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My Amazing Cheap Date: Hatchet Throwing, Board Games, and Tacos

“My Amazing Cheap Date” explores fun, romantic and unique things that can be done in New Orleans — all for $50 or less.

by Mary Staes | February 14, 2022

“My Amazing Cheap Date” explores fun, romantic and unique things that can be done in New Orleans — all for $50 or less. Host Amy Brassette provides color commentary throughout the dates and is the ultimate decider as to which couple had the best date and most creatively spent their 50 bucks. The winning couple will receive a prize to local establishments so that they can have another awesome, free date.

In this episode, two couples compete to see who can have the best date for $50 or less. They eat sweet snowballs, throw hatchets, listen to free jazz music, and visit the Free Store at the End of the World. 

Couple No. 1: Vaiva and Kyle

  • Vaiva Urbaitis is an event coordinator in the music industry who puts on concerts for a living.
  • Kyle Godwin is a bartender.

Couple No. 2: Telly and Malcolm

  • Telly Mommsen works in internet marketing.
  • Malcolm Hall is a bicycle mechanic.

Great Cheap Date Ideas in New Orleans

In this episode, couples are challenged to create dates with these four themes: 

  • Get Physical
  • Cool off with a treat
  • Get your game on 
  • Dinner under $10

🍧 Cool off with a treat: Enjoy unique snowballs at Hansen’s Sno-Bliz, a small stand that was started in 1939 by the current owner’s grandparents. It’s the best way to “air-condition your tummy.”

Your guide for sweet treats to cool off in New Orleans

💪 Get physical: Hit up New Orleans Shaolin, a traditional Chinese martial arts school, to learn kung fu and tai chi. Through precise movement practice, you’ll learn how to control your emotions and focus your mind on the present.

🎲 Get your game on: d4 Tabletop Gaming Cafe is a cafe owned by a husband and wife where board game aficionados can go to get their fix. There are over 100 games in-store to rent or you can bring in your own. Order some food off the menu, rent a table, and get your game on. 

🍧 Cool off with a treat: Owned by married couple Kitten and Lou, Chance in Hell SnoBalls is changing the snowball scene. All flavors are all-natural and handmade with local, seasonal ingredients in small batches. The menu rotates weekly and you can always count on fun, unique flavors like dill pickle. 

Learn how this married couple got their start in the snowball business. 

💪 Get physical: Hatchet throwing is a great sport for those looking for adventure and a release. Stumpy’s Hatchet House opened its first location in 2016 in New Jersey and has since franchised with locations spread across the country. 

🍕 Dinner under $10: Pizza Delicious has been around since 2012. It was started by two New Yorkers attending college in New Orleans who wanted to bring good, New York-style pizza to the city. Grab a slice, a whole pie, or some pasta.

Craving a slice? Check out the Top 5-04 guide to the best pizza in town! (Pizza Delicious makes the list!)

🌮 Dinner under $10: Soule Cafe was created for “Vegans and Friends,” meaning they have vegan, vegetarian, and plant-based options but also serve beef and seafood. Food is prepared fresh daily with love and care.

🎲 Get your game on: The Rook Cafe has been serving coffee and pastries to New Orleans since 2013. The cafe offers a safe, fun community for everyone to enjoy — whether guests visit to study or play a board game.

Watch these cheap dates in action and see who wins!

You can watch all of the episodes of “My Amazing Cheap Date” for free on the Very Local channel. Click here for details on how to get the channel. 

If you’re looking for a romantic date night, check out our Top 5-04 guide to the most romantic spots in New Orleans. 

Stream original series on the Very Local app

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Mary Staes

Mary Staes

Mary Staes is Digital Content Lead for Very Local. She works with our freelancers and crafts content for our social media platforms and website. Before Very Local, she worked with CBS affiliate WWL-TV as a web producer and weekend assignment editor for about 4 years. She has also handled broadcast coverage for 160 Marine Reserve training facilities while she served as an active duty Marine. As a native New Orleanian, she takes being "very local" to heart. She loves being intertwined with the culture and figuring out how there are less than two degrees of separation between us all, whether we're natives or not.

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