Holiday Heartburn: Valentine’s Day Prix Fixe Roundup

Here’s something that is true for us, so we figure it must hold across the board: Nobody’s favorite holiday is Valentine’s Day. Right? Is it yours? No, we didn’t think so. But unless you’re really tragically single, it’s probably not your very least favorite either, right? It’s in the middle, for better or worse, usually having to do with the state of your love-life.

So we’re going to do a little variety of V-Day coverage this year, starting with the baseline: Moderately fancy prix-fixe dinners for couples with steady incomes. You can check back here for alternatives, such as single people stuff and destinations for those feeling the pinch of there being no money anywhere.

• The still-shiny Moss Room at the Academy of Sciences is doing a special four-course dinner for $75, with a $40 wine pairing, but they’re not making you order it for two, it seems, so you could just stag it if you’ve got the stones. The menu looks great, with smoked sturgeon and duck breast among the options. And nothing is more romantic than watching penguins before dinner, which you can do upstairs.

• If you want to blow a more classic wad of cash, the Fifth Floor is offering things like tenderloin of beef and “lobster Rockefeller” in its V-Day extravaganza. The four-course prix-fixe comes with a wine pairing of either standard or premium selections for $150 and $200 respectively.

Foreign Cinema has made a bit of a name for itself serving interesting Valentine’s Day dinners in the past, including things like Champagne Risotto with golden chanterelles, baby artichokes, saffron and Reggiano Parmesan, and desserts of stuffed pears and whatnot. They’re promising some equally special four-course deal for $85 this year, though they’re not with spilling the details. You can expect a romantic movie with your caviar crostini or whatever they end up giving you.

Bong Su is doing a four-course menu with all kinds of rich stuff, such as oysters, foie gras, poached pear, and lobster. Theirs is $70, and they’ve also invented a cocktail for the occasion, the recipe for which they’ll share.

• Ironically, the borderline-formal Grand Cafe is taking a slightly more relaxed tack this year, offering a relatively cheap $55 prix fixe all weekend long, “in celebration of the holiday.” You can go for the wine pairing for $20 more, making this a pretty affordable way to wine and dine in style.

Ducca is getting serious about love being in the air by offering a $75 four-course “aphrodisiac” menu, with lots of raw things and plenty of seafood. According to chef Rick Corbo, things like raw Fanny Bay Oysters with Prosecco mignonette get folks in the mood for nooky (over-share: it would work on us).

• Finally, Cote Sud is doing a pretty classic-sounding $75 four-course menu that includes oysters and crème brulee.

[Photo: Via daveparker/flickr

Holiday Heartburn: Valentine’s Day Prix Fixe Roundup