Nashville, IN, that is. This past Saturday we went on a double date with my parents to see Robert Shaw and the Lonely Street Band in both "Heartbreak Hotel", his tribute to a young Elvis, and "Man in Black", his tribute to Johnny Cash.
Wow. Both shows were fantastic. Seriously, if you have time to go to Nashville before the end of October, take the time to see these shows at the Palace Theatre.
The only thing that marred our evening was dinner. Actually, that would be the lack of dinner.
The first show started at 5 and ended at about 6:45. The second show began at 8. There is a restaurant right next door, Holy Cow, a steak house. Considering the proximity we figured they would be used to serving the crowd between shows. We even stopped in just before the first show to make sure we could be seated and served, with time to eat, before the 2nd show. They claimed it was possible and took a reservation. Or so we thought.
Come 6:45, we walked next door only to be told that they had our name down but that it wasn't really a reservation. They would do their best to seat us. Which they did, at exactly 7. It was 7:15 before our waitress came to the table. We ordered 4 burgers. 7:30 passed. And 7:40. At 7:45, we decided that even if our food came out, a half hour after ordering it, we wouldn't have time to eat it. At 7:50, with still no food, we asked for the bill. (They didn't charge us for our drinks when we told the waitress that we had been told we would be able to fit in dinner before the 8 p.m. show and we just didn't have any more time.)
Yep, we sat through the second show on basically empty stomachs (2 sodas and a tiny roll didn't do much but give me heartburn). The only good thing about our non-dinner is the cinnamon butter for the roll. That was fabulous. And I'm sure the food is good - if you have a lot of time to sit and wait. Really, over 45 minutes waiting is not acceptable in my book. Over 30 minutes to cook burgers? WTH?
So, bottom line: go see the shows (we didn't see the Sunday afternoon "How Great Thou Art", gospel music of Elvis show, but I assume it's good) but find somewhere else to eat.
Showing posts with label theater. Show all posts
Showing posts with label theater. Show all posts
Monday, September 19, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Date night!
Dates are hard to schedule with small children who require babysitting, especially with a crazy grad school schedule to work around. But we've really been trying to go out at least once a month.
One of our neighbors also has small children and offered a babysitting exchange. Once a month I watch her kids while they go out and also once a month she watches ours while we go out. It's been nice since babysitters can be expensive. The babysitting co-op idea is a great way to make friends and have an evening out. I've even exchanged sitting with another neighbor during the day for appointments and such. We also have some really nice neighbors who have offered to watch the boys, usually about once a year.
Most sitters we've used have charged $10/hr for the two kids. A typical movie requiring 3 hours of sitting would cost $50 ($20 for two tickets plus $30 for a babysitter). Add any popcorn or drinks and it's just too much! That's really the reason we haven't had a regular date night the last few years.
Another option we have used is Grandma. The grandparents all like spending time with the boys, so we can often send them for a weekend with Grandma and Grandpa. We've done that for the last several years. But Grandma Deb is now retired and available for the occasional weeknight evening. Considering many of the Auditorium shows we want to see are during the week, this has been very helpful. We try not to abuse the privilege.
So where do we go on date night? We have gone to movies when they were $5, but the weeknight price has recently gone up, so we will probably do that less frequently. We also like to go to the shows at the IU Auditorium, through the Department of Theater and Drama, or one of the theater companies* in town. And now the IU Cinema is opening, where most movies will be free. We can see lots of classics and foreign films.
*Local theater companies include Bloomington Playwrights Project, Monroe County Civic Theater, Cardinal Stage Company, Theater of the People and Starrynight Productions.
One of our neighbors also has small children and offered a babysitting exchange. Once a month I watch her kids while they go out and also once a month she watches ours while we go out. It's been nice since babysitters can be expensive. The babysitting co-op idea is a great way to make friends and have an evening out. I've even exchanged sitting with another neighbor during the day for appointments and such. We also have some really nice neighbors who have offered to watch the boys, usually about once a year.
Most sitters we've used have charged $10/hr for the two kids. A typical movie requiring 3 hours of sitting would cost $50 ($20 for two tickets plus $30 for a babysitter). Add any popcorn or drinks and it's just too much! That's really the reason we haven't had a regular date night the last few years.
Another option we have used is Grandma. The grandparents all like spending time with the boys, so we can often send them for a weekend with Grandma and Grandpa. We've done that for the last several years. But Grandma Deb is now retired and available for the occasional weeknight evening. Considering many of the Auditorium shows we want to see are during the week, this has been very helpful. We try not to abuse the privilege.
So where do we go on date night? We have gone to movies when they were $5, but the weeknight price has recently gone up, so we will probably do that less frequently. We also like to go to the shows at the IU Auditorium, through the Department of Theater and Drama, or one of the theater companies* in town. And now the IU Cinema is opening, where most movies will be free. We can see lots of classics and foreign films.
*Local theater companies include Bloomington Playwrights Project, Monroe County Civic Theater, Cardinal Stage Company, Theater of the People and Starrynight Productions.
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