A FREE Valentine’s Dinner For Two at Ruth’s Chris Steak House, $200 Value!
Yes that ‘s right, for one lucky Foodie-file reader Valentines dinner will be on me and Ruth’s Chris Steak House! I have a gift certificate valued at $200 to be redeemed at the Toronto or Mississauga location, where one of my readers will be able enjoy Ruth’s Chris’s finest aged, corn-fed, USDA Prime beef cooked to perfection. Or one of their other delectable entrees like Veal Chops, Chicken, Lamb Chops, Lobster, Crab Cakes and much more! To finish your meal, experience the “Sweethearts Delight” Valentine’s Dessert for Two, which includes a sumptuous portion of classic Chocolate Sin Cake with Chocolate and espresso, Long Stemmed Chocolate Dipped Strawberries and champagne to celebrate the occasion.
Are you drooling yet? l know you want to know how you can be celebrating in style this Valentine’s day and so without further ado… to be eligible for the gift certificate, I’m going to go with a Valentine’s theme and am going to be totally self-serving. This Valentine’s day I find myself dateless and without viable prospects. In the comments below, submit your best strategy for drumming up a Valentine’s date (keep it clean please – I monitor comments!). The reader with the best suggestion for meeting someone new will be dining on steak this Valentine’s Day. Submit your dating tactic by Wednesday February 11th and good luck to all (including myself)!
Remember, I have a Green and Black’s Chocolate Fondue Package to give away this Friday, all Foodie-file subscribers are eligible, just click on the 
or 
icons at the top left of this page if you are not already a subscriber! The Cheesy Soiree tickets and West cookbooks are also still up for grabs, go to this post to submit your recipe.
If you like the sound of the Sweetheart Delights dessert, make your own Ruth’s Chris reservation by calling 416.955.1455 in Toronto or 905.897.8555 Mississauga.
Let me start off by saying I am married for 25 years.
Dating your husband again is not much different than dating before the two of you were married. However, instead of waiting for him to ask you out, you get to do the honors! That’s it. Go ahead. Call him up at work (preferably not during a “big business meeting”), and see what his plans for Valentine’s night! If he replies, “The only thing I want to do Saturday night is come home, eat dinner, relax, watch a StarGate on TV and go to bed……….why do you ask?”
Be prepared to answer.
Now these could be one of two answers:
1) It’s Valentine’s Day
2) It’s Saturday honey!!!
Of course there is the tired but no-always-so-true methods such as bars, blind dates, dating games and online matches, but for someone (hopefully) intelligent and interesting, why not a library? Any man found at the library on a Saturday afternoon is most likely single, not sports-obssessed, and literate (a good start). So, grab a book from his chosen section, find a comfy seat next to him, and begin your first intelligent conversation on the way to romantic bliss. Valentine, shmalentine, this is a great idea any time of the year!
Email all your friends – this could include even a few close (and nice) acquaintances – and say: “I’m single. I would like to date someone awesome. Do you know anyone funny and nice who would be up for an adventure? I’d love to meet him!”
Don’t be worried that you’ll come off as desperate, you are just being really honest and no one can fault you for that.
Good luck and have fun on your adventure!
How to get a Valentine date…….go to a hockey arena on a Saturday night; there are many leisure leagues that play every Saturday night. Sit down and watch them play and then afterwards goto the arena bar (the players all go for a beer to cool off after their game and to watch the hockey game on tv). You might mention that this is your first time out and that you loved watching them play their game. Start up a conversation with the group of potentials….before you know it you’ll get to know them better and you might want to drop some hints: gee, I wish I had someone to watch play every weekend.
Enjoy the game on tv, joke around with all the new people you just met….and you might as well enjoy a cold one too. If nothing happens….well, you might as well swallow your pride and ask straight out (if you are interested in any one person) if you could come out next Saturday to watch them and perhaps enjoy a beer together afterwards….it’s Valentine’s day afterall!
