Burke: Make your choice for date night in Pahrump

Date Night Pahrump Style:

You have worked hard all week and it’s Friday night, time to go out and unwind with your date.

Friday night is sort of the traditional date night. Depending on your circumstances, what “Date Night” means to you can cover a wide spectrum of options.

Single and just starting out in a relationship date night might be dinner and a movie but that is tough to pull off out here, no movie theater.

Maybe you have been married long enough that the kids are grown and you are officially “empty nesters.” A nice evening out having a drink and hors d’oeuvres with some nice jazz or blues music to listen to. Nope, can’t do that either.

Well, there is always the casinos but if you are smoke adverse they are off limits. I watched my grandfather die of emphysema from cigarette smoke so it’s not something I choose to be around if I can help it. Not a judgment call, people can do what they want but it’s just not where I choose to spend my free time.

You can watch a movie at home and order pizza but you can do that anytime.

No, Friday night date night is all about going out and having some fun. Living here you need to get a little creative.

Date night can sometimes be a balancing act of budget vs. experience when it comes to dining choices. We do have some very good restaurants here. I would put Symphony up against anything in Vegas and it would hold its own but it’s at the higher end of the date night budget range. Some of our other locally owned eating establishments are also very good and easier on the budget but maybe don’t have quite that date night ambiance.

We have quite a few local bars, each with its own unique flavor.

Generally, on the weekends they offer entertainment ranging from karaoke to local bands. Also, bars can be hysterical places to people watch. It can be awfully funny watching drunk adults trying to pick up someone of the opposite sex. But again, the cigarette smoke thing might be a negative for some people. And it’s tough to hold a conversation over loud music and general bar background noise.

So, what can we do for date night here? Well for one, watch the newspaper and internet for event announcements.

We have some fun and entertaining events in town at least quarterly. The dirt racetrack could be a unique experience for date night, but races are seasonal and on Saturday so that doesn’t help your Friday date night. Sanders winery has events when the weather is nice on Friday and Saturday nights and offers a variety of entertainment. You just have to get creative in looking for things to do for date night.

We have some amazing sunsets here. I often wonder why no one has built a bar/restaurant/club that doesn’t take advantage of those amazing sunsets and offer a low- key relaxed place to have a drink and listen to some music.

A Realtor friend once said to me, think buffets and beer when trying to understand the preferred choices of our local residents. Yes, that describes virtually all of us at one time or another but is that the only demographic we want to be?

So, what are your suggestions for date night here? Email them to me and I will write a follow-up article to share the date night ideas.

An amazing sunset, a glass of wine, and being with my best friend sounds like a good date night to me.

Tim Burke is a businessman, philanthropist, educator and Pahrump resident. Contact him at timstakenv@gmail.com