30 Dates Of Nights: 7 Making Her An Offer She Can't Refuse

30 Dates Of Nights: 7 Make Her An Offer She Can't Refuse

You know this spill already. The L.A. Times released this article about eight dates under $25 in Los Angeles a long ass time ago and since then I have been coming up with an ongoing list of my own. While the majority of them have been outdoor cheap exciting treats, there has been a couple of stay indoor adventures mixed in there.

This week in 1972 The Godfather was released. That's 37 years ago for you not in the know of this wacky thing called math. Unless you're dating a cougar, anyone you may have any potential to go out with may not have seen this timeless classic trilogy. Yes, I said it. Trilogy. While the third one may not have been great compared to the other two but it's like comparing cold pizza to something freshly baked and out of the oven. It's still good, just not as good as the really good stuff. But it's still tasty.


take a seat and enjoy a film..

Which brings into question the potential of sitting down and watching them. Perhaps like wine, they have aged well enough to enjoy in a marathon fashion? So building a theme around the Godfather trilogy seems like the perfect way to spend nine hours of your time. Make an Italian dinner or order in and go rent the films.

How about you make lasagna together? The assembly of that dish can be a task in itself. Helping one another in it can bring you together... it could also tear you apart if you fuck it up too much now. If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen. While it takes a little work to assemble it's still going to pay out great in the end.

After it's all cooked you two grab some wine or some Italian sodas and sit down to watch the epic one by one till your butts get sore from sitting through the multiple endings. That and leaving the room when Sophia starts her terrible acting. Yeah, she's a better director but we wont forget that god awful acting...



Maybe they'll be smooches after?

This is one of those events that you can leave the gun but don't you dare forget the cannoli!
Leave the gun but take the cannoli! Literally. Get some of those delicious treats. It'll be nice to get something sweet in your mouth after all the bloodshed hits the screen.

Pretty simple segment of 30 dates of nights, I must say. The real hard work is getting through all the films. That's a lot of sitting to do and the third one... it's not that easy to get through it after you've enjoyed such masterpieces before it. But it'll be something you tell your godchildren and their godchildren about when they ask about how the two of you braved it out... and enjoyed tasty food together.

30 Dates Of Nights: 5 Rocky Sushi

30 Dates Of Nights: 5 Rocky Sushi

It's been a bit of time since I last did this whole 30 dates of nights segment. Why? Well, it was around Valentine's day that I stopped and I did so for a reason. I didn't want any of you hacks copying my shit for a cheap valentine's day trip. That's a hallmark holiday and I'll be damned if you'll be getting laid because of my hard work. Hell, I'm more than likely not getting laid with my own ideas (that's what my boyish good looks come in handy for..)

So here we are about a month later. You've more than likely been dumped because I wasn't around to show you these dates you could apply for your situation and the original article only covered 8 dates under $25. Way to go L.A. Times. So I'm back to help you. Yes. I'll try to do these as regular as I can but my plate is already filled with other articles to bitch about.

Today we'll focus on a place that is something out of a dream. Mainly because it's typically in every dream sequence that is filmed for Television.

Vasquez Rocks and Sushi Belts

Vasquez Rocks is a place that you have see but more than likely have never had any intention on going to. It has been in many shows. Most famous from the Original Star Trek TV show episode called ARENA. It's were Captain Kirk faught that lizard creature. For those non-nerds in the crowd, it was shown in films like Bill and Ted's Bogus journey where the robot-selves killed them and Alpha Dogs they had some random shooting.



The rock structure is simply amazing to look at and I have lost count on how many times a TV show I was working on didn't decide to film around or near this area. Much the same on how the studios use Pasadena when they want to have their production look like it's set in the mid east, if you want to have a Texas or Colorado look to your shot in your film, come out here.

Generally people don't go up the 14 highway, let alone know that there even exist such a highway in Los Angeles. So this is an often overlooked area in the Santa Clarita Valley anyway. The County government made it a natural area park in the 70's and I'm sure they were high on drugs.



What makes this place special? Well, I would say that the view of the sunset here is really pretty. For the amount you're paying for such a view of a desert landscape without actually having to be in death valley, it's worth it in itself. Since the sun goes down over a large amount of rocks in the distance, you'll get a very interest effect. Now that you have a later sunset with daylight saving time, you'll be able to enjoy it.

