Here's the challenge: You have a date and you want to impress her. Or him. But your paycheck has shrunk over the past months. Where can you take a date that will be both impressive and relatively inexpensive? We found a few ways to impress without courting poverty.
We figured out a way you can do this cute French place without having to cut up your credit card: You both order the meatloaf and maybe a salad, then split dessert. It works and the atmosphere is free.
Here's a trick: dine early, pay less. There's no shame in eating before the sun goes down. Red's has a two-course Early Dine-in Special, with some of its favorite selections, from 5:30 and 6:30 p.m., $25. And you can still wander the beautiful resort before it gets dark.
Go the small-plate route at this beautifully appointed Japanese restaurant, selecting your favorite sushi and other inexpensive items. Keep track of your bill, and when your bank account says “Uncle,” you can say, “Sayonara.”
You're both up early, together. Hmmm. We don't judge. But as long as you're up, head to Olive & Ivy at the Scottsdale Waterfront for an amazing breakfast that won't cost an arm and a leg. And grab some pastries on the way out, just in case — ahem — you're both up early tomorrow morning.
Sometimes the way to experience fine dining without breaking the bank is to go fine lunching. Find an upscale restaurant that's open for lunch and get the same quality at a fraction of the price. Have lunch at Prado (at the Montelucia Resort & Spa), and you'll be sitting in luxury with prices that will leave you something between paychecks.
Take in Tempe's urban core at this stylish pizza place that's a cut above the traditional pizza place. Share a bruschetta “plank” in a variety of toppings, add a small plate or two, and you'll have enough left over to grab dessert at the nearby Cold Stone.
This is another destination where you can make a meal of small plates. Cyclo has acclaimed Vietnamese food, and small plates/snacks are priced at a surprising $3.50 to $6. Even the entrées won't empty your pocket.
Here's one more Mill Avenue restaurant where you can be surrounded by patrons with fatter wallets, but if you order panini or pasta, you can feel smug about your choices—and your bill.
If you want to impress someone with homeyness and an atmosphere people say is like dining at Grandma's, make your way to this Greek-Italian restaurant, where selections from either the Aphrodite side or the Venus side will kindle your romance. Don't forget to share the baklava for dessert.
Get creative by having a picnic under the spreading pecan trees at this sprawling estate. Pick up sandwiches and other accompaniments at the Farm Kitchen and then stretch out on the lawn or grab one of the picnic tables under the trees. You'll be impressed with the peace and quiet and beauty of the 12-acre farm.
It's like you're in the French countryside in this little bistro behind Vincent's more pricey restaurant, with French Provincial furniture and a menu that will have you smelling the lilacs of Provence. And you still experience the Vincent touch.
