MagiCal is getting better and better with each new version.
Clean look, enough features and... a nice price.
I have included it in my login items and now the date string sits side by side with the system clock on the menu bar.
Very nice calendar indeed!
Well... I know it does not include all the bells & whistles of MenuCalendarClock. But to use all those features in MenuCalendarClock, including iCal interaction, you'll have to pay $19.95. (That's the current price from the developer's website.) And MagiCal is free!