This is also a really easy climb to the top that would be easy for anyone. So if your date isn't much for outdoor adventure, they'll still be able to enjoy themselves without getting hurt. Key note though, don't come here when you have to go to the restroom. I don't ever recall their being one and you're about 20 minutes away from society that isn't some ranch. Such need of restroom use may not have the same effect of the view to be had here.



Even if it's not on a date, this is a hot spot that you'll be a fool to not catch up and come see. It's nature at its finest. And while I know that sounds completely hippie of me to say, it's still remains to be true.

Sushi On The Belt

After a short time at Vasquez Rocks, it's always nice to get some food in you. While I'm going to do Sushi for this situation, I'd advise that you can easily replace this with any one of the many great places that look appealing near Vasquez rocks. But for the time being, let's talk raw fish.



While the idea of raw fish moving around on a conveyor belt may sound fishy, it's still pretty tasty. Not to mention it's very much affordable for what you get. While I'm sure that the Santa Clarita area isn't the prime real estate isn't the best for sushi, I have not gone wrong when going to Yamato in Stevenson Ranch.

It's not that far away from the rocks and you can come in, ask for a beer and be left completely alone as the food of your choice just rolls in front of you. I sort of like this idea. It's sort of the best of both worls when it comes to eating sushi. If you're faced directly at the sushi chef you're more than likely going to feel like you need to order something as soon as you finish the previous one. Why wouldn't you, you have your chef right in front of you.



But with this belt method of sushi you can help yourself to whatever you want to eat on the options on the belt coming by and if you feel like you're not getting what you need on the belt, you can always request it from the sushi chef. No servers coming at you every few seconds. It's sushi eating at your pace and I love it.

Add in that your sushi pieces come two at a time on plates and rolls are on a smaller size so you can taste and sample a little bit of everything very easily. The price tag on the sushi itself is not going to set you back all that much also. Each plate is marked for whatever price point. So if you don't want to spend too much you simply need to limit yourself on how many plates you eat. But by all means you can get really filled on very little here. Try something new and try something different that you may not know the name of or have any fear that you'll say it completely wrong to the sushi chef and make a fool out of yourself.



The Alternative:

Driving away from Vasquez rocks on Devonport and onto Sierra Highway there was at least three or four very interesting looking hole in the wall joints. Ranging from BBQ places to Steak houses. These are the very definition of hole in the wall little mom and pop places. You wont see any chians of these any time soon. More than likely the owners will simply pass the place down to their children and their children. Simply put, they don't want to expand as they are happy with the place they are and that's perfectly fine with me.

I have it in the back of my mind to try these the next time I'm over there as they really looked to be the salt of the earth type of places. Somewhere you'll see the owner know the regulars name and their dish the moment they walk in the door. That or they'll have that relaxing steak house feel you may get going up to Santa Barbara. So that's a perfectly good alternative to the raw fish.

And there you have it. A day outing tip for you. Perhaps you'll use it to spend some time with that special someone. Perhaps you'll just ignore this and make fun of me for the Wonder Woman blog I wrote for tonight. If so, Fuck you!

30 Dates Of Nights: 4

30 Dates Of Nights: 4

The L.A. Times released this article about eight dates under $25 in Los Angeles. While I was a bit surprised that I had already done a couple from that list without knowing it was such a normal date thing to do, I wasn't happy that they would only offer up eight ideas. So I'm making my own list. So far we've gone through 3 options of economically friendly fun dates. Some of these are things I've done and enjoyed. Some are just ideas of things that would be great date options.

Kogi And The Pier

If there's one thing I have admitted to being addicted to, it's Tacos. I love my street food like no ones business. There's something special about food being cooked right in front of you. As for health concerns, seriously, don't worry. They're there to try to make a living. Repeat customers are what they want. So while it may not look as clean, you shouldn't ask how sausage is made.



The Santa Monica Pier is a bit of a cliche date but it's cheap and has a lot of fun date potential. Parking is about $5 in the beach side parking or you could just park on Ocean somewhere and walk down the ramp onto the pier. It has been going through a lot of changes lately.

