Can you feel it? Love is in the air. If you haven’t yet made a reservation, be mindful that Cupid’s Day is fast approaching. Here are some dining destinations to consider.
Casa Bond, a source of high-end Mexican that emits a Tulum-inspired vibe, is featuring a specially curated five-course menu, priced at $150 per person. Open with an amuse bouche of Norwegian cured salmon topped with ossetra caviar and crème fraîche, reclining on a blue corn sope. Then dive into first courses proper, opting perhaps for the crema de langosta, chipotle lobster bisque garnished with crispy leeks. Main courses include a filet mignon wrapped in Mexican cheese crepes and napped with a chile demi glaze. Casa Bond, 334 Bowery (bet. Great Jones and Bond Sts.), 917-639-3009.
The quirkily named Purple Tongue, a wine bar located in Midtown West, is featuring a moderately priced $69-per-person four-course prix fixe accompanied by a glass of sparkling wine. Menu selections run from a braised short rib perched above a celery root purée to baked cod with potatoes au gratin and garlicky spinach. Add a “Be Mine” wine flight for an additional $27. Strawberries coated in dark chocolate are numbered among the desserts. The Purple Tongue, 410 W. 43rd Street, 646-429-8277.
For dinner with a view and the imprimatur of a name-brand chef, consider Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s The Fulton at Pier 17. Against a backdrop of a darkening sky and the lights of the Brooklyn Bridge blinking on, tuck into a four-course menu of seafood-forward selections. The cost is $168 per person. The Fulton by Jean-Georges, 89 South Street (Pier 17), 212-838-1200.
Nothing says “I Love You” like a 40-ounce tomahawk steak for two, especially when the Flinstone-eque cut has those words branded into its frenched rib bone. The so-adorned gargantuan slab of beef is one possibility on the three-course, $125-a-head prix fixe at the recently opened Park Ave Kitchen by David Burke. The inventive chef’s Valentine’s Day menu will also showcase his signature clothesline bacon, crab cake pretzel raft, and cake pop tree with bubble gum whipped cream. Note that the “swinging” tomahawk for two carries a $35 surcharge. Park Ave Kitchen by David Burke, 514 Lexington Avenue (at 48th St.), 646-847-4166.
If you haven’t yet discovered vegan soul food, then it’s high time you paid a visit to Cadence, which recently relocated to the East Village. The restaurant’s executive chef, Shenarri Freeman, has developed a loyal following for her one-of-a-kind plant-based soul creations, among them “southern-fried lasagna” — layers of the pasta combined with a pine nut ricotta, spinach, and a bolognese made of red wine and Beyond Meat. On Valentine’s Day, a five-course menu comprised of the restaurant’s most popular dishes will be served alongside a list of wines curated from black-owned wineries. Cadence, 111 E. 7th Street, 833-328-4588.
You can make the day really special by taking your special someone not only out to dinner but to a show. The newly refurbished Weill Café in Carnegie Hall offers a three-course, $139 prix fixe dinner, which on opening night, Jan. 20, featured an amuse bouche of mini potato latke, smoked salmon, crème fraîche, and American sturgeon caviar, followed by the likes of shrimp and citrus beet carpaccio, followed in turn by a glazed beef short rib, plus dessert. The menu changes from time to time, and so do the performers, which on Feb. 14 will be Chan Marshall singing the songs of Bob Dylan. Note that the pre-concert service is available only to ticket holders. Weill Café at Carnegie Hall, 154 West 57th Street, 212-424-2032.
Named for a coastal village on the Long Island that is noted for its fresh clams and oysters, Sagaponack, in the Flatiron District, is a source of imaginatively prepared seafood with an Asian and Mediterranean Twist. On Valentine’s Day, the restaurant will be offering a 6-course dinner that includes trio of dressed oysters, dayboat scallops accompanied by a miso blood orange beurre blanc, and truffle cavatelli. The per-person cost will be $89. Sagaponack, 4 W. 22nd Street, 212-229-2226.
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