KNOX-HENDERSON. A charming and romantic two-story restaurant, Adelmo's is an ideal date spot. Italian and Mediterranean cooking dominates the menu, and standouts include veal osso buco, ravioli Florentine and grilled Mediterranean-style salmon. For dessert, opt for the heavenly cappuccino ice cream. The wine list is well-selected and reasonably priced with a good number of choices available by the glass. The wonderfully personable staff is helpful and knowledgeable.

DOWNTOWN DALLAS. This attractive Mediterranean-Italian restaurant is popular with business folks, who deem its peaceful environs ideal for wooing clients. Romantics hold the place in high esteem as well, beguiled no doubt by its enchanting fountains and garden-like setting. Lunch appetites are soothed by dishes like tempura-battered fish and chips or three-cheese spinach lasagna; sandwiches, pastas, and seafood are available as well. N.B. Avanti is closed to the public at dinnertime and on Saturday and Sunday.

GREENVILLE AVENUE. From hummus to lamb, this popular restaurant wonderfully mixes Middle Eastern cuisines ­ Turkish, Lebanese, Persian, and Greek. Mama Nazary, who prepares entrees for the cafe's daily fixed price menu, heads the kitchen and puts forth plenty of vegetarian choices, too. Although there's not a standard menu per se, the food is uniformly delicious, and the ambiance is ethnically authentic. Special events include a monthly art show on every first Thursday and Date Night, a Friday standard that includes two dinners and a bottle of wine for a reasonable price.

UPTOWN. This attractive hotel restaurant blends Mediterranean and Asian flavors in imaginative, artistically presented dishes. Translucent floor panels, drapery, and sensuous furnishings captivate the senses, as do whimsical dishes like grilled ginger beef with wasabi slather or barbecue prawns with beluga lentils. The poolside terrace provides sweeping views of the Dallas skyline and serves as a particularly romantic option if you're looking to impress. And if you truly want to be part of the Dragonfly scene, dress in your chic best.

KNOX-HENDERSON. While visiting the French and Italian countrysides, the owners of Il Solé fell in love with the countries' regional cuisine and decided to bring the culinary stylings home with them. As a result, Il Solé offers a variety of flavor-packed entrees, including grilled sea scallops with pancetta and a tomato risotto cake, osso bucco with white truffle essence, and a forest mushroom-encrusted center-cut pork chop with apple-fennel slaw. The restaurant also boasts an award-winning wine collection.