Headed downtown with your special someone? Want to make it a night to remember?
Then choose a joint that’s jumping. From jazz to blues to the festive sounds of flamenco, nothing turns up the volume on date night like a little live music with your meal.
These are a few of my downtown favorites for dinner and a show:
- They say you don’t mess around with Jim but, in truth, you really can’t go wrong at Croce’s Restaurant & Jazz Bar. You will recognize the gold records hanging on the walls as belonging to 70’s singer-songwriter, Jim Croce, but the real star of the show is Ingrid, his wife and one-time singing partner, who pioneered downtown San Diego’s revitalization with the opening of Croce’s in the mid-eighties and still turns up most evenings to play hostess to food and music fans. Founding the restaurant in the wake of her husband’s untimely death, she dedicated it to his legacy and their shared dream of opening a restaurant where you could go any night of the week to enjoy good food and great tunes. Romantic, right?
- Prefer to take a page from Bogie and Bacall? For a modern twist on the great supper clubs of the 30s and 40s, Anthology is the spot. Here you can have a cocktail, enjoy dinner and watch an intimate performance by world-renown artists. Settle into a cozy booth in one of the balconies or a table on the main floor – every seat is designed to have great views of the stage and perfect acoustics – and dine while you watch sets by touring artists in genres ranging from jazz to blues to Latin and more. Concert schedules are constantly being updated so you can plan your date around seeing one of your favorite musicians or check out the awesome house band.
- If you’re style is a little more rock and roll, check out the House of Blues and channel your inner Jake and Elwood. The San Diego location is home to the famous Bead Wall covered in Mardi Gras beads from New Orleans and, in keeping with House of Blues tradition, there’s a box of mud from the Delta Mississippi underneath the stage. Whether you opt for tickets to a nationally touring band downstairs on the main stage or a local band on stage in the dining room, the House of Blues’ down-home menu and cool vibe are sure to set the mood.
- In the mood for some Latin lovin’? Spicy tapas and sweet sangria? Café Sevilla has long been a downtown favorite for their fiery flamenco performances and, I for one, can’t wait until their new location opens later this winter. Moving over from 4th to 5th Avenue, they are completely renovating a new space and building out more room to dine, enjoy live classical guitar and dance the night away. Ole!
Would you like to take your sweetheart out for dinner and music at Croce’s Restaurant & Jazz Bar?
Comment below by Wednesday, December 8 at 10 a.m. PST and one lucky winner will receive a $50 gift certificate for use at Croce’s any time before September 17, 2011, plus, a copy of Ingrid’s photo memoir “Time In A Bottle.”