Foodie Rant: Don't Go Out On Valentine's Day
By Anthony Todd in Food on Jan 29, 2010 4:20PM
As we approach that pinkest, sweetest, most-chocolate-flavored of all days, I have a confession to make: I hate dining out on Valentine’s Day. There. I said it. I know there are thousands of restaurant PR professional out there who just collapsed to the ground clutching their once-beating hearts, but I hate dining out on Valentine’s Day.
It’s important to establish that, despite my singleton status this year, I’m certainly pro-romance. I have celebrated Valentine’s Day, Sweetest Day, George Washington’s Birthday, Anniversaries, and month-a-versaries. I’ve bought flowers, chocolates, and fluffy plush toys. But I refuse to dine out.
Why do I take such a militant stance on this issue? Precisely because I love both romance and food so much, and on Valentine’s Day, both are in limited supply. In my experience, Valentine’s dining always looks the same. Reservations made months in advance, prix fixe meals costing hundreds, champagne included, roses on the tables, romance in the air.
Except… is that prix fixe meal actually what you want to eat? Couldn’t you do better ordering off of the menu? Oops, too bad. Plus, it’s probably more expensive then what you actually wanted to eat. Are you expecting a quiet, intimate dinner, languidly staring into each other’s eyes from appetizers to after-dinner brandy? Well, wise up - that restaurant wants to turn tables, and there are about 3000 other couples waiting for their moment of romance. Not to mention that there is a dining room full of other couples all around you - unless you have exhibitionist tendencies, hardly the best setting for an intimate moment. And, speaking of intimate moments, after you eat that huge prix fixe meal and drink a bottle of champagne, how do you think the…consummation of the evening is going to go? More than likely, you’ll want to pass out.
Instead, save the fancy dinners for your anniversary. Then, you have something to celebrate and you’ll be the only ones doing it. You can order what you want, when you want it, and stay until the wee hours if you chose. On Valentine’s Day, stay home. Watch a romantic movie, spend the evening in bed, and cook dinner for each other. If the aim is romance, do something romantic and meaningful to you - don’t let someone else choreograph it for you.
Photo by chicagokristi