooking Schools offer a variety of classes across 10 Florida cities including Tampa and Jacksonville.
- The Social Table touts itself as “the best dinner party in Chicago,” with themed sessions like Southern Comfort, Taste of Spain and Sunday Brunch.
- The Floating Chef in San Diego, CA takes culinary students out on a 53′ Hatteras yacht where classes are taught on the ‘aft’ deck overlooking Mission Bay.
Food Tours
Couples are eating up this guided foodie-forward phenomenon. Tours take the guess work (i.e. the sometimes stressful part) out of date night planning. Culinary experts find the latest and greatest hot spots and present the most impressive menu choices. You may be in a committed relationship, but you don’t have to commit to just one dinner location because you’ll be on the move for more! Food tours are great for local date nights but can also be a sweet way to discover a city while vacationing.
NEAR YOU
- Bite into history on the French Quarter Tasting Tour in New Orleans with 6-7 stops at famous Louisiana eateries.
- The First Squares Food Tour is ranked as a Top Thing to Do in Savannah and, in our opinion, a must-do date activity.
- Hogshead Tours in Fayetteville, AK offers a Farm and Food tour designed to showcase local eateries, shops, and farms all over northwest Arkansas.
Progressive Dinners
The concept for this moveable feast is simple: pick an area where there is a solid cluster of good restaurants within walking distance from each other and, then, eat one dish at each of three or four places. Sit at the bar for an easy in and out.
Or consider hosting a progressive dinner with neighbors and/or friends on your own. This foodie adventure alleviates the burden of one couple doing all of the heavy lifting that comes with a standard dinner party.
NEAR YOU
- Park Avenue, Winter Park, FL
- East Bay Street, Charleston, SC
- The Riverwalk, San Antonio, TX
Chef’s Tables
Whether served at a distinctive up-close kitchen booth, a pop-up dining event or intimate group table, a chef table experience is a fantastic way to feast on fresh, innovative fare served by a gourmet guru.
NEAR YOU
- 140 Supper Club in Boston, MA is a speakeasy-style chef’s table where guests need a secret password to gain entry to this low-profile, high-quality four-course dinner affair.
- Foodies in Boulder, CO can have a front row seat to kitchen action at Frasca Food & Wine with the option of either a four- or seven-course tasting menu with wine flight choices.
- The Catbird Seat in Nashville, TN brings a dozen or so guests together in a dinner party setting around an open-kitchen counter where chefs churn out a multitude of artful small plates.
U-Pick
Ripen up daytime dating with a trip to a u-pick farm! You may be surprised to know that u-pick farms are growing all over the United States. You’ll harvest fresh food and fresh memories.
NEAR YOU
- Visit a fruit farm, like Wilton Blueberry Farm in Maine, to connect with each other through nature.
- Show your love he/she is still the apple of your eye by visiting an orchard, like the Victor Apple Farm in up-state New York.
- Get out into the sunshine at Oak Haven Farm in Sorrento, FL (about 40 minutes outside Orlando. FL) and pick strawberries and sip strawberry milkshakes.
Visit a Winery
Cheers to an awesome date night outing overflowing with enjoyment of vino tours and tastings. Roaming the sprawling vineyards arm-and-arm, then tantalize your taste buds with a wine flight poured in a luxurious tasting room.
NEAR YOU
- Drink up a snob-free wino experience at The Austin Winery, a low-key winery with big Texas flavors.
- The Deep Water Vineyard in Charleston, SC pours on date night amazement with walking trails, a garden, a large pond, delicious wine (of course) and the Firefly distillery.
Food Festivals
Something is always cooking in your community… chili cook-offs, berry festivals, bacon runs, etc. Festivals are a great way for couples to stroll around outdoors and interact with various vendor booths, mingle with fellow foodies, sample (and sample so more) and enjoy musical entertainment.
- Bite of Seattle is a hyper-local showcase of restaurants & pop-up vendors, craft beers, live cooking demonstrations and cook-offs challenges.
- Feast Portland invites foodies to feast on Portland’s best, like Pacific-caught fresh catch, coffee and more.
- Be sure to pack some mints if you’re planning on attending the Gilroy Garlic Festival in California, where dozens of garlic-forward foods are featured for tasting along the event’s Gourmet Alley.
Nancy DeVault is the managing editor of Date Night Guide and a contributor to publications such as Babble, AmeriDisability Services Magazine and Orlando Magazine. She enjoys outdoor adventures with her husband and toddler.