MenuCalendarClock
the iCal icon with the current date shown in the menu bar.
If you want to see the current date without running iCal or if you run iCal but you want to see the date not just in the dock but in the menu bar too, then this is an answer. There are more ways to get the date in the menu bar but this is the slickest one I found.
Freeware (you have to pay to get access to enhanced features which I don't need)