Some of the finest dining

St. Valentine's Day -- that most precarious holiday in our popular culture -- approaches us this week. For those who will either partake in the festivities or hope to, there is a special ingredient to a perfect evening: a perfect meal. It is said that the way to a man's or woman's heart is through his or her stomach, and this holiday, one need not venture further than the streets of Bloomington to find a variety of bistros ready to cater to the most varied of palates.\nTo begin with, I'll share some of my own favorite experiences from Bloomington's dining selections. As a disclaimer, I must say that while these are restaurants I would recommend, they are certainly not the only viable choices. If one desires, for example, to impress his or her love by choosing a unique cuisine (Burmese Gems or Anyetzang's Little Tibet for example), they will not appear in detail here.\nPerhaps the most outstanding of Bloomington's fine dining is the Scholar's Inn Café and Wine Bar, located at 11th St. and College Ave. The quaint atmosphere of this turn-of-the-century house with a sleek and posh interior makes this a haven for dates. The menu is a creative twist on continental styles ranging from seafood to duck. Even their lunchtime sandwiches look irresistible.\nTo top it off, they have an extensive and impressive wine list ranging from American coastal vintages to Australian Varietals to Bordeaux and Burgundy. While they are open for lunch and Sunday champagne brunch, their dinner menu is a marvel. And as if matters weren't already incredible, their dessert menu is not to be beaten. But be warned, on even a modest dinner for two, look to spend upwards of $80.\nOn Kirkwood is another bearer of American delectables. Michael Cassady, owner of the Uptown Café, has been a Bloomington restaurateur for 30 years. Uptown is a cool place -- it's not so fancy that you feel awkward if you're not in a coat and tie, yet it's much too nice to wear jeans. One need not feel bad if wine's not the preferential libation, though they have a very respectable wine list -- they do carry on-tap beer, but it's mostly imports. And as far as their food -- well, any restaurant that has a gumbo of the day is great in my book.\nBut that says little of what they can do. If you like steak, they have steak. They do fish very well, and it's not like fish you'll have anywhere else. Chicken is no problem. Neither is meatloaf and mashed potatoes (regular or Cajun style) -- and who ever said that meatloaf had to be a layman's dish? If Uptown Café were to only succeed in one thing, it's that they make the mundane interesting. And as if it were not enough, their service is top notch, and they're very knowledgeable about what's on the menu, especially those choices that seem foreign. What's andouille? Don't worry, they'll tell you.\nFor those who would like something a bit more exotic in nature, Bloomington is the epicenter for multi-cultural dining. Three of those most special of restaurants are Puccini's, an Italian bistro on Fourth St., Mikado Japanese restaurant and sushi bar on College Mall Rd. and Samira, an authentic Afghani restaurant on the Northwest corner of the Square at Seventh and Walnut.\nPuccini's, as its reputation precedes it, is the best Italian restaurant in town. Its Fourth St. location gives it the panache of a great date place and its menu and atmosphere do the rest. While it has been quite a while since I ventured there, I remember loving all of the food immensely, especially the broiled lamb chops cooked to perfection with pine nuts and rosemary baked in to support its flavor.\nEating sushi is not just a dining experience -- it is a ritualistic experience as well. Making sushi is an art, but eating sushi and enjoying the meal are also an art. Mikado, in the last few years, has come into its own as a premiere locale for sushi. Rated by Indianapolis Monthly as the best sushi in Indianapolis with the most variety, their Bloomington version is not quite as varied, but is by far the best in town. Look for friendly service, many menu choices (especially for non-sushi lovers) and a saki list that I can't even begin to understand. The saki subculture is foreign to me, but ask them -- they know what they're doing.\nSamira is almost a surreal experience in light of last fall's tragedy. Going in there for the first time a little over a month ago, I didn't know what to expect or how to go about the evening. But, luckily, the gentleman who served me was the kindest, sweetest server I've ever had. He made my guest and I feel as if we were his privileged guests and was eager to explain anything on the menu to us. I saw it as a cross between Moroccan and Indian food, having curries and spicy sauces, yet also with a sweet side that made one's eyes feast equally to their tongues.\nFinally, though I consider it to be more of a "first date" restaurant, Café Django on Grant St. between Kirkwood and Sixth is by far the most unique restaurant in Bloomington. Their food is as varied and unique as is the jazz idiom from whence they claim their name, after the great two-fingered jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. Live jazz music on the weekends, American, Tibetan and Italian-esque styles of their food, and their atmosphere and friendliness equate them with the most interesting restaurant Bloomington has to offer.\nBut if one desires to leave the confines of Southern Indiana, there are a few choice establishments not far North. If Bloomington is not your idea of a good time but you don't want to go into the myriad of places Indianapolis and Louisville have to offer, there is a gem hidden within the confines of Camby, Indiana. Located 15 minutes South of I-465 on US 67 (take US 37 North to Martinsville, US 39 West to US 67, US 67 North on route to Indianapolis) is Chez Jean. Marked by Indianapolis Monthly as the best French dining in the state, chef Carl Huckaby has taken all of the traditional favorites from Jean, the place's founder, such as duck a l'orange, pate's and Chateau Briande, and added a few of his own specialties.\nThis is the kind of restaurant where one is likely to shell out $250, but it's also the kind of place one proposes marriage.\nAlthough the upcoming holiday is not everyone's favorite, and not everyone has a special someone to treat, one can always find a friend or take out the best person you know -- yourself -- and enjoy a wonderful meal from Bloomington's finest.