On the Pier you'll find an old style Arcade with plenty of fun games for the two of you to enjoy. Ski Ball and Air Hockey. Tickets dispense in that old fashion way after games but who's going to spend all that money for a plastic comb or fake mustache? Best to just enjoy the friendly competition with each other. Make a bet on the games. It'll add a little kick to things.



I'm a sucker for Photo Booths. They're great and their dirt cheap. $3 for a couple of silly faces. The arcade has one and it's typically forgotten by the youth today. It's really cliche, I know. But it's cute in a way. So let yourself go and you'll have a picture that captured the evening.

Also on the pier is Bubba Gumps. A really generic chain restaurant but it has a good advantage - It serves alcohol without a cover. Head on over after or before (if you want to make ski ball even more interesting) the arcade experience and you'll put a little sauce into your systems.

To round out the evening you can take advantage of what a pier is all about, extending land over ocean and walk to the end of it. Look over the edge and see nothing, then look over at the smile on your date and things will be pretty peachy.



While you're in the Santa Monica area, the second part of this date is more of a game of Where's Waldo in search of the Kogi Taco truck. Kogi is a Korean Taco truck that was so good I had to write about them. They're sweeping the scene as a new hip 2.0 taco truck. Not many taco trucks can say they have their own website and not many taco trucks offer something completely different and good all at the same time.

To sum them up, they make tacos with a Korean kick. Using short ribs and spicy chicken and pork the taste is out of the world. Finding them is also an adventure in itself as they have a few spots they go to. It's sort of like a puzzle you'll have putting together. If you want some clues you can follow their exploits on twitter to find their latest locations.



Once you do track them down, for the sake of this date, I'd advise for the Venice location most nights after 10pm at the Brig, you'll have a good time trying to come up with how you're going to tackle the meal. Get your order in, get your food and go sit by the curb, you'll be surprised how good hot food on a cool night with a beautiful date can be.

You wont even care if the breath smells of kimchee from the kimchee quesadillas. The food will hit the spot and since this is an up and coming craze, you'll both share something that will eventually be as big as, say In-N-Out. Ok, maybe in 40 years time. But hey, it's the time shared and the good food and moments treasured



A walk on the boardwalk and some new fusion tacos. Total cost comes to a low price depending on if you get the alcohol on the pier or not. Taco truck shouldn't be more than $15 and the games on the boardwalk are a couple of bucks. You'll treasure the late night moment together and have filled bellies.

30 Dates Of Nights: 3

30 Dates Of Nights: 3

The L.A. Times released this article about eight dates under $25 in Los Angeles. While I was a bit surprised that I had already done a couple from that list without knowing it was such a normal date thing to do, I wasn't happy that they would only offer up eight ideas. So I went ahead and I challenged myself to come up with a huge list of dates. Mostly outings that I've gone on or at least thought up.

As a quick note, I do think that dates work a lot better if you start with a theme and work the activities around that theme. This one is working around snacks and indulgent material with some time to talk and enjoy the company together.

You, Me and Brie Make Three!

Sometimes you need to be a little cheesy in your conquest in seeing if the two of you connect. First of, if they don't like cheese, dump them. Dump them now and run. Don't question me this makes perfect sense. If someone can't enjoy a good slice of cheese than they're a monster and deserve to die a lonely old shut in.

With that in mind make your way to your local cheese store. I'm tossing The Cheese store of Silverlake to you because it's a nice area (even with all the hipsters) and the selection of cheese is something that will make your mouth water, if whatever your date is wearing doesn't, this is a good thing.

There you can easily find and taste any number of cheeses, some bread with amazing dipping olive oil and other such meats to have a sandwich made. These are all treats for you and your date. May I suggest the truffle cheese. It was extremely good the last time I had it and have been wanting more since.



Remember to keep the cheese buying to a rule of three. Anything more than that and you'll start to lose the taste of the different cheeses. Let's you experiment on different taste. But let me warn you, when it comes to relationships, best to just stick with the rule of two. Words of wisdom

Once you're set with your cheese you should walk up the block with your date and enter Bar Keep. Don't worry about the cheese you just bought. It should stay good for the time it takes to window shop. The purpose of this place is to see what kind of drinker the person you're dating is without having to involve alcohol into the mix. Does a martini glass peak their interest or are they looking at the shot glasses and Miller high-life signs? This is purely for window shopping. But it will get you and your date into the mood to throw some sort of gathering or something of the such.

