Date Night!

On Knox-Henderson, Impress Your Object of Affection Without Breaking The Bank.

There are tons of expensive places with long lines on weekend nights in and around the Knox-Henderson area.

Do not fall for the lure of these places.

Fact is, there are plenty of other places in this trendy part of town for you take your object of affection out to — and on a dime, no less.

Better yet, the quality of the these places is high enough where the guy or girl you just found on Match.com won't even know you didn't break the bank while shuttling them around.

They'll just want to take you back to the sack.

Veritas Wine Room
2323 Henderson Ave., Suite 103
It's always good to start a date night with a few drinks — just to make sure conversation flows throughout the night, even if it becomes slurred and sloppy toward the end. A good place to start it right is Veritas Wine Room. It's located on a strip mall half way between the Slip Inn and Old Monk, and they sometimes offer free wine tastings, which is a huge bonus if you're watching your wallet. Better yet, even when their offerings aren't free, their pours are hefty and the price is cheap: Two glasses of red will only run you around $12. Their cheese platters make for a solid appetizer, too; Veritas' several options are all accompanied by a meat. They're somewhat inexpensive, too — and grabbing an appetizer here will only keep your price points down at your next stop.

Cafe Madrid
4501 Travis St.
Cafe Madrid is a unique Spanish restaurant nestled in a corner of the Knox Street area and is great for good and cheap tapas, all of which range in price from $2 to $12. Better yet: The house wine is just $4.50 a glass. Overall, the service here is great and the food is excellent. Plus, the ambiance is perfect to set the mood for the night. Sit outside if it's nice evening; you'll get the added bonus of people-watching, which can create some good conversation, if you're having trouble on that front.

Bodega Bar
4514 Travis St., Suite 101
Bodega Bar, basically a wine bar, is a little off of the beaten path. It may be difficult to find if you aren't looking hard enough. But the place has character, the service is exceptional and the fact that it feels a little exclusive will almost certainly impress your date. They've got a solid selection of wines here, but the real score is with the wine flights. Some of the flights can get a little pricey — as with any wine bar — but, if you share a flight, you should be fine. One flight option of four glasses comes in at $14, which is less averages out to $3.50 a glass. That's a tough deal to beat anywhere. Also, you can enjoy dessert while you enjoy the wine with a plate of chocolates and fruit from the Dude Sweet Chocolate folks out of Oak Cliff.

Neighborhood Services Tavern
2405 Henderson Ave.
Here's the thing about Neighborhood Services Tavern: It can be a crowded place with a pretty snooty crowd. Ditch the dining room and go for the bar area; there's always ample seating in there. A word of warning: The drinks can get expensive if you elect for a specialty cocktail, but that's probably true of most mixology places popping up around town. Order a beer or a glass of wine instead. Then order and share the Jonah Crab and Artichoke Dip. It's $12 and comes with made-in-house chips, which the servers will happily refill for you for free. The one downside: It will kill your breath. But if you make sure to share the dip, well, both your breaths will stink, turning it into a double-negative. Which is a positive. Which is all you want out of a date night anyway.