Date no. 1: Starbucks. Although a bit cliché, it's a safe bet. If things don't work out, you're out of there in 15 minutes.

Date no. 2: Dinner and movie. Traditional and wholesome.

Date no. 3: This is where things get a bit tricky. Instincts may nudge you to suggest a Netflix night on the couch, but you might rack up a few brownie points by planning an informal activity where you can bond better. Consider an evening at Color Me Mine.

Color Me Mine, 11340 State Road 84 in Davie, is a pottery studio open until 8 p.m. during the week and 10 p.m. on weekends. But unlike the movie Ghost, in which Patrick Swayze snuggles Demi Moore at the pottery wheel, the ceramic pieces here are premade.

Choose a coffee mug or a kitty cat cookie jar or any of the other 300 unfinished ceramic pieces that range from $15 to $60. Then, in pencil, you sketch an original design or pick one from the design computer. You'll coat the piece with a colored underglaze and proceed to paint it like Picasso. After you've thoroughly critiqued and/or mocked each other's masterpieces, they're baked in a kiln and available to be picked up in about a week. If you're no longer dating by that time, the good people at Color Me Mine will find a good home for your artwork.

Studio time costs $8 a person, which includes the underglaze, paint and unlimited assistance from employees Brittany Koons and Diana Mahmoud. You're out of luck if you're not a Coldplay fan because it seems to be the only band piped into the store's sound system.

After scrubbing your hands in the communal sink, you will hopefully be asked, ``What should we do now?'' Since you're the man and/or woman with the plan, you'll suggest sauntering over to Lefty's Tavern & Grill in the same shopping center at 11300 W. State Road 84.

This sports bar has a folksy feel. Even if they're tipsy, the regulars who monopolize the hexagonal bar are good-natured and welcoming to newbies who chance upon the rare vacant bar stool. Trophies are proudly displayed, and oversized inflatable football helmets hang from the ceiling like piñatas. Neon beer signs illuminate the walls, and guests do their best to guess NTN trivia while about two dozen old-fashioned TVs are tuned to sports. Bartenders here remember your name and what you drink and, once they know you, will have one waiting for you before you sit down.

Drinks are half price during happy hour, which runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. A heavily poured Captain & Coke will only set you back $2.50. Buckets of five domestic bottled beers are always available for $10.

If you and your date end up tying the knot and starting a family, you can bring the kids to Lefty's on Thursday. From 6 to 8 p.m., Bobby the Balloon Guy entertains while you drink a toast to that third date that sealed the deal.

UPCOMING

Black Bros., C4Ghost, Reesy Wright, City, Fino Fresh, Dave Walker and Shoddy play Friday at Pulp Live, 2674 E. Oakland Park Blvd., Fort Lauderdale. Tickets are $5; show starts at 8 p.m.

VNV Nation, War Tapes and Ayria play Saturday at the Culture Room. Tickets are $19.99; doors open at 8 p.m.

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