Valentine’s Day is not one for first dates; it’s a time for lovers. My advice…make a new friend; someone who will not feel awkward at going out for dinner on this particular evening. How about becoming a Big Sister to a young girl? My daughter is so excited about celebrating Valentine’s Day with her family. How about taking out a girl who needs a woman’s frienship and mentoring? Get all girly in pink and red, take her out to dinner where she can dress up a bit and be treated like a Princess. Surprise her with a heart-shaped cookie with her name on it. You’ll spend what could be an otherwise lonely evening making a difference to someone who will actually appreciate the fun part of celebrating Valentine’s day. (And you never know…she could have a great looking single Dad who’s the perfect match!)
What man can’t resist female companionship over a great steak and potatoes meal? Selfishly use your networking abilities to get a $200 certificate at Ruth Chris and raffle it off at work, hockey arenas, etc–money goes to charity and the winner gets a steak dinner date with YOU!
Flirt as much as you possibly can! Honest to goodness, there’s nothing like a good friendly flirt and you can do it anywhere. During my single years my friends always said I was probably the best flirter they’d ever met and I always thought outside the box when it came to places to flirt.
For example – a Tim Hortons drive thru. I used to get a tea every morning around the same time on my way to work. Every monring either a really nice looking guy would be either in front of me or behind me in the line up. We’d exchange smiles and winks. I decided I wanted to take our drive thru relationship a little further so I showed up early one morning and got in line ahead of him. When I ordered I also offered to pay for the order behind me. When I got up to the window, I paid for my coffee and his coffee, but asked the window attendant to write my phone number on the top of his coffee lid and to tell him it was from the ‘girl in the car ahead’. She did it and 15 minutes later Phil called me and we had a date!
Like I said flirting does wonders ESPECIALLY when you think outside the box.
Meghan – that’s a fantastic story. I hope it’s true, and if not a great tactic to add to my repertoire! Everyone better step it up, Meghan is definitely in the running for steak.
I had social calling cards made up with just my name, cell phone number, and e-mail address on them. When I meet someone I’m interested in seeing again, I offer them a card. People are quite surprised and impressed to see such a thing! I do get quite a number of responses this way, which means brief encounters in coffee shops and grocery lines turn into potential mate-meeting opportunities.
I would have say dont be shy! I dont have a shy bone in my body, my friends say. I asked my husband to marry me! He said yes, the rest is history. Every single girl has met or at least seen someone they would like to know better. Some men are as scared of rejection as we are. Work up the nerve to get the guy’s phone number and give him a call. If he’s a decent guy he will likely be flattered. Whether he says yes or no will be up to him and your persuasive ways. But either way you will boost the guy’s ego and gain some confidence. If he says yes yippee. Then on the day of the “date” send him flowers to set the mood. Have Fun!
There are so many people in this world in the same position as you. Everyone wants to find someone that they have something in common with. I think the best way to find a friend/date is through family and friends. So throw a party and ask you friends and family to bring someone they know who is looking for friendship and get to know them over a few drinks with people that you are comfortable with. Serve up great snacks and drinks, have fun, and if you meet someone its a bonus if you don’t you have had a great time anyways.
Don’t be shy and pop one of those “Be mine” valentine cards kids give to their friends into his mail box or just pop it in his hand. On the back invite him or her out for a evening of chocolate at your favourite restaurant or coffee shop! Simple and it could get you a date because it’s sooo…. goofy.
There are lots of approaches to obtain a date for Valentine’s Day. Usually, it is from school, through friends & family, social gatherings, church, bar, work, and now the internet dating services, albeit a bit creepy at first but I have heard there are some professional ones out there (not that I’ve tried). You don’t want to look desparate, but you don’t want to pity yourself at night on Valentine’s Day. My recommendation is bold but cool. About a week before Valentine’s Day, you ask all your friends for a little get-together for some drinks and nibbles and ask them to bring someone single who is not their main squeeze, like a brother, sister, friend, co-worker etc. This way, you have a trusted little pool of potential candidates to choose from. And if you hit it off with someone, ask them if they’d like to do something on Valentine’s Date like lunch, a movie, toboganning, skating, something in the public domain but not dinner so that neither of you would feel awkard if you see couples googling into the other’s eyes at the table. Who knows, maybe other guests from the party might beneift as well.
