by Mike Marrero
This week’s installment of Date Night in Dallas is casual, and starts around 5pm.
Your first stop will be Dallas Contemporary art museum for a free exhibit featuring Richard Phillips. A 40-foot high Playboy bunny logo that had upset some residents of the West Texas town of Marfa is now on display at Dallas Contemporary along with many of his other works. The Playboy piece will be one of several three-dimensional art works displayed along with paintings and drawings. His subject matter ranges between political figures like George Bush and pop culture icons like Justin Timberlake and Dakota Fanning.
Richard’s first solo museum exhibition ends August 10th, so go visit before you run out of time. Dallas Contemporary is located is the Design District at 161 Glass Street in Dallas and open until 6pm. Your next stop Bowlounge is only a few blocks away.
Bowlounge creators bought Longview Lanes in East Texas, took it apart, shipped it to the Dallas Design District, and then incorporated it into their finish out. There are 12 regulation length maple and pine wood bowling lanes. Bowlounge features a 75 foot bar made out of an old bowling lane they cut in half, 33 draft beers with half of them being local, a ton of hand crafted cocktails, and food provided by Twisted Root Burger Co. There are 2 pool tables, a 60″ Golden Tee, and Silver Strike Bowling.
In addition to disco balls and black lighting, music videos play on multiple flat screens with the decade changing hourly. Portraits of The Big Lebowski characters decorate the walls, and they even have a drink called “Nobody F’s with the Jesus.”
Bowlounge is very reasonably priced and has attentive staff. Shoe rental is $3 a person, each game is $7 a person, and they even have cheap new socks for sale should you have come unprepared. Start off by sharing the “Gringo Loco” Nachos, house chips topped with your choice of pulled pork or brisket, topped with shredded pepper jack cheese, smoked corn salsa, and bacon ranch for $9. Between games, you can share the Big Tex burger with smashed avocado, cheddar, fried onion strings, and chipotle sauce for $9. A shareable dessert recommendation is the Milkshake Flight with 4 mini versions of their Oreo, Coconut Carmel, Banana Pudding, and Smores signature shakes for $7.
Bowlounge is located at 167 Turtle Creek Boulevard, Suite #103 in Dallas. Now that you’ve eaten and bowled a few games, it’s time hop in the car for a short drive to The Rustic.
A healthy dose of Texas can be found at The Rustic, a full-service restaurant, bar, and music venue in Uptown at the northwest corner of Lemmon Avenue and Central Expressway. The Rustic is presented by FreeRange Concepts and country music legend Pat Green. They have 40 beers on tap, including one of the largest selections of Texas craft beer around. Beef, poultry and game from local ranchers and produce from local farmers are a purposeful staple of the menu, and you will see Texas written all over it.
The Rustic has live local acts about four or five nights a week, with larger national acts about twice a month. There is no cover or need to buy tickets this weekend. Pat’s scenic and specious backyard, paired with some live music and a few 20 oz. schooners of Shiner Bock are the way to go. Have a couple beers each at an average of $6 per beer, and the go dance with your partner by the stage when the right song comes along.
A unique art exhibit, super cool bowling concept, and a little bit of live music at a happening venue, and another fun filled and memorable date for $100 including minimum 20% tip.
Send us your suggestions for the perfect date night in Dallas to mike@cravedfw.com.
