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To Dine With Love: Valentine’s Day Specials
A bottle of white, a bottle of red,
Perhaps a bottle of rosé instead.
We’ll get a table near the street
In our old familiar place
You and I - face to face oooh
A bottle of red, a bottle of white
It all depends on your appetite
I’ll meet you any time you want
In our Italian Restaurant.
—Billy Joel
Here’s how a dozen of our favorite restaurants, including the very grand Wheatleigh (left) are celebrating the holiday:
Brix
Chef Daire Rooney says she’s put her heart into planning the five-course Valentine dinner ($65), which includes a roasted beet terrine with Ewe’s blue mousse, grass-fed beef tenderloin with a savory leek-and-gruyere pain perdu, and buttermilk panna cotta with passionfruit sauce. There are $20 and $40 wine pairings to accompany the meal, and seatings at 5 and 8 p.m.
40 West Street, Pittsfield, MA; 413.236.9463
Cafe Adam
The “Aphrodisia Menu for Two” is meant to be shared and to satisfy some appetites and whet others. It begins with oysters on the half shell and concludes with a chocolate soufflé. And it’s a bargain: $75 for two without wine; $95 for two with wine.
325 Stockbridge Road, Great Barrington, MA; 413.528.7786
Dream Away Lodge
If your idea of the perfect place for a Valentine’s Day dinner is somewhere out of the way, the legendary Dream Away Lodge (right) on top of a mountain in woodsy Becket is reopening just in the nick of time.
1342 County Road, Becket, MA; 413.623.8725
Jae’s Spice
What could be more romantic than dinner at a supper club? If you want to listen to love songs with your sweetheart, you might want to spend Valentine’s Day at the ballroom of Jae’s Spice, where Elle Kay Cabaret—Lisa Kantor (vocals), Joe Rose (keyboard & vocals),Dan Broad (bass), Don Mikkelsen (trombone) Vin Brandi (drums)—will be playing. You can come for a muli-course pan-Asian buffet ($45, which includes a Champagne cocktail) or just for the cabaret ($15); either way, there’s a cash bar.
297 North Street, Pittsfield, MA; 413.443.1234
Nudel
Chef/owner Bjorn Somlo doesn’t normally take reservations, but for Valentine’s Day he’s making an exception. He’ll be offering a $55 prix fixe menu, and he encourages singles to make reservations to dine at the bar.
37 Church Street, Lenox; 413.551.7183
The Rhinecliff
If you prefer to stay home after dark, the Rhinecliff (left) is offering a Valentine’s brunch with “bottomless” Bloody Marys or Mimosas and entertainment by chanteuse Elaine Rachlin for $29.95. In the evening, there’s a special four-course candlelit dinner for $47.95 per person.
4 Grinnell Street, Rhinecliff, NY; 845.876.0590
Rouge
William and Maggie Merelle don’t take Valentine’s Day too seriously: They will be serving “aphrodisiac inter-courses,” which can be found on either the $35 or $45 prix-fixe menus.
3 Center Street, West Stockbridge, MA; 413.232.4111
Serevan
In addition to a menu of exotic flavors that transport you out of your quotidian life, Serevan will be offering a complementary glass of Champagne and miniature potted rose plants to its guests. There are two seatings: 5:30 - 6:30 p.m., and 8 p.m. and beyond.
6 Autumn Lane (aka Route 44): 845-373-9800
Shakespeare & Company
The clever thespians at Shakespeare & Company are offering a special five-course French brunch on Valentine’s Day, which precedes a 2 p.m. performance of the arch romantic comedy Les Liasions Dangereuses. The menu includes chicken liver pâté with toast points; apple smoked duck confit with greens; Brittany consomme with white truffle essence; roasted quail with cabbage stuffing. Brunch and the play are $40; brunch only is $25.
70 Kemble Street, Lenox MA; 413.637.3353
Terrapin
Dining at dusk is romantic and more affordable at Terrapin (left), which has a $59 “early-bird special” on Valentine’s Day (from 4:30 - 5:15 p.m.) The regular multicourse Valentine’s Day dinner (which begins with a tapas platter of gingered leek-and-tofu pot stickers, tuna tartar with caviar, duck quesadilla, lamb chop with Thai bail chimichurri) is $79 per person.
6426 Montgomery Street, Rhinebeck, NY; 845.876.3330
Vico
In order to spread the love, Vico will offer its special four-course Valentine’s dinner on both February 13 and 14 ($49 per person) which concludes with Fondu di Cioccolato per Due, a dessert meant to be shared.
36 Warren Street, Hudson, NY; 518.828.6529
Wheatleigh
One of the most glamorous dining rooms in the Berkshires has what must be the most expensive menu for Valentine’s Day, but if you want a lavish, storybook feast (for $155 per person) then Wheatleigh’s the place.
Hawthorne Road, Lenox, MA; 413.637.0610
