Living Pittsburgh.com’s Ultimate Affordable Date

Looking to share a little culture with your significant other this weekend? Well then, Living Pittsburgh has the ultimate day planned out for you and yours! This is one incredibly romantic and surprisingly affordable all day date for a Saturday that you’ll love!

The entire date lasts around 8 hours, but you can pick up or end wherever you’d like if you’re not feeling quite that adventurous. It includes live opera, lunch for two, gallery crawling, dinner and wine for two, live jazz, Valentine’s themed martinis, parking, tips, and of course plenty of romance…and costs just $55-$65 for TWO people! Don’t think it’s possible? Please do read on….

Start out on 2/11 by heading to the Strip District late morning to catch the Pittsburgh Opera’s Brown Bag concert series. It’s an hour-long performance that’s absolutely free. The concert is held at their headquarters at 2425 Liberty Avenue and begins at 12:00pm. This particular Valentine’s Day weekend performance features love songs featuring the Pittsburgh Opera resident artists. No reservations are necessary. Just show up and be entertained!

We recommend giving yourself enough time before the show to stop at because you can pick up a tasty and healthy lunch to enjoy during the opera performance It is called the Brown Bag Concert Series after all, and you are in fact encouraged to bring your own lunch, so pick up

After the performance, head Downtown and park in one of the many garages in the Cultural District (just $5 on weekends) and then visit as many of their free galleries as your hearts desire with their extended Saturday hours. Wood Street Galleries, one of the wonderful free galleries in town, is currently presenting White Light/Black Light, which is described as a “mesmerizing, contemplative, hypnotic and dramatic.” Sounds like a good Valentine’s date exhibit if you ask us!

Our guess is by now you may be getting hungry again! Before your date, you’ll need to log onto to Restaurant.com, where you can purchase $25 gift certificates to local restaurants for only $10…and even get up to 90% off. 70% and 80% discounts are offered regularly, which means you’ll likely pay around $2 or $3 for a $25 gift certificate to a local restaurant. If you’ve never done it before, it’s really easy. Right now, apply promo code “Love” at check out and get 80% off!

Buy your Restaurant.com coupon for Braddock’s American Brasserie – an upscale restaurant inside the Renaissance Hotel. Head there for an early dinner and split a few of the small plates. Some LP favorites include the braised short rib pierogies, the frites with roasted garlic aioli and the grilled strip district kielbasa with assorted mustards. Pair that combo with two glasses of house wine and some shared profiteroles for dessert, and your bill with the certificate will come to around only $25 including tax and a tip of the pre-discounted bill!

Finally, head to The Backstage Bar at Theater Square. At 5:00 you’ll catch some live jazz with Charles Wallace . The trio will be offering up a unique jazz experience until 7:30. What’s the admission, you ask? Once again, free! While you’re sitting with your sweetie enjoying the tunes, sip on Chocolate Raspberry Martini’s, which The Backstage Bar will be serving up all day for just $5. Two martinis will cost less than $15 including the tip, or around $25 if you’d like to order two each.

Surprised that such a great adventure could cost so little? See, you can afford an incredible date!

Don’t worry about driving or parking – take the bus! Routes that will get you Pittsburgh Opera and Right By Nature in the Strip include 91, 3, 86, 87, 88 & 54c. There’s more routes than we can mention that put you right in the heart of the Cultural District. Use Port Authority’s Trip Planner to get a quick, customized route. Getting there couldn’t be easier!