If you’re a true Romeo (or Romea), you’ve no doubt got everything worked out for celebrating Valentine’s Day: flower delivery scheduled, champagne chilling and—most importantly—dinner reservations made. If you’re like the rest of us workaday schlubs however, your dinner reservations for the Big Day Of Love are no more real at this point than a bow-wielding winged baby—and your chances of getting any are pretty slim (we’re talking about the reservations, you dog). Fear not! The Love Doctors at Mountain Xpress are here to help you pull off an improvised Valentine’s Day that might not involve white tablecloths and violins, but should make an impression all the same. Here are some options:
KEEP IT CASUAL
When your paramour asks you where you made reservations for The Big Night, respond with a swarthy, “Reservations? We don’t need no stinking reservations!” It’ll make you seem bold and secure and cover up the fact that you totally forgot to plan ahead. Then, keeping with the Latin Lover theme, head out to one of the tacos joints that take walk-ins like White Duck, Mamacita’s,The Local Taco or Zia Taqueria. There’s likely to be a line at all of them, so if you really want to earn some points, bust out your best karaoke version of Foreigner’s “I Want to Know What Love Is” in front of all the waiting patrons and tell your date that it was part of your plan all along.
SWEETEN THINGS UP
Speaking of dessert, the best part about Valentine’s Day is that there’s an official dispensation from Hallmark to abandon whatever kind of food regimen you’re on and give into the devil’s delight: sugar. So why not make the night all about eating dessert? Start with a divine truffle “appetizer” (or three) at The Chocolate Fetish, head over to Karen Donatelli for a “main” of cheesecake or cream puffs, then pop on in to the French Broad Chocolate Lounge for an after-dinner drink of luscious sipping chocolate. Then be sure to get your special someone to bed fast because after all that sugar, you’re gonna crash hard. (What were you thinking?).
GO TO THE MARKETPLACE
No, not that Market Place, silly—they’ve likely been booked for weeks. We’re talking about the Katuah Market at Biltmore Station. For Valentine’s Day, their Village Café will be serving a “fancier” hot bar 5-9 p.m. There are also dessert and drink specials throughout the day, including two-for-$6.99 cakes. Even though the cake special is geared toward couples, marketing director Nicole White says the real theme of the café will be on the singles who visit, promising that “the lonely hearts will be getting some special treatment.”
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