This is part one of three of DLA’s “Date Night” series. To read part 2 click here and part 3 click here. Downtown Lincoln has a variety of date spots to impress that person you like, you just have to look for them. With the “Date Night” series, DLA unveils these unique places and really helps you get a feel for all the fun things you may not have done before downtown. And because we love to help people explore downtown a little easier, we’ve conveniently grouped these date night spots close together so you don’t have to worry about driving.

It’s Friday, and tonight you have to figure out where to take your date this weekend. Good grief, you sure like to procrastinate. You say you want to go a place where the lights are brighter? Where you can forget all your troubles? Forget all your cares? Well I don’t know what you’re talking about. But I can assure you that things will be great and that there’s no finer place than downtown. And you’re in luck, because collectively, the staff here at DLA has experienced the majority of events and activities that downtown has to offer, and we’ve also eaten at most of the restaurants located downtown- which may or may not be something to be proud of. So with our cultured minds and our expanding waist bands, we bring you part one of the date night series: the fun/casual date.

The first thing we need to figure out is where you’re going to eat for dinner. As good as they are, some restaurants downtown have a more elegant and serious ambiance to them. Think: table cloth, dim lighting and the guy proposing at the table next to you. That might not be the atmosphere you’re going for when you’re out on a first date, or if you’ve been together awhile and are looking to change things up a bit. But if fun and casual dining is what you’re searching for, look no further than Buzzard Billy’s.

Located in the Haymarket on 8th and Q Streets, Buzzard Billy’s is a one of a kind downtown restaurant that offers a relaxed atmosphere and a southern charm. It’s the ideal venue for those looking for a fun and enjoyable date, just ask General Manager Kim Ringo Bright.

“Our specialty is Cajun cuisine. We have a huge menu with something for everyone, and our prices are reasonable so you don’t have to empty your wallet out!”

Click here to visit Buzzard Billy’s on Facebook

The unique food that Buzzard Billy’s serves provides the perfect opportunity for people out on a first date to be a little adventurous and try something they can’t get anywhere else. The restaurant offers a gamut of Cajun delights, including Gator Fingers (fried alligator meat), Armadillo Eggs (bacon wrapped chicken tenders stuffed with pepper jack cheese and the Cajun Combo (blackened catfish, jambalaya and gumbo). Kim also says they offer Nebraska buffalo meat.

The ambiance is one of kind as well. Almost every square inch of each wall is covered in 60’s and 70’s memorabilia. If you’re a Husker fan (and I’m betting you are) you’ll be delighted to know that the restaurant is plastered with old and new Huskers photos and signage. Also ornamenting the restaurant are old state license plates from across the country and holiday lights that serpentine the ceiling.

“You can check out old beer signs and movie posters, and we also have a working Big Ten express train that displays a logo from each of the Big Ten schools,” Kim says.

In true southern fashion, the restaurant plays blues music for diners to listen to while they eat, and also offers a huge covered patio outside for those who prefer to dine outdoors in the open summer air.

The service of a restaurant can reflect either greatly or poorly on the person who chose that restaurant. At Buzzard Billy’s, you can tell that the employees enjoy where they work, and that goes a long way when you’re out on a first date.

“We like to keep it fun and upbeat. My staff loves the casual atmosphere; it’s nice and relaxed, not a corporate chain with all the guidelines that go with that,” Kim says.

And if you and your date are fans of cheap drinks, you can go to Buzzard Billy’s on Thursdays for Crappy Beer Night, an evening where customers can buy cans of old nostalgic beer like Old Style, PBR, High Life, Old Milwaukee and Schlitz for a $1.50 and enjoy 70’s prices on all appetizers. You can also both try your hand at Retro Trivia which starts at 7:30 or grab a martini at the Starlite Lounge located in the lower level.

Now you’re both so full that it’s quite the struggle, but you manage to slowly shimmy your way down from the high top table like Neil Armstrong stepping off the Lunar Module and you proceed to take those first small steps towards the door.

Buzzard Billy’s is open on Monday thru Wednesday from 11am.-10:00 p.m., on Thursday thru Saturday from 11:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m. and on Sunday from 11:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m.

