Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and reservations are booking up soon! Almost every restaurant and locale is having a special price fixe or love-themed menu, but here are our top picks for some truly unique experiences. All require reservations, so make your plans, buy some chocolate, and show your love!
*Note: Our list is updated periodically, so check back soon for new additions*
Garden City Hotel
February 10-14
45 Seventh Street, Garden City, 516-747-3000
The All For Love couple’s retreat, $399 plus tax, features luxurious overnight deluxe accommodations and dinner. Included are in-room chilled champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries, Cupid’s pink rose petal turndown service, and a sumptuous three-course Valentine’s dinner (menu below) for two in the private dining room of the hotel’s signature restaurant, REIN. Chef Steven De Bruyn presents a classic menu presented with a bottle of Paul Goerg fine Champagne in Garden City Hotel keepsake champagne flutes, a box of house-made chocolate truffles, a rose for the ladies, and a strolling violinist for romantic serenades. Availability is Saturday, February 11 or Tuesday, February 14.
The Love and Dreams couple’s retreat, $299 plus tax, is a romantic overnighter with breakfast. In the hotel’s signature restaurant REIN, a full breakfast for two is served after an evening with luxurious overnight accommodations and in-room chilled champagne, chocolate-covered strawberries and Cupid’s pink rose petal turndown service. Availability is Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday from February 10-14.
Valentine’s Day Dinner, a three-course prix fixe dinner, is $110 per person plus tax and gratuity. In the private dining room of the hotel’s signature restaurant REIN, Chef Steven De Bruyn’s extraordinary Valentine’s dinner (menu below) includes a bottle of Paul Goerg fine Champagne in Garden City Hotel keepsake champagne flutes, a box of house-made chocolate truffles, a rose for the ladies, and a strolling violinist for romantic serenades. Availability is Saturday, February 11 and Tuesday, February 14.
Valentine’s Day Afternoon Tea is presented on Saturday from 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. for a refined Valentine’s afternoon celebration in the private dining room of the hotel’s signature restaurant REIN. Chef De Bruyn creates three themed menus with a selection of teas, herbal infusions, port and champagne. The Traditional Tea ($34) is an assortment of sandwiches – smoked salmon on pumpernickel with horseradish cream and pickled red onion; cucumber-mint on whole wheat bread; roast beef on rye bread with horseradish mayo and watercress; and egg salad on white bread with chives – followed by oven-fresh scones with Devonshire cream and house-made seasonal preserves; assorted tea breads and miniature pastries. The Royal Tea ($44) incorporates the traditional tea menu plus a glass of Paul Goerg Blanc de Blancs Champagne and fresh strawberries with crème chantilly. The Chocolate Tea ($39) features Callebaut hot chocolate presented with an assortment of tea sandwiches; oven-fresh scones; marble pound cake; Belgian chocolate brioche; and assorted chocolates and truffles.
Valentine’s Day Sunday Brunch, $69 per person plus tax and gratuity, is a dazzling array of sumptuous culinary offerings. The celebrated brunch menu includes specialties from Chef Steven De Bruyn in a myriad of hot and cold entrées. Among the top-rated selections are a seafood extravaganza with whole lobster, snow crab claws and jumbo shrimp and an artful display of smoked salmon and whitefish. There are artisan cheeses and carving stations featuring Chateaubriand with chimichurri sauce. Prepared to order selections include gourmet pastas and sauces plus breakfast favorites such as made-to-order omelets and French toast. Especially for Valentine’s Day exotic chocolate desserts and the hotel’s uniquely presented chocolate fountain will be on display alongside cakes, pies, pastries, sweets plus assorted whole fruit and fruit salads. To compliment the brunch experience are unlimited brunch-cocktail favorites including Bloody Mary, Screwdriver and Mimosa.
