[an error occurred while processing this directive]
|
|
|
[an error occurred while processing this directive] |
|
|
|
Hours 3455 E. Grant Road READER'S PICK: The sign on the door says it all: "This is a gay-oriented establishment. If this offends you, please do not enter." Say you enter, regardless of your sexual orientation, and your date makes no fuss. Whether you're gay or straight, it's comforting to know where your companion stands. If you like the romantic coupling of two-stepping and waltzing to country-western tunes, Hours is your domain. For lively dance instruction, come back on Sunday for free two-step lessons at 7 p.m., with or without a partner. If you and your date prefer strictly heterosexual establishments, then be on your way. READERS' POLL RUNNER-UP: Okay, it's finally happened. After too many Saturday evenings hangin' with your cat or playing poker with the neighbors, you finally have a date this weekend with Mr. or Ms. Probably Fabulous. Now the big question is where to go. You want someplace hip but not trendy, sophisticated but not pretentious, comfortable but not in the Famous Sam's way. And of course, you want ambiance that feels like a mixture of continental elegance and hacienda style. And you want an impressive bar backing you up, with a bartender who knows how to mix a perfect cocktail. Of course the food should be delicious and the service should be efficient and unobtrusive, too. While you're making your wish-list, how about a beautiful patio to make you look alluring by candlelight? Guess what? You're not asking too much! You can have all of this if you just steer your date downtown to the Cushing Street Bar and Grill, 343 S. Meyer Ave. Located deep in the petticoats of downtown Tucson, Cushing Street will make you look and feel comfortable while you're stumbling into that murky realm of romance. If this is a first date that you're not too sure about and you don't want to make the big dinner commitment, Cushing Street is open for lunch, too. CLUE IN: Everyone knows that first impressions can make or break that crucial first-date chemistry. To increase your odds, there's nothing like a classy venue; and the Arizona Inn, 2200 E. Elm St., with its historic charm and swanky cocktail lounge (see Best Martini, page 64), offers an ideal setting for romance to flourish. In the Audubon lounge, you and your date can toast one another with delectable prickly pear margaritas while swaying to piano bar favorites like "Send in the Clowns" and "The Way We Were." To put the seal on this romantic foray, take your date on a walk around the inn's verdant, lantern-lit grounds. Now that's amore. CLUE IN: Anybody can drag a date to a nice place with recessed lighting, but it takes true gumption to invite your potential honey to a topless bar. Show him or her how iconoclastic you can be by suggesting a rendezvous at Curves Cabaret, 2130 N. Oracle Road, that pulsating palace of pole dancing. There's nothing like a roomful of barely dressed girls to break the ice on that awkward first date; remember, nakedness implies openness and vulnerability, even if you aren't the person in the room that's naked. And Curves is a splendid place to enjoy both good showmanship and hospitality. The dancers are talented and friendly, patrons of either gender are welcomed warmly, yet a certain element of seedy titillation remains. Remember the first date between Katherine Ross and Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate? They went to a topless bar, and later they fall in love and he squires her away from her wedding and they jump into the back of a bus together. So it really works!
|
|
