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As much as us Clevelanders love our city, we can’t deny that the 6 month long winters can kind of get a little old after a while. It’s hard to find fun, fresh date night ideas that don’t involve going out to eat or having some civilizers (as Jason calls them) at the bar after work. As much as I love doing those things, it gets a bit repetitive after a while, even with our amazing restaurant choices.

SNOWTORIOUS | Cleveland | iCarabout.com

Well, Jason and I had been talking about going bowling for a while now. We’ve even tried to plan a double date to meet up at the Corner Alley on E4th. These plans failed over and over again before we realized that although Corner Alley is probably a blast, we wanted to really immerse ourselves into the REAL bowling experience.

Confused? 

As a native Clevelander, I’ve grown up to know that the Southwestern suburbs of our grand city (i.e. Parma/Brook Park) are where the real bowling magic happens. It seems that almost everyone living in this area is either in a bowling league, or knows at least 5 people who are. And trust me, I’m not insulting bowling leagues. After my experience, I’m actually bugging Jason to join one with me. 

With this knowledge intact, Jason and I set out on an adventurous date night to Brookgate Lanes Bowling Center. No, I’m not kidding. If you’re going to try something, you might as well try the honest to god, true experience. Especially one that left us waiting at the bar for the leagues to finish up their games. Seriously. This place was PACKED and quite “happening” on a Thursday night.  So, we waited patiently at the bar, watching the Cavs and chatting it up with the bartender. 

Once our names were called for an open lane, we bought two games and picked out our bowling balls. I took especially long to find one because of my mutant thumb. Don’t ask. (I guess if I had to be born with one malformed body part, I’m glad it was a fat thumb). I was really surprised how friendly and helpful the staff was, especially after the hectic night they had. They came right over, asked us if we had bowled before, and then showed us everything. Not only that, they kept coming back to see if we needed anything and then brought us coupons to use if we come back. 

Cleveland Plus Bowling | Jason Matthew Murphy | iCarabout.com

Anyways, after all his talk about being HORRIBLE at bowling, Jason proceeded to kick my blonde little butt all night. Although, I have to say that before I hurt my (mutant) thumb, I was giving him a run for his money.  

We honestly had a BLAST and are looking forward to more bowling dates, adventures, and laughs to come…maybe even in Parma?  I’m sure we’ll eventually give Corner Alley a shot, but maybe once we’re up to pro-status with our skills. 

Oh, and by the way, perfect bowling date night food? Taco Bell picnic in your car. It’s quite romantic if I do say so myself.

As many of you already know, I turned 25 on Valentine’s Day this year. I know…I had to get a new license and everything. So, Jason planned a very special (surprise) date night for me to celebrate my quarter life crisis.

I won’t go into all the sappy details (that I love!) because I’m sure you don’t really want to hear it. BUT, the evening started off amazingly with a trip over to our destination city in the Cleveland Plus area: Independence/ Valley View, OH.

Jason booked a hotel for us, but didn’t quite tell me what I was walking into. As I entered the room, music was playing and everything was decked out with roses, petals, balloons, candies, etc. There was even a bottle of champagne on ice, just waiting to be enjoyed! (He’s amazing, and if you’d like to see what the room looked like,  here’s a link)  A couple of moments later, room service came up with chocolate covered strawberries, a raspberry and white chocolate mousse and more champagne! I was completely blown away. Just in case you ever stay in the great city of Independence, I really recommend this hotel.

Valentine's Day | Cleveland, OH | iCarabout.com

It was getting closer to our dinner reservation time (which was still a surprise to me), so Jason called down for a ride over to the restaurant. He asked for anything but a flashy checkered cab and they pulled around a classy, town car for us.  We were both extremely impressed with the hotel’s attention to detail.  But I was way more impressed with Jason’s thoughtfulness! On top of the nice ride, the driver gave us a little history lesson about the area and the canal as we headed over to Valley View.

The driver pulled us up to a really cool building and I saw the sign that read “Lockkeepers“. I was so excited! I’ve never been to this restaurant, but I’ve heard amazing things and even commercials on the radio.  As we walked in, the atmosphere oozed romance and swankiness.  The man who greeted us informed us that our table was not ready just yet and that we could take a seat at the bar if we would like to wait.  At this time I didn’t realize this was all part of Jason’s instructions that he had sent to them in advance.  He wanted to be able to relax at the bar and enjoy some great conversation and wine before dinner started.

As we approached the bar, the bartender gave us wine lists.  He walked away for a moment for us to look at them, all the while he was in on the secret that Jason had already arranged for us to be served a bottle of my favorite wine. How cute is that?! He brought it over and as we sipped our Malbec, we chatted and were soon seated at a cozy table by the window with an amazing view.

Our server was went above and beyond for us.  She brought over our crab cake appetizer and recited the most complicated, long, menu of specials I’ve ever heard. (I gave her a fist bump to celebrate how awesome she was).  We had the tomato soup, which was PHENOMENAL, and the chef sent us over the lobster ravioli to try!

Lockkeepers | Cleveland, OH | iCarabout.com

Jason tried the Surf and Turf with lobster tail, Filet Mignon, asparagus and a potato cake.  I had the Seafood Risotto with shrimp, scallops and topped with a lobster tail.  We shared and let me tell you…everything was incredible.  You know that blissful, comforting feeling you have when you eat something simply divine? That’s what this dinning experience was like, but x10.

Lockkeepers | Cleveland, OH | iCarabout.com

By the time we finished that feast of gloriousness, I had no room for dessert (although the options looked fabulous).  Little did I know, Jason had mentioned in his thorough instructions that it was my 25th birthday and that it was very important that I was treating like a princess. (I don’t know if he included the “princess” part, but it seemed like it!) Before I could refuse dessert, our waitress brought out plate with mini torts on it with a little, edible, Happy Birthday sign.

Lockkeepers | Clevleand, OH | iCarabout.com

All I can say is that Lockkeepers was probably the best FULL restaurant experience I’ve ever had. Every part of it was incredible and they treated us like we were celebrities. How many times can you go into a nice restaurant on one of their busiest nights of the year and be treated like you’re the only ones there? That’s pretty tough to accomplish. A lot of time you’ll get the atmosphere or the service, but the food is only so-so. Not at Lockkeepers. You don’t sacrifice a thing.  On top of that, Jason was blown away how closely they followed all of his instructions.

Lockkeepers | Cleveland, OH | iCarabout.com

After dinner, our driver picked us up and took us down to the canal while sharing some more history about Cleveland. It was a fantastic and thoughtful end to our romantic meal.  We spent the rest of the night relaxing and sipping champagne at the hotel room.  We even had breakfast in bed the next morning! Seriously, this was the most perfect birthday/Valentine’s Day in the world.

I hope if you get anything from this, it’s these things:

1) Jason Murphy is the man.  (And he’s my man!)

2) Take the trip to Valley View and try Lockkeepers. You WILL NOT be disappointed.

3) Explore date night ideas in the Cleveland Plus areas! You’ll discover so many cool new things about this great city of ours. Whether it be learning some history, finding a new favorite restaurant, or just seeing what you can get into. You’re bound to have a great adventure.