Q: Where are some good places to take a girl out on a first date in the Waterloo and Cedar Falls area?

He said:

There are some standard answers to this: dinner, movie, bowling … blah blah blah. This is the trouble with first dates. It’s hard to be really original because you want some neutral ground that you both feel comfortable on, and the main focus is just getting to know each other. In all honesty, there’s nothing wrong with the standards, but putting some originality into your dates is a big plus. Hopefully I can provide some recommendations for both.

First dates should always include some kind of dinner as a starter. It just works. I have some favorites sprinkled around town.

Top choice definitely has to be Bourbon Street on Main Street. The atmosphere is fun, but not too over-the-top. Their menu is fantastic — a really great selection of Cajun, Creole and American dishes that is diverse enough to satisfy anyone’s palette. Keep in mind though, one main dish runs anywhere from $15 to $25, so come prepared.

If you want pizza, I’ll say Old Chicago any day. It is by far the best pizza here. Split a medium because it will fill you up without any problems and you can walk out with a $25 bill for the both of you.

Speaking of Chicago, you could head over to Rocco JoJos on University Avenue if you’re feeling adventurous. Best Chicago Dogs you’ll find this far from the city.

Now, dinner plans are good and a movie follow up is just fine, but as I said earlier, changing this up is welcomed. While this isn’t the most original idea in the world, try just going on a walk and spending some more time with one another. My favorite place in all of Cedar Falls is when you cross the bridge on Main Street heading north. There’s a park on your right with a killer view at night. You have the Cedar River right in front of you with downtown Cedar Falls and the bridge as the backdrop. Walk the trails or sit on the hood of your car, look at the stars and just enjoy each other’s company.

She said:

When you first consider taking a girl on a first date, it sometimes can seem like there’s nowhere to go. Nowhere new and interesting, anyway. That’s one thing about Cedar Falls; it’s not really a town with too much going on. It’s quiet and usually low-key, but that can also be one of the great things about it.

You don’t always have to take a woman out for an extravagant date. Sometimes it really is the simple things.

You just have to think a little outside the box, and don’t work yourself up too much trying to impress her. It’s a first date so you don’t want to come on too strong, anyway. Consider places that you know, or at least have an idea, that she’ll like. Especially when it comes to restaurants. Don’t take her somewhere where she’ll only have a limited food selection, unless you know firsthand that she enjoys that particular kind of dining experience. Examples of this would be HuHot or Soho. You have to appreciate oriental style cooking to go to places such as those. Try something more versatile if you are unsure of what she’ll like.

I’ll list a few good restaurants in the area that have a wide variety of foods to choose from: Montage, The Brown Bottle, Bourbon Street, Mulligan’s, The OP, Texas Roadhouse, Pump Haus, Pepper’s and Applebee’s.

Apart from going out to eat, grabbing coffee is always a great idea if you’d rather have a quieter, slightly more intimate setting. You can sit down and talk without the distractions of a bustling restaurant. This is also a good idea for a place to go maybe after you go out for dinner. Take it from someone who loves a good cup of coffee, we have a few comfortable, low-key coffee shops in town great for taking dates. These include: Starbucks, Panera (which is good also for eating dinner) and Cup of Joe located downtown Cedar Falls.

Speaking of downtown Cedar Falls, if you’re into shopping there’s a lot of great old shops to look around in. You could spend an afternoon grabbing coffee and strolling around downtown. Apart from the shops, there’s a lot to look at. It might not look like much at a first glance because it’s so small, but I’d be willing to bet you could really get lost looking around and even taking a walk, or bike ride, on the trails running through Cedar Falls and Waterloo.

Also, we need not forget the power in the simplicity of going to a movie. It’s pretty good for a first date, even if it isn’t all that original. The two of you will have a chance to get close, literally, and let’s be honest here, movies can fill those otherwise awkward silences.

Whether you’re taking a girl out to eat, out for coffee, for a walk or to a movie, the important thing is to always be yourself. It’s pretty cliché of me to say but it’s not about where you go, it truly is about who you’re with. Keep that in mind and always, always, always be a gentleman.