10
Great ideas for the perfect Valentine’s Day
by Josh B. Wardrop
There’s nothing romantic about pressure—and yet that’s what many of us feel when the calendar turns to February, the stores are full of heart-shaped boxes and florists get the idea that $75 is an acceptable amount to charge for a dozen roses. If you’re stuck for ideas on how to treat your special someone to a grand romantic Valentine’s Day, fear not—we’ve got you covered. Here are a few Panorama suggestions to make Valentine’s Day in Boston a night you’ll both treasure for a long time to come.
Shoes and Brews
A date at a bowling alley might
sound like something you could only pull off
back when your weekly allowance was $20
bucks and your mom came to pick you and your
retainer-wearing sweetie up at the end of
the night. However, a night out at
Kings (10 Scotia St.,
617-266-2695) offers far more adult and
cosmopolitan thrills than your pre-teen
bowl-a-drome days. This dark and flashy spot
has more of a nightclub vibe, boasting a
billiards room, three bars serving a variety
of beers and cocktails, and 16 lanes for
getting your strike on. After you’ve racked
up enough frames, you can skip just two
doors up the street and slide into cozy Back
Bay bar Bukowski’s (50
Dalton St., 617-437-9999) where you can make
use of the close quarters to snuggle up over
one of more than 100 beer choices and
whisper seductively to each other about
mastering the 7–10 split.
For Animal Lovers
We all know that “the birds and
the bees” have a lot to do with what
attracts one person to another, but what
role do “the birds and the bees” have in the
social lives of... er... birds and bees (and
mammals, for that matter)? Franklin Park Zoo
(refer to
wildlife listing) offers an
illuminating and voyeuristic peek into the
private lives of our brethren in the animal
kingdom with What’s Love Got
to Do With It?, a lecture by FPZ
Director of Education Jen Greshem about the
mating rituals, nesting behaviors and sexual
peccadillos of animals, which takes place
February 13, from 5:30–8 p.m., at the Back
Bay Events Center, 200 Berkeley St. (Tickets
are $10, and include complimentary cocktails
and appetizers; call 617-989-3760 to reserve
a space.) And because nothing would be more
tactless than heading out to a restaurant to
eat the animals you’ve just heard about, why
not chow down at one of the neighborhood’s
best vegetarian restaurants, instead? Just a
short walk from the BBEC, lovebirds can dine
on exotic vegetarian options at Ethiopian
eatery Addis Red Sea
(544 Tremont St., 617-426-8727) or
Vietnamese/Chinese restaurant
Pasteur (5 Beach St., Chinatown,
617-451-1121), or grab a veggie burrito or
hummus wrap at the funky and welcoming
Other Side Café (407
Newbury St., 617-536-8437).
Fire and Ice
Ice skating outdoors in New
England is more than just a fantasy sketched
on a Currier & Ives Christmas card. You and
your sweetheart can glide gracefully (or not
so gracefully) across the
Boston Common Frog Pond (refer to
sightseeing listing), the Hub’s version of
Rockefeller Center and a popular winter
destination for young lovers. Best of all,
once you doff those skates and your feet
feel like blocks of ice, you’re not far from
exactly what you need to thaw them—a blazing
fireplace. Hungry I
(refer to
restaurant listing)—a converted
Beacon Hill brownstone that’s been regarded
as one of Boston’s most romantic restaurants
for 25 years—has three working fireplaces,
intimate tables for two and exquisite French
cuisine that will satisfy you both.
A
Kiss is Just a Kiss...
...but the timeless romance between Humphrey
Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in
Casablanca is
forever. The Brattle Theatre (refer to
current events listing) continues an annual
Valentine’s Day tradition, screening the
legendary film at 4:45, 7:15 and 9:45 p.m.
on February 14, as part of its repertory
series of “Great Romances” (which also
includes screenings of Annie Hall and
Breakfast at Tiffany’s on February 12 & 13).
And after you and your sweetie have watched Ilsa fly away, your trip to Casablanca
needn’t end—simply step downstairs to the
restaurant of the same name (40 Brattle St.,
617-876-0999) where you can enjoy delicious
Mediterranean-influenced tapas and entrees,
or sip an exotic cocktail like the Moroccan
Mule (vodka, ginger beer and Baharat spice)
and celebrate your “beautiful friendship.”
Just Desserts
Sometimes, when you’re with the
one you love, you want to skip dinner and
cut right to the chase. Get your mind out of
the gutter… we’re talking about dessert.
