Add some culture to your life
By Julie E. Houston • Bankrate.com

Let's say that you want to take your date to dinner. Of course, this is a basic. But if your table manners include the infamous "see food" joke, you need to get with the program.

That's Miss Manners to you
"Etiquette sets one person apart from another," says Diane Lumpkin, expert in business and social etiquette from Charlotte, N.C. Anybody may get a first date, but the impression that you make on the first date is what will get you the second and third date. "Etiquette is treating another person as a human being," says Lumpkin, "when you go out with someone, you want them to perceive you as pleasant, someone you want to sit across from at the table."

And Lumpkin says that the other person is aware, both consciously and subconsciously, of what you are doing. So your efforts to impress must start with selecting the right restaurant. Lumpkin recommends making reservations several days in advance. Confirm your reservation the day of the date as well. She says that waiting outside of your favorite restaurant for an hour certainly doesn't make the right impression. And about that restaurant, Lumpkin also suggests that you select a restaurant you are familiar with. This will avoid any surprises when the menu comes. You can also increase your suave factor by suggesting your favorite entrée to your dining companion.

However, don't order what is hard to eat. That piece of spaghetti slapping around your chin or the string of cheese from the bowl of french onion soup to your mouth will cost you major brownie points. So stick to things that are a bit more graceful to eat. And when you get your meal, Lumpkin points out that you should not hold your utensils like you are attacking the meat, but much more delicately. I mean, the steak is already dead, why put it through any more misery?

During dinner, make sure you keep the conversation going. But Lumpkin warns not to monopolize the conversation. "A person who listens is the person who makes the best impression," she says. She says that you should have a list in your head of things you want to talk about. Make sure to keep it social. Though your job is interesting, it shouldn't be the topic of conversation. Besides, how romantic are deadlines, managers and 401(k)s?

A bottle of red, a bottle of white
In the midst of your conversation, you and your date may decide to share a bottle of wine. But you may be setting yourself up for a bunch of added tension -- especially if your idea of a nice bottle of wine is of the screw top variety. Why not take a wine tasting class? It's a fun way to gain worldly knowledge of the drink of the gods.

"Generation X is really hot for wine," says Charlie Adler, former president of Tasting Society International in Washington, D.C. The Society offers Wine Tasting 101 once a month because of its popularity. Adler says that most people order wine based on price and label, but he says that those are not factors that determine what makes a good wine. Anyway, you may be in for a surprise if you use that method -- some experts say a good Sauvignon Blanc will smell like cat pee. Taking a class before your big date can help you find a wine that doesn't make you both heave.

Plus, Adler says there is an added sophistication and implied culture when you know about wine, but he is certainly not trying to promote a snobby wine drinker. "The first rule (in drinking wine) is there are no rules," he quips. "Be concerned with having a good time, not your wine choice."

Adler does offer a few suggestions as a crash course in wine if you can't make it to a class before your date. If you plan to dine for three hours or so, you may want to order a couple of bottles of wine. He suggests getting a red wine for heavier foods like steak and lamb, and a white wine for lighter foods, but that really isn't etched in stone. "It's just kind of a rule of thumb," he says. A couple of safe wines that are good and can accommodate just about any meal are Riesling and Pinot Noir.

Better yet, he suggests that in the spirit of a romantic date, you can't go wrong with champagne or sparkling wine. (Take note, this quick trivia could make you look super cool: Champagne is specifically from France, and sparkling wine is from anywhere else.) If you don't want to dish out the extra dough for champagne, Adler says that there are some great sparkling wines from California. A bottle of champagne in a restaurant will cost you about $50. Zowie!

But Adler says champagne goes with everything, especially if things get a little hot and heavy later. "There are three good times to have champagne, before making love, during love making, and after making love," he says.

Eye candy is better than cheap chocolates
Before you head back to your place and pop open the bubbly, stop off at your local art museum and impress your date with your knowledge of the masterpieces. Don't know anything about art? No problem. If you plan ahead, you can study up and really knock their socks off with your interpretation of the creations. Bay Mills Community College (BMCC) in Brimley, Mich., has a semester-long art appreciation class that you can take online. The class covers world art throughout history and you even get to take online tours of such hot spots as the Louvre.

If you are afraid you will lose your stud quotient by learning about the likes of Van Gogh and Matisse, you might want to think again. Even if you don't know everything about the art, you will at least have something intelligent to talk about. If you don't feel like dedicating yourself for an entire semester, most museums offer tours led by curators that can give you the inside scoop on the art and the artist. You can get the details on Thursday and then on Friday to impress the heck out of your date. You don't even have to tell them that you had a little help. If you don't have time to attend a tour, you can call ahead to your local museum for information about the show and artist. They can put together a crib sheet for you. Also, if you visit the museum gift shop, there are books and videos that you can purchase if you are really going for the gusto. Ask the museum for gallery guides and suggested questions about the works so you can make your visit more like a game. If you find out your sweetie's favorite type of art or artist, many museum shops have unique jewelry themed for famous pieces of art. That's definitely a way to make a day of romance last forever.