Best dates for: Moonlight romance

Coney Island Cyclone

Outdoor movies and amazing views
Ditch the stilettos for sneakers before stopping at Italian grocery Barbarini Alimentari (225 Front St between Beekman St and Peck Slip; 212-227-8890, barbarini.net) and grabbing ciabatta sandwiches stuffed with tomato, mozzarella and basil ($7.50) to go. Cart your bounty over the Brooklyn Bridge to Brooklyn Bridge Park (Main St at Plymouth St, Dumbo, Brooklyn; 718-802-0603, brooklynbridgepark.org) for a waterfront picnic. Arrive on a Thursday beginning July 9 and you’ll not only catch a free flick at sunset, but you’ll also have the chance to spot the moon—and its supporting cast of stars and planets—through an Orion telescope located in the park. Once the credits roll, duck out to Five Front> (5 Front St between Dock and Old Fulton Sts, Dumbo, Brooklyn; 718-625-5559, fivefrontrestaurant.com) for an Orange Moon cocktail ($10) made with Aperol and orange Stoli, which you can sip in the restaurant’s bamboo garden.

Sunsets, sandwiches and a harbor cruise
Get a jump-start on your night under the stars before they even appear by heading to eco-conscious food kiosk Picnick (Battery Park near Castle Clinton, mypicnick.com). On Fridays from 6 to 10pm, listen to free live jazz as you watch the sun dip below the Manhattan Harbor, and nibble on gourmet, sustainably made sandwiches like the “ham n cheese,” featuring pressed prosciutto cotto, Gruyère and pickled vegetable gribiche ($9), or the grilled-veggie niçoise, made with roasted peppers and saffron mayo ($8). Then wash it all down with a glass of wine ($8–$12) on the outdoor patio of Battery Gardens (Battery Park, across from 17 State St at Pearl St; 212-809-5508, batterygardens.com), where you can gaze at boats gliding past the Statue of Liberty and Governors Island. Once night sets in, hop on the Staten Island Ferry (Battery Park, South St at Whitehall St; 718-727-2508, siferry.com) for a free round-trip cruise. It’s a good thing the commuter barge runs 24 hours: The closer-up glimpse of Lady Liberty, with lower Manhattan’s twinkling lights fading in the background, is so breathtaking, you’ll want to ride all night long.

Coney Island after dark
Stage your own hot-dog-eating competition at the original Nathan’s Famous (1310 Surf Ave at Stillwell Ave, Coney Island, Brooklyn; 718-946-2202, nathansfamous.com), where sizzling pups with all the fixins (including sauerkraut and onion) are just $3.41 a pop. Feed each other greasy fries ($2.92) on a little plastic skewer before putting your stomach to the ultimate test: a ride on the Cyclone (834 Surf Ave at 8th St, Coney Island, Brooklyn; 718-265-2100, coneyislandcyclone.com; $8, re-ride $5). On nights when there’s a full moon (the next is August 6), those dressed in a vampire or werewolf getup can slash $2 off the ticket price, but that shouldn’t be the only incentive—have you seen Twilight? Fangs can be very sexy. Stroll down the boardwalk and play I Spy with the sideshow freaks getting off work (or, if it’s a Friday, gaze upwards to watch the free fireworks exploding in the night sky starting at 9:30pm). Then grab a vodka nightcap at Russian restaurant Tatiana Grill (3145 Brighton 4th St at the Boardwalk, Brighton Beach, Brooklyn; 718-646-7630, tatianagrill.com), where the glass-floor aquarium and beach seating means you can end your evening floating, if only in theory.

Moonlight romance

Thrill-seeker

Foodie

Intellectual

Indier-than-thou

First dates

Naughty

Artsy

Nature

Touristy

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