Romatic Dining

It's 8 o'clock; the love of your lifetime is about to walk in on a dinner set for two. What will they find? Well, if their partner researched and did a bit of "romantic" planning they should be engulfed in a setting of dimmed lighting, soft music, beautiful ambiance and all the time in the world. If this sounds like something you'd like to plan for your next romantic evening... read on.

The first goal in planning a romantic dinner is to create the perfect mood. You should decide this now. Choices can vary from sensual to carefree. I'll address different foods & items you can have to set different moods in a bit.

Once you've decided what mood you want. The next thing you should do is decide where the ideal place that depicts this mood is. If you want an endless romantic night try and find a place that looks over a large body of water on the night of a full moon. Personally, my favorite way to achieve this is to rent a hotel room on the beach and have room service delivered and set up on the balcony or patio of the room overlooking the ocean.

If passion is your plan, try setting up pillows all around on your living room floor with a bed tray somewhere near filled with finger foods to feed each other.

Take some time and research different settings and places around your city to find the ultimate spot. The time spent will most definitely be worth it.

Now that you have the mood and place decided, it's time to plan the menu. Plan your meal around the mood you are trying to create. Here are a few complete dinner ideas.

Hopelessly Romantic (great for couples just starting to date)

• Meal of pasta, preferably the classic spaghetti marinara.


• Garlic bread.


• Spumoni or other Italian dessert.


• Bottle of vintage wine.


• White and red checked tablecloth.


• Soft Italian music playing in the background.

Passionate

• Cook or order Indian food. Be sensitive to your partner's tolerance to spicy foods.


• Buy a Kama Sutra book and practice a few methods on each other.


• Indian music playing in background.

Carefree & Romantic

• Find a place near the ocean or water.


• Prepare shrimp and/or a steak dinner.


• Bottle of your favorite wine, chilled.


• Soft jazz playing in background.


• Have your date either right at sunset or on a full moon.

Above all else, be creative. Each couple is different and has different tastes. The key to creating the "ultimate" dinner is finding those tastes.

After you've chosen a menu, it's time to stock up on your mood setters. An absolute must is candles, no exceptions with this one. Also, include soft music, chilled wine or champagne and flowers. Anything that can add to the atmosphere of the mood you're trying to create… do or get!

The following finishing touches are what will take your romantic dinner to ultimate. The planning, time it took to create and the atmosphere you've created is what will determine your success. Take extra care of the time of day you choose. A simple, elegant dinner set to the symphony of an extraordinary sunset can out do even the most elaborate of gourmet meals in a busy, trafficked setting. Don't forget to keep in mind the privacy you'll have as well. For added finishing touches try a few of these ideas.

• Hand feed each other while eating.


• Cook and/or prepare the meal together.


• Get dressed up even if you're just staying home.


• Try to include their favorite foods as much as possible.


• Use scenery to create the perfect atmosphere.


• Above all else, relax, enjoy a great conversation and have fun!