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The date night revolution

Try the best restaurants in Columbia in one night.

By Pierce Courchaine

Published Nov. 12, 2010

The date night formula needs an adrenaline shot like Uma Thurman in “Pulp Fiction.” The dinner-and-a-movie tradition is recycled, mundane and uninspired. You and your beau need to do something different. It’s time to try the progressive date.

What is this revolutionary, “Inception-like” mind freak? It’s where you pick a couple restaurants one night and visit each. Every stop you make, you have a different course. Here are some places ‘round town that have the best appetizers, entrées and desserts.

For best results on a date like this, split the cost. The last thing you want is arguing with each other over the bill. We might be poor, but it doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the finer things in life.

Appetizers

Addison’s, 709 Cherry St.

Start your night off at Addison’s. This Columbia staple is no secret, but its appetizers are severely underrated. The garlic and brown sugar-brined Buffalo wings give Buffalo Wild Wings a serious run for its money. The sauce is the perfect balance of sweet and mouth-burning spice. For $8.50, Addison’s gives you a lot more wings than those stingy jerks at B-dubs. Tempura lobster ravioli is worth a try for you fish fans. But stay away from the assorted cheese and fruit plate — it’s as disappointing as MU football’s passing game.

Bleu Restaurant & Wine Bar, 29 S. Eighth St.

Bleu is a restaurant only for experimental eaters. If you want the “Bizarre Foods” experience without the travel, expense and testicle-eating requirements, Bleu can solve your problem. Bleu’s crab and corn fritter takes East coast meat and turns it into a comfort food. The soup of the day is always delicious, too. If they are making their sweet potato bisque, get a cup of it. The restaurant frequently changes their menu, so keep going back and see what new surprises there are. But don’t count on your favorite dish staying on the menu for the next 20 years.

Main course

CC’s City Broiler, 1401 Forum Blvd. We get it: college students are poor. But if you have the cash (or at least the desire to have a good meal), CC’s has the steak for you. Just stepping into the place makes you feels like you’re in 1960s New York. Don Draper and Roger Sterling might be having an Old Fashioned at the bar. The servers wear bow ties, and the bar is stocked. Don’t mess around here, though. Buy the steak. The filet mignon will give you all the flavor you need and won’t fill you up too much. After all, ya gotta save room for desert. If you’re of age, stop by the bar and have a martini. They have a lot of variations on the classic.

Desserts

Bleu Restaurant & Wine Bar, 29 S. Eighth St. Surprise! This one is on here again. It might be a little weird if you come back after having appetizers here, though. If you do choose to hit up Bleu for dessert, we suggest doing appetizers somewhere else. Bleu’s desserts are equally as creative as the rest of the menu. The sweet cigars (their version of a funnel cake) are the only dish on the menu that has been there since the restaurant opened. But for the fall theme, try the sweet potato cheesecake. You won’t want to eat another plain cheesecake again.