Charlotte Happenings is your monthly guide to events and things to do in and around Charlotte, NC.
Issue link: http://charlottehappenings.epubxp.com/i/731598
DATE night By Emily Farrington Smith WHETHER IT'S FOR A FIRST DATE OR A BIG ANNIVERSARY WITH YOUR SOUL MATE, THE CITY IS IMBUED WITH SPECIAL THINGS TO DO FOR TWO... For this Uptown date night inspired by the romance of Italy, grab your date, throw on your favorite dress or suit, and let the moon hit your eye. Every stop on this date is within walking distance of the last, so you'll only pay for parking once. Enjoy the secure parking garage of Blumenthal Performing Arts Center on the corner of College and Trade streets. With a Belk Theater opera scheduled as the main event of the date, bring $5 for your exit ticket—an offer that's valid when you attend a show at the center and pay inside—and then stroll around the corner for phenomenal Italian fare at Aria Tuscan Grill. Embodying the flavors and feelings of Italy, Aria serves up pasta dishes, rustic pizzas, and perfectly delectable meats, like lamb and grass-fed rib eye. Start out with an antipasti or heirloom tomato caprese topped with 25-year-aged balsamic. Then enjoy entrees of lamb ragout or the famed house gnocchi. Be sure to leave room for dessert. Beautifully plated tiramisu, mascarpone cheesecake or vanilla bean panna cotta offer the perfect encore for an Italian feast. For an experience that elevates the intimacy level, request a spot at the chef's table. Aria is one of the city's few restaurants that boast backstage views of the kitchen, chef and cuisine throughout a meal's creation. After dinner, walk hand in hand back to Blumenthal Performing Arts Center to catch the curtain call for "The Barber of Seville" opera at Belk Theater. Running from Oct. 22 to 30, the dark comedic opera, crafted by Italian composer Gioachino Rossini, will be performed as one of three selections for the 2016-2017 Opera Carolina season. For almost 70 years, Opera Carolina has delivered world-class performances by local talent. Opera glasses or not, Belk Theater simply doesn't have a bad seat in the house. If you can't make it to "The Barber of Seville," any opera performed by Opera Carolina is special and memorable. Purchase tickets online at blumenthalarts.org. Finish off a romantic evening with a glass of bold Chianti, smooth cabernet or a handcrafted cocktail at Wooden Vine & Bistro. This rustic yet elegant wine bar has been recognized as the purveyor of Charlotte's best wine list three years in a row; each bottle is handpicked around the world by Court of Masters Sommelier- certified Andrew Lundquist, a Johnson & Wales University graduate. And the atmosphere doesn't disappoint either. Inside the romantic interior, the furniture is hand-hewn (the wood is hand- shaped with a sharp instrument) and the feel is as unpretentious as it is warm. Wooden Vine is truly the best way to end a romantic date night in Uptown. For more date night ideas in Charlotte, visit charlottesgotalot.com • • • ARIA TUSCAN GRILL PHOTO BYJUSTIN DRISCOLL BELK THEATER PHOTO COURTESY OF OPERA CAROLINA WOODEN VINE & BISTRO PHOTO BY WV HOGAN IMAGING UPTOWN charlottesgotalot.com 21