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So Valentine’s Day is coming up. It comes in different ways for different people. For some (those happy hand-holding lovers), it’s a much anticipated day like the first snow before Christmas, full of romance. For the not so happy (or single), Valentine’s comes like that annoying SUV on the next lane that keeps on signaling, trying to squeeze into your lane and cut you off… damn bastard!

Well, whatever the case may be, it’s probably best to be prepared. That’s why blogUT has compiled a guide to Valentine’s Day, where we review all the Valentine’s Day guides for Toronto, from Toronto Life, Toronto.com, Eye Magazine, and Now Magazine. And just in case anyone calls us unoriginal, we’ve added a few tips of our own. Read on for the guide!

Toronto Life’s Guide
Unless you somehow manage to pull in a respectable full-time salary while being a full time student… oh, by the way, if you are, you should tell me how. I’d be willing to do it, even if it involves getting naked… but I digress. Anyhow, Toronto Life’s restaurant and gift suggestions tend to be a tad too high-brow for our average student. On the plus side, I have to give them credit for this clever Create-a-Date chart. The guide to Toronto’s most romantic neighbourhoods may also be worth a quick browse.

Toronto.com’s Guide
Toronto.com’s guide is… comprehensive, shall we say? In other words, there are so many suggestions that it reads like a laundry list. Definitely quantity over quality here. They do have a nice restaurant guide that helps you pick the right place for the right person, which includes 5 romantic restaurants for the student.

Eye Magazine’s Guide
Technically, this isn’t a Valentine’s Day guide; it’s Eye Magazine’s Love & Sex Guide. Still, there’s lots of good stuff here, from a sex-centric gift guide, to a list of Lovey & Sexy events, to a guide of Toronto’s top make-out spots. For the singles out there, there’s even a pretty cool guide to dating events around the city. Well done Eye!

Now Magazine’s Guide
Compared to Eye, Now Magazine seems to have dropped the ball on the Valentine’s Day guide. Aside from a list of romantic restaurants, they had little else. At least they mentioned Red Tea Box, which is a recommendation I can stand by.

blogUT’s Very Own Guide
We’re going to keep this simple and short. Two recommendations, one for the couple, and one for the single boys and girls.

For the couple, I recommend booking yourself in at Cafe Taste’s Valentine’s Day related events. I was there recently, and it’s a fabulous little wine bar that’s as cozy and intimate as a self-knit mitten on a cold winter’s day. In addition to having a special Valentine’s Day menu, they’re also having a wine tasting on Feb 13th, featuring wines revolving around the life and times of the Patron Saint of Lovers: St. Valentine. How cool is that! Check the website for details.

As for the singles, I have just the thing for you. U of T’s Sexual Education and Peer-Counselling Centre is holding an event on Valentine’s day called “FLRT100H1: Introduction to Flirting”. Hey, maybe by this time next year, your +2 flirting bonus will have landed you a hot date! Thursday, February 14, 12-2 pm. Hart House, South Sitting Room.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 8th, 2008 at 11:44 am and is filed under Entertainment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.