By this time you should have worked off the tasting of cheeses you had at the Cheese shop. Now you're going to want to find somewhere to sit with your date and enjoy the cheese you bought. Mix in some of the bread you bought and maybe a Cheese Store spreader and you have yourself the potential of solid time to talk and enjoy food. Now the question is where?



Hopefully your date brought some comfy shoes. As you two may need to walk to get from place to place. One option, and it's the nearest one, is to make your way to Silverlake's Silver lake... There's plenty of spots to enjoy the sight of the "lake" as well as enjoy the cheese together. It's still early on in y our dating scene, so getting to know them and what sort of cheese they like will let you know a lot about them.

The other option is to just go to Griffith Park. There's a endless amount of places to just set up shop with a blanket, something to drink, your bread and the cheese. But since Griffith Park is going to be showing up on these 30 dates of Nights segments, I'm just going to say Stick to Silverlake's reserve.

Previous 30 Dates Of Nights segments
1. Bonfire at the beach
2. Soda Pop and a piggy stop

30 Dates Of Nights: 2

30 Dates Of Nights: 2

The L.A. Times released this article about eight dates under $25 in Los Angeles. While I was a bit surprised that I had already done a couple from that list without knowing it was such a normal date thing to do, I wasn't happy that they would only offer up eight ideas. So I went ahead and I challenged myself to come up with my own amount of cheap but entertaining dates to go on.

Some of these were ones I planned, others are ones I did with a bit of a hindsight twist after doing them and then there's those that are just plain out there ideas. Since it's been two days since the first was posted, I figured that this wont be a daily thing. Much like showing up on time, I'm sure I'll fail if I stated that. But I'll try to do this daily.


Soda Pop And BBQ That Hits The Spot.

It's very simple. You don't have to get her drunk on every trip out. Sure it helps make you sound far more interesting than you really are, but what happens when the hangover is over? Stick with some Pop/Cola/Coke/Soda.. whatever you call it, it's something that takes you back to when you were a kid. Not to mention that it's rather tasty. Perhaps it'll be a way to keep the romance from fizzling. I stopped drinking soda in general. I personally make it a treat when I do get it. Something special. You may guzzle it down like no ones business but even this place will make that carbonated drink special.

Start the date off by making your way to Galco's Soda Pop Shop in the Highland Park/Eagle Rock. This is one of California's Gold and a walk through their produce section that is nothing but seldom seen, but delicious candies and you'll know you and your date will be feeling like kids again.

The store offers nothing but the good stuff. Soda, Candy and Beer (in case you just give up on sobrity) with a deli counter for sandwiches and a feeling once you walk in like you're in a 50's grocers. Again, this place offers the best selection of soda possible. If there's a drink you haven't been able to find or if you're daring to try something new and tasty, this is the place for you. You can also find out what your date's taste is like from what they choose.



The gems here are the original flavor Dr. Pepper and Coke made with pure cane sugar. Most of the sodas here are made with pure cane sugar and you can taste the difference. Forget that corn syrup stuff, that really just makes a soda taste boring. Other strange flavors include ones of different flowers, cucumbers and if you never tasted sarsaparilla, do so. You'll know what grandpa is ranting about. Cause they sure don't make a good one anywhere in the city.

The idea here is to get yourself and your date a total of six or seven sodas to split. Be a little daring while also sticking to stuff you'll like. Prices range between a buck to two for each bottle and you can buy singles or a six pack at a time. There's cold versions of most of the more popular sodas. Shouldn't cost you more than $10. Get your soda and after walking through the shop commenting on the different sodas head on out.

After you've blown however much you were going to blow on sugar water, make your way over the little hump of a hill and onto Colorado Blvd. where you will find The Oinkster



There the two of you can share a pulled pork sandwich and some fries. I don't mean just any pulled pork sandwich. This is one really really tasty pulled pork sandwich. The place has outdoor seating and a real hip/cool factor to it. If you're not into swine they have other BBQ related items. Some pastrami or a burger and you're good to go.

