Amuse yourselves
Regardless of why it pushes our buttons, as Carrboro’s resident expert on such matters, Margot Lester, notes, you have to hand it to the candy and greeting card industry for ginning up Valentine’s Day. (Would that National Pie Day was so well observed.)
Thankfully, food remains a perfectly acceptable metaphor for love. Cards, candy and flowers are nice, dinner even more so. This year as always we are blessed with a wide range of romance options for the evening of Feb. 14 and thereabouts.
Valentine’s Day is when a lot of local eateries kick out some of the fancier dishes of the year. The Eater’s research team checked in with a few local chefs and asked what they planned to do to send a little extra love to the table this year.
That usually means the appearance of foie gras, duck and lobster. Some examples:
At Acme, front-of-the-house manager Paul Finn reports that lobster ravioli is one of several specials in store for the evening. Down the street at Elaine’s, chef Bret Jennings’ prix fixe menu includes an amuse bouche of lobster bisque
Lantern is offering Cantonese lobster and the roast beef at the Fearrington House has a lobster dressing.
Prix fixe menus are common for the holiday, but not universal.
Provence’s Valarie Nordin says the restaurant usually isn’t open on Sundays. Rather than a prix fixe evening, she said Provence adopts a sort of greatest-hits approach.
“What we do is that we take all of the favorites from our regular menu and add specials to it – we don’t have foie gras usually, but we have it that night; we don’t have duck usually, but we have it that night.â€
Please note that if you’re planning on finding a seat in some of the swankier spots, most of the reservations left, if any, are late or early.
If you can be flexible, Elaine’s G. J. Everson recommends rearranging the weekend a little. Primetime spots on Sunday are already booked, and Saturday, with a 4 p.m. N.C. State-Carolina game, is also filling up.
“I’d advise people to avoid the busy nights and go out for an early Valentine’s celebration on Friday night, which should be much more peaceful,†Everson said.