Old Stagecoach Stop Offers Globally Influenced Menu
In northern Indiana, couples will enjoy the Miller Bakery Café, one of only 13 four-diamond restaurants named by Chicago's AAA Motor Club. The Café is located in a town called Miller Beach, an old stagecoach stop that technically is part of Gary (it was annexed in 1919).

The building opened in 1941 as the Miller Bakery, and was owned by an Italian family who ran it for more than 40 years. In 1989 a new owner rehabbed the building and opened the restaurant, retaining the Art Deco cabinetry and the original maple floor. Owner and Chef Gary Sanders, who bought the business in 1993, describes his restaurant as offering "globally influenced cuisine with a seasonally changing menu." Daily specials include Midwestern, Asian and classical/fusion dishes, as well as fresh fish.

A customer favorite is a cornbread custard appetizer-a sweet and savory bread pudding with a cilantro pesto, which Sanders calls "comfort food." Another favorite appetizer is a wasabi-spiked risotto, served sushi-style.

Additional menu items include a baby green salad with maple vinaigrette, a wood grilled salmon fillet and a New Zealand rack of lamb with truffled "smashed" potatoes. Sanders trained under Carolyn Buster at Cottage Restaurants in Calumet City before moving to the Miller Bakery Café in 1989 at age 22. He considers himself self-taught, and says, "It took me a little while to find my own style, but I was given full rein of creativity in this kitchen."

The Café is open for lunch, Tuesday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., and open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday, 5 to 10 p.m., Sunday 4 to 8 p.m. The Café is closed Mondays and reservations are recommended.

Just south of Gary in Chesterton, the Gray Goose Inn offers visitors the beauty and serenity of a "dunes country" inn complete with a gourmet breakfast. Rooms range from $80 to $165. Couples will especially enjoy the fireplace/Jacuzzi suite.

Distinctive Cuisine with an Unpretentious Flair
Visitors to Western Indiana won't want to miss the distinctive cuisine and unpretentious comfort of the Walden Inn. Located in the heart of "covered bridge country," the Walden Inn sits on the edge of historic DePauw University in Greencastle.

The inn also is home to the award-winning Different Drummer Restaurant, which received a "Best of Indiana" rating in the Best of the Midwest issue of Midwest Food Service Magazine.

Chef Troy Matthews uses a creative flair in the preparation and serving of the restaurant's menu items, which he describes as a "blending of provincial with cosmopolitan, of classical and regional cooking, and of old favorites and new trends."

Matthews will prepare several entrees especially for the restaurant's Valentine's Day menu, such as seared lobster medallions drizzled with a truffle and herb buerre blanc, served with sweet pepper. For an appetizer, couples can choose between oysters on the half shell nestled in sautéed spinach and mushrooms or a vegetable roll with wasabi and pickled ginger on a bed of cucumber salad. A heart-shaped pastry shell filled with crème anglaise with dark and white chocolate is the featured dessert.

Rated one of the top new inns in the country, the Walden Inn offers 55 country-style rooms, each decorated differently with Amish-made furnishings. Room rates begin at $80 per night, or couples can take advantage of the inn's Valentine's Day getaway package for $149 per couple, which includes complimentary champagne, a candlelight dinner for two at the Different Drummer and a full breakfast the following morning.

New Bed & Breakfast Offers Fine Dining, Sweets and More
Located in Brownstown in southern Indiana's Jackson County is one of the state's newest bed and breakfast/dining establishments.

At the Bittersweet Bed & Breakfast, couples can enjoy an evening of fine dining at the Bittersweet's Chateau Café, which features the award-winning cuisine of Executive Chef Ed Miller.

With more than 20 years experience, Miller is from Columbus, Ind., where he started the restaurant Smith's Row. Although the café offers a set menu, owner Doris Rightler says Miller is open to suggestions from customers, and often uses their suggestions for choosing the nightly specials.

Standard menu items include an eight-ounce charbroiled filet mignon, an "Applewood Smoked Pork Loin Chop" served with caramelized apples and the "Cog au Vin Champignons," a free range roasted chicken breast, braised then roasted in its own juices and reduced in a red wine sauce with mushrooms.

Appetizers include a sausage and mushroom strudel and "Ruby Port Roasted Garlic Quail." In addition to the Café's selection of desserts, the Bittersweet's Sweet Shop features international pastries such as tortes, cannolis and more.

The restaurant is open Wednesday through Sunday and reservations are required for the 5 and 7 p.m. seating.

Bittersweet's accommodations include four rooms and two suites, each decorated with furnishings from around the world. Prices range from $89 to $159 per night and include a full breakfast.

Upscale Restaurant Features Homegrown Cooking
Couples who drive to Milltown, located off State Road 64 in southern Indiana, will find themselves at the home of the Blue River Café.

The Café opened in 1989 in the former Knights of Pythias lodge building, which was built around 1890. Ric Archibald, who had no previous restaurant experience, rented the simple wood-frame building from the Knights of Pythias, and opened the restaurant after observing a lack of upscale dining establishments in the area.

Debbie Woods, who had been the breakfast cook since the place opened, bought the restaurant from Archibald in 1999. She is restoring the building's second floor to offer acoustic music.

Woods, a graduate of Sullivan College's culinary arts and hospitality program, uses home and locally grown products as much as possible and strives to strengthen relationships between local farmers and chefs.

The menu includes prime rib, steak, seafood and vegetarian entrees, plus sandwiches and weekly specials. For dessert, diners can choose from homemade cheesecake, chocolate torte with raspberry sauce or apple almond streusel pie. The Café also offers many local beers and wines.

The Blue River Café is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Just south of Milltown, travelers will find comfortable lodging at the Kintner House Inn in Corydon, home of Indiana's first state capitol.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the inn is located in downtown Corydon within walking distance of historical sites, shopping and restaurants. Room prices range from $81 to $95 per night and include a full breakfast.

Indiana offers several ways to warm the heart, satisfy the taste buds and refresh the soul. These are just a few ideas for couples looking to get away for the weekend, whether for Valentine's Day or any other occasion.

For additional Indiana travel information, or to order your free Travel Guide, Travel Map, Play Money Coupon Book or Festival Guide, call 877-ENJOY IN or log on to www.EnjoyIndiana.com.

• Bandon-By-The -Sea -- A Treasured Nestled in Oregon's Rocky Coast
• Lo ne Mountain Romance
• Packing 101: Suitcase Savvy for Families on the Go
• Share your favorite restaurants when traveling at the Dining Out Discussion Board!