To all you dedicated Signal readers, Happy Valentine's Day! I know some of you may despise this Hallmark holiday, but think about it: Everyone has someone to love and take out, whether it is your significant other, friend, foe (if you like to keep your enemies close), relative or yourself!
Knowing it is a busy time of year, here are some great places I have tried out and love that can make searching easier.
Go celebrate this Valentine's Day! Or celebrate why you hate it! Or just celebrate this weekend! No matter what the celebration, each restaurant offers its own unique dining experience.
Featured Promotion: Skate-A-Date
Rockefeller Center
5th Avenue between 49th and 50th streets
New York, NY 10020
Reservations: (212) 332-7620
As a girl who adores food and a fun time out, there are three things that make any date successful: someone awesome to talk to over dinner, a scrumptious, unforgettable meal and plain ol' fun.
I can't guarantee the top of that list, but I can guarantee the latter with Rock Center Caf?'s new promotion called Skate-A-Date. This is a steal for a college couple looking for something romantic and affordable in New York City.
For only $70 a couple, you receive two appetizers, two entr?es, a free skate rental at Rockefeller's ice skating rink and a free skate session. If there is any wait to skate, you get to cut the line! After I compared this promotion to the normal menu and skating prices, I saw that we saved around $50.
Between me and my date, we shared mozzarella and tomato salad, five-onion soup, black angus sirloin steak and seared salmon. The salmon was the premier dish, accented with a pomegranate vinaigrette that made our taste buds dance.
The service was fast, and the server was friendly and even took our picture (yes, we are dorks). The restaurant's atmosphere provides amusement. It can be romantic with its soft lighting, but as it looks out over the ice rink, this view can either prove to be scenic and different or an opportunity to giggle each time someone falls.
This definitely would receive five stars in my book as a great date. And don't be shy to go if you do not have a boyfriend or girlfriend. I took my roommate and we ate and skated up a storm!
Java Moon
4110 Quakerbridge Rd.
Lawrenceville, NJ
Reservations: (609) 275-7447
Java Moon's slogan, "Where Food Dreams Come True, Morning, Noon, and Night" does not start to describe the tons of choices available on their menu. The menu's cutesy use of moon in almost every item's name adds to the quirky charm of this restaurant. The atmosphere inside is great, with candlelit tables and even a stained glass dome with stars in the middle of the ceiling.
The portions served are large, and there is more to enjoy this Valentine's Day, with the introduction of a holiday menu. Special items include appetizers such as stuffed pears and Oysters Rockefeller - definitely not your run-of-the-mill Eickhoff food.
Entr?es include New Zealand lollipop lamb chops topped with a cherry balsamic sauce and blackened sea bass in a light lemon grass broth, both sounding tastier than the Big Dipper. And a definite starry plus for the night: live entertainment! Call and make your reservation.
Villa Rosa Pizza & Restaurant
Scotch Road & Parkway Avenue
Ewing, NJ
Reservations: (609) 882-6841
A close favorite, this cozy restaurant is only a few minutes away from campus. Offering a dining room decorated like a villa, Villa Rosa serves Italian classics that melt in your mouth. Try the eggplant parmigiana or the margherita pizza. Delish.
1855 Room
Ext. 3418
This is the forgotten gem at the College. Though some of its dishes may be pricey with the points system, the 1855 Room offers fine dining on campus.
If you are tight for cash, forgot to make reservations or you don't have a car to get off campus, our friendly little restaurant is the place to be. Tandoori chicken and stuffed peppers are featured on Feb. 14.
Thomas Sweet
179 Nassau St.
Princeton, NJ
Reservations: (609) 683-8720
"A Princeton tradition since 1980," this ice cream and chocolate store offers freshly made ice cream daily. It features a sweet choice for after-dinner dessert, the "Blend-In" - your choice of ice cream with up to three kinds of fresh fruit, candies, cookies or nuts mixed in.
TJ's Trattoria
25 Route 31
South Pennington, NJ
Reservations: (609) 737-7166
For Valentine's Day, this Italian restaurant is featuring red and pink heart-shaped ravioli stuffed with lobster and cheeses - what a loving seafood delight! Also featured on its menu are: fresh fish, chops, pasta, Italian specialties, veal, steaks and chicken.
The heart-shaped ravioli are a definite upgrade from candy hearts to buy for your date.
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If you just realized it's Valentine's Day and all you have are empty pockets, you can:
Take your sweetie to Color Me Mine in Princeton, where you can choose and paint ceramic pieces in a fun, helpful environment
Create a scavenger hunt for your lovie (hide little gifts along the way!)
Woo your lovie with chalk poems on the sidewalk
Donate some time to a charity of their choice
Recycle all your Chinese menus by making origami hearts or roses
Go to hiphopgrams.com and send a Valentine's Day hip-hop gram (these are the bomb-diggity, fo' shizzle)
Just tell them you dig them!
And please, don't pretend you forgot your wallet this Valentine's dinner night. Not cool.