Yahoo News 12 Restaurants Around the Country Worth the Valentine's Day Reservation
A restaurant does not need a half dozen forks per place setting and a wine list as long as a hardback book to be romantic. That kind of date sounds more like a chore. It wouldn't hurt to throw out tradition and make a reservation that your date will remember for a good long time. Introduce her (or him) to cuisine yet untried, a view yet unseen, or even just a place to put her (or his) elbows on the table and feel at home.
Here are 12 restaurants around the country to take your partner for a romantic evening out-no matter what your definition of romantic is.
Honolulu: La Mer
La Mer, an open-air, fine-dining restaurant on Honolulu, was voted one OpenTable's Most Romantic Restaurants in America for 2016. Reserve a table before sunset to get a serene view of the shoreline of Waikiki and the volcanic cone Diamond Head as you eat. The restaurant serves a blend of island and Southern France cuisines, with dishes like seared foie gras with pineapple sauce and slow-cooked Abalone with chorizo.
Westchester: Blue Hill at Stone Barns
Blue Hill at Stone Barns is the kind of storybook setting you go to when you want to have what they call a "dining experience." A five-hour-long dining experience to be exact, complete with mid-meal field trips through Chef Dan Barber's active kitchen and the working gardens that surround the dining room. You'll receive a lesson on sustainable agriculture, see where the produce in your meal was harvested and where the livestock was raised, and, best of all, you can say your meals were one-of-a-kind; guests are never served the same thing.
Miami: 27
Eating at 27 in Miami Beach feels like you're digging into a loving, home-cooked meal, probably because the restaurant is located inside an actual house. 27's eclectic menu and lively atmosphere are oh-so South Florida, with Puerto Rican dishes like tostones (fried plantains with an avocado slaw) and Haitian specialties like griot & pikliz (crispy pork shoulder and spicy slaw). Once you've finished dessert, stroll out into the adjacent courtyard and take a dip in the pool or, even better, book a room at the Freehand hotel.
Brooklyn: Zenkichi
For an especially intimate evening, visit Zenkichi in Brooklyn, where you don't have to wait until the meal is over to pull down the shades. Each booth at this elaborate Japanese spot has retractable bamboo blinds that let you make your table as private as you wish. The omakase, or tasting menu, includes delicate dishes such as lobster glazed with creamy uni (sea urchin) sauce, plus dozens of sake varieties.
Houston: Crawfish and Noodles
If you aren't licking your fingers after a date here, you're doing something wrong. At Crawfish and Noodles, a Vietnamese-meets-Cajun joint in Houston, getting messy is the best part of the meal. Order steaming piles of spicy, butter-slathered crustaceans to pick apart and the cua rang muối, or blue crab stir-fried in simple salt and pepper. There's a roll of paper towels on each table, so you know this place means business.
Washington, D.C.: Minibar
When you're in the mood for dinner and a show without the venue change, book the chef's table at José Andrés' Minibar. In the private dining room of this two Michelin-starred, Washington, D.C., institution, you get exclusive access to Andrés' new, avant-garde dishes-like ice cream stuffed inside a meringue rubber ducky-that combine science and spectacle with art and whimsy.
Denver: Beatrice & Woodsley
Sit among the aspen trees without having to wear a coat at Beatrice & Woodsley in Denver. Here, tree trunks sprout through the floor and stretch to the rafters. Lanterns and gauzy white curtains dangle from the ceiling, giving the feeling that you're dining in a fantastical forest. The menu includes earthy, local delicacies such as BBQ pulled goat (raised in Colorado) and turtle dumplings in braised rabbit ragu.
Nashville: Bastion
Bastion is one of the most popular new cocktail bars in Nashville. Food-wise though, you only have two options: nachos or nachos with meat. If that's your idea of a good meal, great-or you could surprise your partner with a five-course dinner at Bastion's hidden restaurant next door. This 24-seat spot (accessible through a door to the right of the bar's entrance) is helmed by Catbird Seat's award-winning co-chef Josh Habiger and serves upscale, home-style food, like raw oysters topped with diced ham and buttermilk-pecan pie.
Los Angeles: Perch
Short of lacing up your hiking boots and hitting the canyons, it's hard to get a better view of the L.A. skyline than from the top of Perch. This rooftop French bistro looks out over Pershing Square and is fortified with outdoor fireplaces, fire pits, bohemian lounge furniture, and live jazz music. The view is intoxicating, but the red-wine glazed steak frites-featuring flat iron steak and truffle-cheese fries-will get the attention of everyone at the table.
Philadelphia: Zahav
At Zahav in Philly, you and your date can taste the dynamic cuisines of a dozen countries without having to blow your inheritance on around-the-world flights. Here, James Beard Award-winning chef Michael Solomonov showcases the diversity of modern Israeli food. Dishes like smoked lamb shoulder-braised in pomegranate molasses and served with chickpeas and Persian rice-are influenced by Middle Eastern, North African, Balkan, and Eastern European cuisines. The high-brow concept is actually quite informal, as tables are covered edge to edge with little plates for sharing.
Chicago: Bavette's Bar & Boeuf
Bavette's Bar & Boeuf in Chicago will do the seducing for you. The candlelit, wood-paneled steakhouse feels like a sexy speakeasy straight out of the 1920s. Slide into a red leather-wrapped booth, sip on some martinis, and work your way through decadent plates of roasted bone marrow, blue cheese creamed spinach, and dry-aged, bone-in ribeye.
Seattle: Mamnoon
Spice up your date at Mamnoon, a Lebanese-Syrian restaurant in Seattle. While the Middle Eastern dishes are already colorful and vibrant on their own, they really shine against the restaurant's subdued, industrial design. Try turlu, vegetable stew wrapped in crispy phyllo and served over a verdant basil sauce, and the dolmeh, or grape leaves stuffed with sweet-and-sour rice. And if that isn't enough to warm your insides, know that the restaurant donates money regularly to Syrian refugee causes.
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