Combine that with the sodas you just bought and that should hold your stomachs well enough for the time being. Don't drink all those sodas just yet, make some room for the amazing Ube Milkshake. But watch out, your date will more than likely NOT want to share much of it with you. If that happens, don't worry. It doesn't mean that they don't like you, it's just that it's really really REALLY good.

There you have it. You should have something interesting to talk about from the two locations there and plenty of enjoyment for your bellies to make that date something to remember.

Cost:
Oinkster - $10-15
Galco's - $10
Price range = $20-25

Previously on 30 Dates Of Nights:
1. Bonfire At The Beach

30 Dates Of Nights: 1

30 Dates Of Nights: 1

The L.A. Times released this article about eight dates under $25 in Los Angeles. While I was a bit surprised that I had already done a couple from that list without knowing it was such a normal date thing to do, I wasn't happy that they would only offer up eight ideas. Call me creative but I think I could come up with a lot more than eight. Hell, give me a minute and I'll book you up for an entire month.

Perhaps it's because the L.A. Times is just facing hard times and laying off many that their employees could actually use the list of $25 and under dates. That's not bad at all. I think with the economy the way that it is and the fact that you don't want to just go around pissing money away, $25 and under dates can be fun if they're creative enough. Maybe I'm just a half way decent planner and a bit creative but here's 30 dates you could go on.

Why 30 dates? Well, I needed a witty title and theme for the blog and all I could think of was the comic book 30 days of night and the idea that Jesus did his desert wandering for 40 days. I picked the one that had more believability to it.

Also, I do not like Valentines Day. I think it's rather silly to put that much effort into one day when everyone else is putting the same amount on the very same day. It loses meaning when everyone else is doing the same exact thing. But that's a subject for another day. So please, don't do any of these on Valentines Day. Not because it's cheap but because I'd rather you do nothing on Valentines Day to rebel against the Hallmark Holiday. If you're going to use these ideas at least do them when they're least expected. The surprise will go a long way on actually surprising them.


Beach Bonfire

It's not the safest thing in the world to do but if you're so inclined to play with fire, may I suggest you take it away from the Parks and Forest areas and keep it near water? In this case, the beach is a wonderful place to keep these potentially out of control blazes confined to.

It's not very known but you there is a couple of beaches on the Southern California coast that actually allow you to have a bonfire. Dockweiler Beach in Playa Del Rey is one of them. West and East of Balboa Pier in New Port Beach is another good location with less airplane noise but more OC smugness.



For your outing you will need the following items:

Some fire wood - $5 for a few bundles
Bag of Marshmellows - $2.00
Some Chocolate bar to cut up - $1.00
A Box of Graham Crackers - $2.00
Various small amounts of meat to grill up - $5
Some Hot Chocolate/ Drinks - $5
Beach Parking - $5 (unless you want to make it a "romantic" walk from the free road parking)
Total = $20-25

With any Beach location you're going to have to get their a bit early to stake your claim on the often in demand concrete fire pit. Bring some chairs or just use a log to sit on, a beach towel or blanket to keep you warm if the fire doesn't and you have yourself the view of the ocean on one side, lights on a hill on the other and the ever so often noise of a plane flying by. Believe me, it wont effect the mood.

The key here is that it's all covered in the fire pit there. Your food will cook over the open flame which also provides some essential warmth. The key to the food is trying to come up with some sort of contraption to hold up whatever meat you picked to cook. Remember, it's a date. So you shouldn't need more than a pound or two of whatever to cook up.



Setting up the firewood is the key here. Pretend they're like Lincoln logs and just stack them up and light the middle. All you have to do is simply learn how to start a fire and keep it going. It's so easy a caveman can do it. Well, maybe they couldn't get the whole fire thing down for a couple centuries. But once they did they stopped having to drag their potential wives by their hair and just let the s'mores do the talking.

Eventually the camp fire burns out and you're left there on the beach with the stars above you, the ocean sound constantly in the background and an evening spent talking about anything, complaining together about the sand getting everywhere and happily stuffed with s'mores and other treats all for an inexpensive but very rewarding and enriching adventure.