The Zona Rosa shopping center in the Northland has all you need for a great date!
Start at Añejo Modern Mexican Cuisine for lunch and an adult beverage. While they have an extensive menu to choose from, we recommend ordering a la carte street tacos and sharing a margarita flight. The taco choices include chicken, al pastor, carnitas and steak, and you can mix and match them however you like (unlike the street taco platter that also comes with rice and beans). Add in the free chips and salsa, and it’s more than enough to fill you up. As for the margaritas, Añejo has at least thirteen different flavors, including mango, watermelon, painkiller and original. All delicious!
Next, head to Hawaii Fluid Art to create a unique piece of artwork. Their date night painting options are canvas painting, a resin beach scene or glass painting. We chose the canvas art and each did our own — however, you can also do one together, which is definitely more cost-effective. Either way, you pick out the canvas size and the paint colors you want. You then layer the paints in a cup, strategically pour the paint onto the canvas and, with help from the instructor or your significant other, tilt the canvas back and forth to make the paint flow around. The last step is applying glitter, if you so desire. It will take about a week for your art to dry and fully cure. Once it’s ready, you can leave your piece as is (for a matte finish) or pay an additional fee for the studio to apply resin to it (for a shinier finish).
For a fun retail experience, head to Heavenly Olive Oils next, where you can sample — and buy! — delicious balsamic vinegars and olive oils, all imported from Italy. And they have so many amazing choices. Their balsamic vinegar comes in flavors like apricot, cinnamon pear, dark chocolate, fig and Neapolitan herb. The olive oil options include black truffle, Calabrian pesto, herbes de Provence, orange and many more. I wanted to take so many of them home, but we settled on one olive oil and one vinegar. Any of Heavenly Olive Oils’ products would make a great gift. We will definitely be purchasing more from them in the future!
The last stop is Mochinut for an afternoon pick-me-up. They specialize in mochi doughnuts, which are made with rice flour. This type of doughnut originated in Hawaii and is beloved for its unique shape: eight dough balls connected to make a circle. The doughnuts are lightly crispy on the outside and delightfully chewy on the inside. I am a huge fan of cake doughnuts, and I think I like these doughnuts almost as much. Grab several for a snack on your way home or for breakfast the next morning — you’ll be glad you did.
