Best for: Couples on a budget who enjoy spicy comedy and comestibles
Lately I've been dating another impoverished single parent. Neither of us has a car full-time so we end up doing a lot of kissing and riding on the CTA. That's no problem with this three-part date, even on a blizzardy night. Traveling from one venue to another requires about five seconds of stepping outdoors.
We took the CTA Red Line to Lawrence and started the evening in the bar of the Annoyance Theatre, where we sipped drinks and chatted while waiting for the house to open. The seating arrangement in the small theater, with its cafe tables and movable chairs, makes it easy to snuggle up and whisper to each other. Even though the 8 p.m. show is the milder show of the night, you can usually count on plenty of sexual innuendo to help you broach the topic with your date.
When all that rollicking fun was over, we went to Marigold, located next door and sporting warm lighting, richly colored earth tones, soft South Asian music and a cozy banquette that allowed us to sit hip to hip.
On Tuesday nights Marigold offers a three-course tasting menu of regional Indian fare. Budget drinkers can share a large bottle of Indian beer.
At this point you can each go your separate ways. But if the date is going really well, finish off with a nightcap and dessert at Fat Cat next door. They serve only one dessert, the Porcelain Monkey, featuring flourless chocolate cake with peanut butter foam.
What kind of cheap or free activities you choose after the bar are up to you.
--Monica Eng
Annoyance Theatre
4830 N. Broadway; 773-561-4665, www.annoyanceproductions.com
Cost: =$29 ($8 per ticket; $13 for two Sierra Nevada beers, two club sodas and a tip)
Marigold Indian Restaurant
4832 N. Broadway; 773-293-4653
Cost: 3-course tasting menu, $25.
Fat Cat
4840 N. Broadway; 773-506-3100 www.fatcatbar.com
Cost: $5.95 for chocolate cake.
