You can be an uncaring jerk 364 days of the year, but for at least one day, it’s forcibly required to show undying love for one through the purchase of flowers, teddy bears or barbershop quartets to serenade your significant other at his or her workplace.
Forgetting Valentine’s Day is bad enough, but choose the wrong gift and you might as well be signing your own breakup text.
If you’re stumped as to what to do this year, but know you want to avoid the same old novelty card or long-stemmed rose, many area restaurants have put together special, one-night-only menus that are as heavy on the romance as they are on the food.
It’s a chance to look like you’ve been planning it for weeks on end, taking the pressure off for a romantic night out with your lover.
Chocolate and cheese
Both Forward Foods locations — 5123 N. Western in Oklahoma City and 2001 W. Main #111 in Norman — will host a night of delicious decadence with a sampling of some of the finest chocolate, champagne and cheeses.
“Special events like this are a great way to let someone know you care about them,” said Kyle Miller, education coordinator for Forward Foods. “We’re going to be trying some of the greatest cheeses in the world, and we’re going to be doing some unusual pairings with chocolate and champagne — pairings you might not often think about but are really truly marvelous and worth trying.”
Miller said it’s a “wonderful treat” that couples won’t find anywhere else.
“It’s something that people wouldn’t think about putting together themselves at home. It’s late in the evening, candle-lit ... and, really, the sight of champagne flutes is, in itself, always romantic.”
Get out of town
It’s almost impossible to whisk away your loved one for a getaway. After all, you’ve got to be at work the next day. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get out of town for at least a few hours. Why not head to the Granny Had One Banquet and Event Center, 312 W. Oklahoma in Guthrie, for a five-course dinner featuring Dungeness crab, champagne sorbet and seared duck breast?
Donna Coffin, front-end manager, said the special Valentine’s event, which is $45 per person, differs from others thanks to a world-class chef delivering top-notch food.
“There’s not a lot of chefs in Oklahoma City certified from Le Cordon Bleu who do five courses, pairing them with complimentary wines,” she said. “The food the chef prepares and the wine he pairs with it ... it’s extremely inexpensive and a great experience. It’s a really good time, right in the heart of Guthrie.”
Love stinks
Life doesn’t always work out like a romantic comedy. Many of us might find ourselves alone on Valentine’s Day, growing increasingly bitter as everyone around us rubs our noses in their amorous shenanigans.
The Tasting Room, 4322 N. Western, feels your pain. The place has teamed with COOP Ale Works for a special five-course meal, each course containing a “heavenly sweet and sinfully savory pairing with COOP Beers” that can be enjoyed alone or with like-minded friends.
“We wanted to mix things up this year and do the non-mushy, non-romantic stuff so that people who are not in a relationship can still kind of enjoy the holiday and we can kind of have some fun with it,” said Allie Fleischfresser, events coordinator for The Tasting Room.
While many couples have registered, she said it will be a great time for singles to not feel so excluded from the made-up holiday. And who knows? Maybe they’ll even find love.
“We can always hope for that,” Fleischfresser said. “Maybe they can even have their wedding at The Tasting Room later on!”