Dinner is over and now you’re looking for something fun to do. If you take a stroll down the street and around the corner, you’ll find Paint Yourself Silly, located inside the Creamery Building on 7th and P Streets.

Paint Yourself Silly is a specialty shop in which customers get to pick one of the many different types of pre-formed pottery pieces off the shelves to color and decorate it using brushes, sponges, splatter, stamps or stencils. Then, over the next week, the folks working there will clear glaze and kiln fire the piece for you so that it’s shiny, sealed, and food safe.

Click here to visit Paint Yourself Silly on Facebook

“We have a huge variety of pre-formed, pre-fired functional pottery pieces, a gazillion glaze colors with which you can paint your one-of-a-kind, personal, usable masterpiece,” Owner Jenn Bassen says. “We also offer glass-fusing, the latest craze in fired arts. You simply choose a “base” piece of glass and embellish it with colored glass to create a design. You can choose to shape your glass-terpiece into a dish of some sort, leave it flat, or make it into something which can be hung. Either way, the entire process is easy, relaxing and fun.”

Paint Yourself Silly offers a memorable experience that allows you to create a physical memento of your night out together.

“It’s one of the few date things where you can have a conversation with your companion. You can create something thoughtful and meaningful for one another, and you can share a second date when you come to pick up your masterpieces!”

If you go to Paint Yourself Silly on “Friendly Fridays” from 6:00-9:00 p.m., you can paint two pieces for the price of one. The store also holds “Pajama Night” on the first Friday of every month from 9:00 p.m. until midnight. On these nights, attendees can receive free milk and cookies and half price paint fees if you wear your pajamas.

“New summer hours for the Haymarket location make any night a great date night because we’re open later!” Jenn says.

Paint Yourself Silly in the Haymarket is open Monday thru Thursday from noon-9:00 p.m., on Friday from noon-10:00 p.m., Saturday from 10:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m., and on Sunday from 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

The night is winding down and your date is so impressed with the places you’ve been so far, you decide it’s time to put the cherry on top. You make the grueling ten-foot trek to Ivanna Cone, a family-owned and operated ice cream parlor also located inside the Creamery Building.

Click here to visit Ivanna Cone on Facebook

Once inside the parlor that’s adorned with pink and purple walls, it’s time to enjoy some of Ivanna Cone’s signature flavors like Vanilla Ice Milk, Cinnamon or Birthday Cake, and get your ice cream in either a dish, a sugar cone, a cake cone or a homemade waffle cone.

“Our ice creams and concoctions are how we express how much fun that we have by being included in peoples’ stories,” Owner Amy Green says. “Each visit should be special or unique for some reason. Our inspiration comes from our relationships with those that let us be a part of their ‘special’ moments.”

Amy says some of her favorite memories working there include people out on first dates, as well as marriage proposals, pregnancy cravings and babies having their first bites of ice cream.

“Not only do we love making fantastic, super-premium ice cream, but we genuinely love being a part of our customers’ lives. Whether it is a first-time visit or the hundredth, we love the fact that we have become a part of their stories.”

Along with ice cream, Ivanna Cone also offers a variety of shakes, malts, root beer floats and old fashioned sodas.

“Taste something that you might not have tried before or maybe get what you ALWAYS get, but no matter what the case is, make yourself a part of our story.”

Before you leave, Amy encourages you to sign their guest book or leave them a note or a drawing so that you can be a part of the Ivanna Cone family.

Ivanna Cone is open on Monday thru Thursday from noon-10:00 p.m., on Friday and Saturday from noon-10:30 p.m. and on Sunday from 1:00-10:00 p.m. 

Well after a few hours in downtown Lincoln and eating and exploring some of the great businesses in the Haymarket, your date must be swooning. You Casanova. Let us know when the wedding is, and what type of cake you’ll be having; we’ll be sure to wear our elastic waistband pants.

Love,
The DLA staff
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Stay tuned next week when we feature three more downtown business in part 2 of our “Date Night” Series.

For more information on these businesses, visit their websites at
http://paintyourselfsilly.net/
http://www.buzzardbillys.com/
http://www.ivannacone.com/