CHEF DE BRUYN VALENTINE’S 2012 DINNER MENU AT REIN
CHOICE OF APPETIZERS
*Wild prawns poached in a hot and spicy broth,
Hawaiian hearts of palms, rocket salad and avocado with an exotic fruit salsa
*Lobster ravioli with baby spinach and shiitake mushrooms,
velvety lobster coulis finished with ‘dry sack sherry’ and extra Virgin Emulsion
*Salad of chicories and roasted beets,
gratineed Vermont goat cheese and warm bacon vinaigrette
*Creamy cauliflower veloute with zesty bay scallops,
a delicate fresh herb flan and caviar
CHOICE OF ENTREE
*Beef Duet,
A petit filet mignon paired with a braised boneless shortrib, skewered root vegetables and celeriac cream
*Grilled wild king salmon nestled on a bed of asparagus tips,
crisp-fried quail eggs, smack-down potatoes and a maltaise sauce on the side
*Land & Sea Tango
free-range chicken and shrimp fricassee, wild mushrooms, pearl onions, fingerlings and French tarragon
*Spice-rubbed tender long island duck breast,
organic Tuscan black kale, Brussels sprouts, apples and chestnuts, local cider reduction
EXQUISITE CLIMAX
*Passion fruit raspberry macaroon, affogato panna cotta, chocolate cremeux and hazelnut gelato
IAVARONE BROS. MARKET LOCATIONS
*7929 Jericho Turnpike, Woodbury Village Center, Woodbury (516) 921-5400
*1166 Wantagh Avenue, Cherrywood Center, Wantagh (516) 781-6400
*1538 Union Turnpike, Lake Success Center, New Hyde Park (516) 488-5600
*6900 Grand Avenue Maspeth (718) 639-3623
New York’s highly-regarded European-style gourmet markets offer two Valentine’s Day dinners of the finest quality to be enjoyed at home. The Abbracci e Baci, meaning hugs and kisses, and the Amore, meaning love, Valentine’s Day dinner packages can be prepared in 20 minutes and are priced at $49 and $79 plus tax.
Orders must be made by Monday, February 13 and by calling 1-877-IB-FOODS. Orders may be delivered on Valentine’s Day from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.; or picked-up from an Iavarone Bros. location of choice from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
ABBRACCI E BACI PACKAGE – $49
APPETIZER
*Clams casino with little neck clams, bacon, roasted peppers, scallions and white wine
*Raspberry and mixed green salad with toasted almonds, goat cheese and raspberry vinaigrette
*Heart-shaped garlic and rosemary mashed potatoes
ENTREE
(Choice of Two)
*Boneless stuffed chicken breast with wild mushrooms and baby spinach *Sesame orange glazed Scottish salmon *Cinnamon chipotle pork tenderloin with apple chutney
-served with-
*Haricot verts almondine with tender baby French beans with garlic and almonds
DESSERT
*Chocolate dipped long stem strawberries with dark chocolate and white Belgian chocolate
AMORE PACKAGE – $79
APPETIZER
*Colossal shrimp cocktail
*Raspberry and mixed green salad with toasted almonds, goat cheese and raspberry vinaigrette
*Lobster ravioli with cognac cream sauce
ENTREE
(Choice of Two Entrees)
*Veal saltimbocca with veal scallopini sautéed and topped with spinach and prosciutto in a wine sauce
*Stuffed filet of sole with crabmeat
*Grilled jumbo cut filet mignon with Gorgonzola crust
-served with-
*Grilled asparagus au gratin with genuine grana padana
DESSERT
* Chocolate dipped long stem strawberries with dark chocolate and white Belgian chocolate
Left Coast Kitchen and Cocktails
1810 Merrick Road, Merrick 516-868-5338
Merrick’s “unpretentious and full-flavored” pub, presents Valentine’s Day specials and live music on Tuesday, February 14. The “Love Rocks” evening features sensual specials by Chef Chris Randell and music by acoustic duo “The Robinsons” beginning at 8 p.m. Specials will include:
Be Still My “Beet”ing Heart Salad
Chopped beets, watercress, frisee, chopped vegetables, roasted pistachios and crumbled gorgonzola cheese
Crispy Oyster “Kisses”
Fried Bluepoints, Bi-Color Corn Aioli, Smoked Bacon and Matchstick Potatoes
Hunk of Burning Pork Love
Twice Cooked Pork Shoulder, Chef Nearys’ BBQ Sauce, Baked Beans and Fried Potato Strings
“The Classic Meat and Tail”
Fontina Cheese Crusted Grilled Veal Chop, Roasted 6oz. Lobster Tail, Home Fried Potatoes, Broccoli Rabe and Hollandaise
Deep Dark Passion
Rich Flourless German Chocolate Cake, Raspberry Coulis and Fresh Whipped Cream
Cupid’s Tricks
Chocolate Covered Long Stem Strawberry, Petite Cream Puffs and Chocolate-almond Truffle
Dinner and Dancing with the Beatles
February 4, starting at 7 p.m.
Ward Melville Heritage Organization (WMHO) Educational and Cultural Center in Stony Brook Village Center, 111 Main Street on the Harbor, Stony Brook, (631) 689-5888.