How about doing something charitable and maybe meeting your mate in the process on Valentine’s Day. Habitat for Humanity has a Singles Build and Afterparty on Feb 14 in Toronto. For details see http://www.torontohabitat.ca/web/ShowEvent.aspx?EventID=1791
When meeting someone new, you want to be comfortable and casual and enjoyable. I suggest your date be shared with other friends, maybe just another couple. Your date could come from your subscribers list (you set some criteria for applications), someone you already know and have an interest in, or a friend of friends. I think you could hold a combined dinner effort where your date and friends prepare a dinner together complete with hors d”oeuvres, nice entree and desert. Everyone gets involved while enjoying some wine. Say, beef wellington, not too intensive, buy good steak, puff pastry & pate. Conversation would flow and all would share in the experience. My wife and I do it all the time.
Continuation of 15. To discover your new date, you could try the “I”m new to cooking, can you help me? How would I cook that? ” lines at your favourite market, whether exotic meats or seafood.And then, once dialogue is established, invite him to your dinner as I said in # 15.
I think you are trcking us. This is it, if any single guy is paying attention. The right comment would be from some guy saying, I would love a date with you. He would say, let’s meet and see what if anything we can arrange together. You are pretty sly!!! So guys, help this lady in distress and help me win the dinner for my wife.
Ok Foodie-file readers, I don’t need advice about what to do on a date, this part I have covered! What I’m looking for is a seat at the table, get it?
Lorne… can’t get one over on you!
Christine…..could, would, should….give us more to go on. I assumed you wanted to get out there and meet someone new in a new environment on your own (without friends helping). I know I’d feel a little uncomfortable with letting my friends in on a new beginning…I tend to let them know about it later on.
Here’s another suggestion: register yourself for something like rock rappelling or tree-top walking (if you’re adventurous) or maybe a specialty cooking class like Japanese. You’re bound to meet someone new with the same interest as you. Take it slowly from there!
Ah, heck, my partner and I are going to a Valentine’s day dance Friday the 13th….do you want to come along?
My husband and I work so we decided to make a summer type of dinner at home- a steak barbeque, bruschetta and salad.
Dessert will be one of our favourites- a chocolate mocha-nut cake.
Red wine tops it off
Jeannine, I’m more of a “two-some” than a “three-some” kind-of-girl, but thanks for the offer!
Hi!
Why not borrow a dog and take it to a doggie park where other dog owners go. You just might meet a single dog owner who not only likes the look of your dog, but you as well. Another thought is to take an evening welding class….there are always men there. Good luck!
Instead of the usual male date, how about a single parent, sister, brother or good friend.I would have been thrilled to spend Valentine’s Day with family or a good friend who also didn’t have anyone special to spend it with.This would be a perfect way to show someone that you appreciate all that they do for you. You want to spend this day with someone you are comfortable with, enjoys company and laughter,and good food. Don’t waste this day on someone you have just met–it may be a big disaster.Love is all encompassing so why not spend this day with someone who is already close to your heart.
Carol Ann,
Welding?!!
Well, I do own my own blowtorch, but I had never considered putting it to a social use…
You guys are killing me! I had no idea this would be so hilarious!
Look for your date at the Grocery store(im planning on looking for my next husband there, I tell mine this all the time but after 20 years he doesnt believe me!!)
This is what to do…If you see a guy with alot of chips and pop in his cart, skip him..he will be watching Don Cherry on Sat night, not you. The guy that has alot of KD and tv Dinners in his cart you dont want him either ecause he cant cook, or hes just to lazy too.
Look for the guy in the produce dept looking at the peppers trying to decide the diff in red green and orange(this is where you step in and tell him) Next follow him thru the store, keep in mind stalking is not a quality men find attractive.Your going to have to be tricky..But if you do it well the next thing you know you will be in the same check out comparing your airmile points. Good luck and remember you can tell alot by what a man has in his cart!!
This will be the first Valentines my husband and I get to go out in 14 years. 14 years ago I recieved my best Valentines gift..My Daughter she was born on Valentines Day so we have always made the day about her. This year she has “other” plans so we will get a date!!