By Suzanne Corbett, STLSportsPage.com Travel/Food Editor
Valentine’s Day. A time to show you love and support for local restaurants, bakeries, breweries and food shops. Places where you can pick up delectable delights to feed the culinary passions of the love of your life.
With pandemic restrictions in place, it can be a little tough to figure out how to treat your valentine to something extra special. Well, fear not. I have a few suggestions.
Café la Vie inside Le Meridien St. Louis Clayton is offering a special Valentine’s Day five-course dinner that includes an amuse bouche, aperitif, intermezzo, entree and dessert. The menu begins with amuse bouche is Dungeness Crab Cornet. The intermezzo is a Blood Orange Sorbet, which set the culinary stage for the entrée, a choice between Maine Lobster Fettuccine Alfredo or Beef Duet with dry-aged strip loin and short rib before dessert arrives – either Passion Fruit Creme Brulee or Chocolate Pot de Creme. Reservations are available on Saturday, February 13 and Sunday, February 14 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Holy Mole, offers the ultimate romantic modern Mexican feast delivered hot and ready to your home or for pick-up. The menu is from the Mission Taco Joint teams’ former restaurant, Milagro Modern Mexican, offering Shrimp and Grits, spicy Gulf shrimp in a chile de arbol butter sauce with green chile goat cheese grits; Carne Asada, Pollo Relleno, roasted chicken breast stuffed with huitlacoche, morels and goat cheese with charred corn cream sauce, green chile grits and chayote cruda. A south of the border gourmet treat customers can order for delivery or pick-up between 5:00-7:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 14. The cut-off for orders is Saturday, February 13 at midnight.
Russell’s are still taking orders at both its Fenton and Macklind locations for Valentine’s Day. here is where you will find the perfect sweet for your sweetheart. This year’s standouts designed to satisfy your valentine’s sweet tooth are the traditional Chocolate Dipped Strawberries and a 6-inch round Chocolate Valentine’s Day Cakes topped with chocolate dipped strawberries and chocolate chip cookies. In addition, Russell’s on Macklind is hosting a dine-in or pick-up 4-course Valentine’s Day dinner menu on Friday, February 12 through Sunday, February 14. Carry-out orders must be placed before 3 p.m. on the desired pick-up day. Select regular dinner menu items will also be available on Friday and Saturday evening, but Sunday evening will only offer the 4-course valentine meal.
Volpi Foods The St. Louis-based, 4th-generation family-owned and operated producer of specialty cured meats since 1902, offers a special Valentine’s Day Charcuterie Box for Two. The at-home spread features dried apricots, Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Peanut Butter Hearts, strawberries, Manchego cheese, chevre cheese with cranberries and pecans, Volpi’s Genoa Salame, Volpi’s Prosciutto and phyllo crisps. Boxes can be ordered from Volpi’s retail shop on The Hill between Tuesday, February 9 and Saturday, February 13 by calling (314) 446-7950, with 24-hour notice needed. The boxes can be picked up anytime during the Retail Shop’s normal hours. As consistent with normal hours of operation, the Retail Shop will be closed Sunday, February 14.
For those who have a beer or a champagne budget, I have two suggestions.
Schlafly Tap Room, Bottleworks and Schlafly Bankside is where you can toast your Valentine with Schlafly’s Beer bouquets. Forget the flowers, and build-your-own 6-pack with your Valentine’s favorite brews. What to pair with your beer bouquet? Take out pub grub, of course.
Grace Meat + Three has an in-house and take put chicken and Bubbles package you’ll fall in love with. This sweet deal features a whole fried chicken, which was dubbed the best fried chicken in Missouri by The Food Network, along with a side to share, a chocolate cheese pie and a bottle of bubbly (Tarrida Cava). AS for me, I’m fond of Grace’s Fried Chicken Bouquet of 1 1/2 Dozen Fried Chicken Tenders boxed in a 23-inch floral box with mini carnations, herbs baby’s breath and buttermilk lime dressing.
And After Dinner on Feb. 13…
fearticket.com. Tickets include Valentine’s candy treats, free photo ops with The Darkness monsters and the scariest date night in history. A crowd-avoiding Speedpass can be added for $10.Tickets are limited and timed to allow for social distancing.At St. Louis’ most horrifying Valentine’s celebration, guests will encounterboo-tiful brides, gruesome grooms, ill-fated lovers and frightening surprises around every creepy corner, re-themed for Valentine’s 2021.Get a preview of the event on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Fu14J3oqeA& feature=emb_logo The Darkness is located in the Soulard neighborhood, directly north of the historic Soulard Market at 1525 South 8th Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63104. More information is available at www.Scarefest.com.