You and your Valentine can enjoy a romantic evening of dinner and dancing with entertainment by singer, songwriter and musician Ed Ryan in All You Need Is Love – The Best of the Beatles. A buffet dinner and wine will be served, courtesy of The Three Village Inn. The cost for the evening is$75 per person.
Valentine’s Dinner Dance: Dancing with…”The Rat Pack”
February 11 from 7 – 11 p.m
Ward Melville Heritage Organization (WMHO) Educational and Cultural Center in Stony Brook Village Center, 111 Main Street on the Harbor, Stony Brook, (631) 689-5888.
The WMHO will once again present its popular annual dinner dance. You and your loved one will enjoy this festive evening featuring vocalist/entertainer Tony Della, known as “the Romantic Voice of…” Johnny Mathis, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Lou Rawls, Bobby Darin and more. Tickets are $75 pp and include a buffet dinner with wine.
Glen Cove Mansion
200 Dosoris Lane, Glen Cove, (516) 674-2990
The Glen Cove Mansion offers its Love is in the Air romance package for Valentine’s Day 2011. The package includes luxury guestroom accommodations for two nights, chocolate-covered strawberries, chilled champagne, breakfast each morning, and a $50 credit toward dining in the hotel’s Pub 1910 restaurant or Sunday Brunch in The Garden Room Restaurant. This Valentine’s Package –available throughout the month of February — is from $370 per couple for two nights. Packages for one night from $197 per couple per night are also available.
Montauk Manor
235 Edgemere Street, Montauk, (631) 668-4400
The Montauk Manor is offering a Valentine’s Getaway package. Stay three night and pay for two. Complimentary chocolate with each reservation.
Nisen Sushi
967 Jericho Turnpike, Woodbury
Nisen offers it Sweetheart Package and Honeymoon Table featuring a five-course prix fixe with wine pairings. The Sweetheart Package includes the menu with wine pairings only for $180 per couple, plus tax and gratuity. The Honeymoon Table includes a complimentary bottle of Perrier Jouet and is offered at Nisen’s intimate tables for two at 6, 8 and 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 6 and 8 p.m. Sunday and Monday. The a la carte menu will also be served.
Wine Lover’s Tour
February 11, (866) 946-3268
Valentine’s Day is for lovers, and for those who dream about their undying devotion to wine, there’s an all-day, guided Wine Lovers Tour for $159 per person or $209 with custom wine blending. This includes round-trip transportation in a luxury motor coach from various points on Long Island (Queens and Manhattan pick-up points as well), and an expert tour guide and a Wine 101 course. The event will take you and your significant other to tours and tastings at three North Fork wineries. You’ll savor a gourmet restaurant lunch plus artisanal cheese tasting prior to departure.
The Vanderbilt Museum & Planetarium
180 Little Neck Road, Centerport, (631) 854-5579
Imagine having a Valentine’s Day dinner where Hollywood stars and European royalty dined with members of one of America’s richest and most famous families. You can do that at a spectacular, historic American estate that is also one of the most glamorous and romantic settings on Long Island: the elegant, early twentieth-century mansion of William K. Vanderbilt II, overlooking Northport Harbor.
Seatings: 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. Tickets: $100 per person. Hors d’oeuvres and wine amid Mr. Vanderbilt’s exotic collections of ethnographic artifacts from Africa, Asia and South America. Brief tour through the Vanderbilt family’s private living quarters. Dinner in the Northport Porch dining room.
Entrée choices: Filet of Norwegian Salmon En Croute, Roast Shell of Beef Au Jus, South Street Chicken and Portobello Mushroom Ravioli. Dessert in the Lancaster Room, with side trip to the Vanderbilt Library and the Moroccan Court.
Oheka Castle
135 West Gate Drive, Huntington, 631-659-1400
February 10
Valentine’s Dinner Dance
Spend a night in the gorgeous castle for $225 per person all inclusive. Cocktail hour starts at 6 pm followed by a four course dinner and dancing. Luxury suites and guest rooms are available for 50% off if you attend the dinner dance.
February 12 and 14
Valentine’s Mansion Tour
Starting at 10 am until 4 pm, tours are given for $25 per person plus tax which includes a tour with Valentine’s sweets and coffee/tea, or for $50 per person plus tax which additionally includes champagne and chocolate covered strawberries at your own reserved table.
Was your restaurant or locale missing from our list? We can still add you! Email marissa@nassauhappening.com for information on how to be included.
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