Finale (One Park
Plaza., 617-423-3184 and 30 Dunster Square,
Cambridge, 617-441-9797) specializes in
sinfully rich sweets, and as one would
imagine, V-Day is their busiest night. This
February 14, Executive Pastry Chef Nicole
Coady has whipped up some special menu
items, including a Chocolate Plate for Two
(featuring tropical fruits and flavors
paired with chocolate) and the showstopping
Five-Course Dessert Tasting, which treats
dessert lovers to delicacies including a
sorbet trio, chocolate-dipped strawberries,
a flight of hot chocolates and many other
decadent pleasures.
The Lighter Side of
Love
Who says Valentine’s Day has to
be all about somber declarations of love and
overwrought flowery poems? If you and your
significant other have a love that’s more
goofy than gooey, stay true to yourselves
this holiday by scarfing a decidedly
unpretentious dinner at
Dick’s Last Resort (refer to
restaurants listing) where the snarky waitstaff and
stick-to-your-ribs cuisine will lighten your
mood before heading across town to Symphony
Hall to take in hilarious tales of “D-list”
Hollywood from that radiant redhead,
Kathy Griffin (refer
to
comedy listing).
Hearts and the Arts
Chances are, you see your
significant other as a work of
art—priceless, beautiful and unique. So,
there are few better ways to spend this most
romantic of days than in the presence of
some other outstanding works of art. The
Isabella Stewart Gardner
Museum (refer to
museum listing)
hosts “A Venetian Valentine,” from 6–9 p.m.,
on February 14—this special event allows art
lovers to stroll the gorgeous, flowering
courtyard of the Gardner at night, enjoying
live jazz music, poetry readings, cocktails
and hors d’oeuvres as you take in the
Gardner’s lovely works during a self-guided
tour. And, earlier that day, over at the
Museum of Fine Arts,
local art historian and proprietor of Boston
Art Tours (refer to
museum listing) Marina
Veronica leads art lovers of all
designations on a “Sweethearts for the Arts”
guided tour of the MFA and its collections.
A general tour takes place at noon, followed
by special tours for gay and lesbian
sweethearts at 1:30 p.m., and “seasoned”
sweethearts at 3 p.m.
Bringing Sexy back
Some lovebirds embrace modesty
364 days a year, but on Valentine’s Day they
throw caution to the wind and let out their
inner naughtiness. Those in search of a
truly hot Valentine’s celebration can start
with dinner at Fugakyu
(1280 Beacon St., Brookline, 617-734-1268),
where Chef Hiro San is whipping up an
“Aphrodisiac” menu including traditionally
potent foods like oysters, ginger, pineapple
and pomegranate. If you still have an
appetite after that, you can drop by
Sweet N’ Nasty (90A
Mass. Ave., 617-266-7171), Boston’s
notorious home for scandalous erotic cakes
and other sweets, to pick up some dessert to
be enjoyed in private. And, if you find
V-Day has passed, but those saucy sensations
haven’t, you might want to check out
The Great Boston Burlesque
Expo, from February 16–19, at the
John Hancock Convention Center. With three
days and nights of racy performances and
classes teaching the seductive, teasing art
of burlesque, you may find that romance
doesn’t have to be confined to one day a
year (Call 617-734-2500 for more
information).
Fun for One
Being unattached on Valentine’s
Day doesn’t have to be torture—in fact, some
singletons make use of the holiday to let
their hair down and engage in wild,
uninhibited fun. This February 14, some of
Boston’s hottest nightspots are hosting
singles-oriented activities, including the
“I Hate My Ex” party at Felt
(533 Washington St., 617-350-5555); the
annual Flirt Fest, which features upscale
hors d’oeuvres and a sultry fashion show, at
Boston’s newest nightclub,
Mansion, located in The Alley at
Boylston Place (refer to
clubs & bars listing);
and the Lock & Key Party at
Lir (903 Boylston St., 617-778-0089)
where ladies are issued locks and gentlemen
keys, and everyone is allowed to try and
find their match.
Dancing and Romancing
Few words strike more terror into
a man’s heart than when his wife or
girlfriend suggests, “Let’s go dancing!”
This is because: 1.) We’re no damn good at
it; and 2.) We know that every woman under
the age of 35 pictures themselves in the
arms of Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing when
they get on the dancefloor. So why embarrass
ourselves? Relax, fellas... all you need is
a willingness to try and the proper
instruction. Irish pub/nightclub
An Tua Nua (835 Beacon
St., 617-262-2121) and local dance
enthusiasts SalsaBoston
(yes, it does sound like strange
bedfellows—just go with it) host weekly
Wednesday Salsa Nights, where novice hoofers
can get lessons with trained dancers for
just $2 (cover is $10). That way, your
señorita gets to dance, you learn a few
seductive new moves, and who knows? You
might just end up becoming Johnny Castle to
her Baby—or at least good enough not to
stomp on her toes.
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