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The view is free

Besides Mother’s Day, Valentines Day is the busiest day of the year for restaurants. No girl should honestly expect her boy-toy to bring her out to a glitzy dinner date, and you as her boyfriend should not have to feel obligated.

What if your “date money” is spent on the activity for the evening? There are plenty of places that are cost effective and fun. One of the best dates I have ever been on cost him nothing more than gas money. If you have never been to Boom Island Park, you should go. It is the most beautiful cityscape of downtown Minneapolis, and plenty of park trails to get “lost” on. Besides a swing to push her on as you gaze at the beautiful city that is Minneapolis, there are paths that lead to the romantic river, and old train tracks to follow that will satisfy your need for adventure. This is an easy “get-out-of-the-dog-house-free card” because it is a thoughtful date, someplace that both of you can explore together for the first time. It offers opportunity for conversation in an open and private environment. Also, since this is a Minnesota winter, it offers a chance for you to be the manly man you think you are, and pull her close when she starts to shiver. On attire, this is a park, so formal wear not needed. You get out of learning how to iron your shirt, she no longer has to stress on what she is going to wear and you both get to just be yourselves. No extra hair pins, and ties, just you, her and your favorite sweatshirt. There you have it, intimate setting, a chance to engage in conversation, and a new adventurous place for the both of you, to spend hopefully, one of the best Valentine’s Day’s ever.

-Shannon Eckman

Date and a ghost

Perhaps slightly out of the Valentine’s Day vein, a trip to St. Paul’s supposedly haunted Landmark Center makes for a stylish yet fun date, nonetheless. The center, built in 1902, was once a federal courthouse and post office, but now functions as a center for music, dance, theater, exhibitions, and public forums. The Center is designated as a National Historic Place, and has proven itself worthy of the honor. Looming like a castle in the heart of the city, the former courthouse once held 1930s gangsters “Ma” Barker as well as John Dillinger in the third floor detention room, and many were tried in infamous courtroom 317. In the early 20th century, during St. Paul’s tenure as a hot spot for organized crime, rumor has it that a gangster died in the center, and has been “hanging around” ever since, and sometimes impersonating an elevator operator.

In addition to organized tours and an overall sense of creepiness, the Landmark Center also offers free admittance to the Minnesota Museum of American Art as well as Thursday afternoon concerts at the Schubert Piano Museum, also free. For a bite to eat, one may enjoy Anita’s Cafe, located on the first floor, or any of the local restaurants central St. Paul has to offer.

Unless you are able to rent the Center for the night, sneak into a wedding reception, or visit on a Thursday, you will have to make before five, as the Center is open 8-5 Monday-Wednesday as well as Friday. Thursday’s hours are 8-8, Saturday’s are 10-5, and Sundays the Center is open to the public 12-5.

Tour prices and additional information can be found at the Center’s website: www.landmarkcenter.org.

-Phil Brondyke

Good home-cooking

Of course the restaurants are packed; what did you expect?

All of the fancy places are filled months ahead of time, and those that don’t take reservations will have lines hours long. So what do you do? No, not McDonald’s. Chipotle is not exactly high class either. Sorin might leave you with a night by yourself.

What I am suggesting may be a new idea to many living the frantic college lifestyle: a home-cooked meal. You should know what your significant other’s favorite tastes are. Come up with something amazing, or simple if your culinary skills are not up to par. The key is that you make it. A nice romantic presentation may cover up for less than spectacular taste, but as long as you put some time into it, someone will be impressed. You can even drop a little hint about all of the work you put into the preparation to gain extra brownie points. If you don’t have a kitchen, borrow a friend’s and cater the meal. You’ll be avoiding the frantic rush and noise of a crowded trendy spot and can settle for a quiet romantic meal anywhere you feel like taking it.

-Tyler Stone

Everyone gets flowers

Your love is like a dazzling red rose, but it also can be a lot like a daisy. Not every girl could easily turn down a dozen roses for Valentines Day, but what if you got her a bouquet of flowers that you picked out for her? Carnation or rose, it is really the thought that counts.

There are several places down Snelling, that let you pick out your own arrangement. That way, when we get back and gossip to our girlfriends, your girl can be the only one who says that her guy made her bouquet, personally. Everyone else? “You got a dozen roses... so did I.”

-Shannon Eckman

The Dateless Date

As an admittedly consistent single every Valentine’s Day (that I remember) I would have to recommend to others similarly afflicted, that one is better off entertaining oneself indoors. I suggest spending it alone and not slumming with other friend-like singles that invite you over to have a few drinks, watch Roman Holiday for thirty minutes and then take off your pants together. No, this is not what to do. As a self-professed cinephile, I would not recommend watching sappy, romantic movies by yourself, either. No, what the single individual must do to keep sanity and sobriety intact on Valentine’s Day is watch movies where love stinks and everyone in it is much more crazy than yourself. For instance, don’t watch Meg Ryan bounce around with her little white teeth shining through those cute little lips in Sleepless in Seattle or French Kiss; watch her be a raging alcoholic in When a Man Loves a Woman. Forget Julia Roberts’s daringly unrealistic portrayal as the happy-go-lucky prostitute in Pretty Woman and instead see her viciously stomp out Clive Owens’ heart in Closer. What we singles need to watch in the comfort of our own presence are films like Requiem for a Dream, Sid & Nancy, and hell, Romeo & Juliet. Love hurts, man.

-Nick Bell