Table for Two?

February 5, 2019

Valentine’s Day is special – ask anybody who has a romantic streak. It’s the day for flowers and candy, fine wine and a five-star meal. Where you have that meal can take on any number of looks, tastes and feels – from stay-at-home casual candlelight to a bourbon and osso buco dinner out. Here are some ideas for you and your Valentine, but you’d better act now to even stand a chance of pulling off a special evening!

Out on the Town 

The award-winning menu at Bent Fork the Grill starts with an array of salads and interesting appetizers, from cauliflower “wings”, Smokin’ Hot Dates (dates that are rubbed with brown sugar, smoked, bacon-wrapped and stuffed with spicy pecans) to Steak and Goat Cheese Bruschetta with Cajun-blackened steak over rosemary toast. The Aurora restaurant, located at 12191 E. Iliff offers mouth-watering sandwiches, or you can jump straight to the entrees which include salmon prepared a couple of different ways, Lobster Mac n’ Cheese, Black and Bleu Steak, Beef Short Rib Stroganoff, Buffalo Pot Roast, and the usual steak suspects like prime rib, Colorado rib-eye and a daily Butcher’s Cut. 

You’ll find something to love at Bent Fork the grill – a veritable symphony of savory choices for a meal you’ll remember long after February 14! Make your online reservations here, and soon! 

The Wine Experience Café and World Cellar is billed as a contemporary restaurant and liquor shop, established in 2007 by a couple of wine lovers. Tucked away in the Southlands Shopping Center in Aurora, the Wine Experience Café has burgers and pizza and steak (sirloin, rib-eye), seared scallops, sautéed shrimp, lamb tenderloin, osso bucco, wild boar, plus a daily market fresh fish dish. More four-star Southlands restaurants close to home are Bar Louie, Platea Latin Eatery, The Lost Cajun and Ted’s Montana Grill. 

Dinner at Home

Now if you’d rather have a quiet dinner at home, away from the crowds, somewhere you can let your hair down and take your shoes off, get online right now and order dinner for two from Hello Fresh. If you do it by tomorrow, February 6, you can choose from Cherry Balsamic Pork Chops with Garlic Herb Couscous, Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken over Truffled Mushroom Risotto, Crispy Southwestern Chicken Cutlets with Mashed Potatoes and about 10 other meals – three vegetarian.

Hello Fresh is a meal delivery service and frequently runs special discounts to try their meals– which are super easy and come with practically everything you need (except things like butter and olive oil – they figure you have that!). Just Google Hello Fresh meal delivery kit and you’ll see the discount offers.

Going out to dinner can be so overrated, right? If you want more choices and don’t mind doing the grocery shopping, Delish has 30 delicious dinner for two recipes (including one for Lobster Mac n’ Cheese), and Taste of Home has 50. Not to be outdone are Country Living’s 50 Valentine’s Day/Night special recipes and Good Housekeeping’s collection of 44 dessert recipes (including skillet cookie sundaes)!

Life at the Lake: Southshore

The master-planned community of Southshore offers an “away-from-it-all” feeling, with access dining, shopping and Life at the Lake — the amazing Aurora Reservoir! Experience lakeside living as you explore several up-to-the-minute model homes from Century Communities, Richmond American Homes and Toll Brothers. Available in ranch and two-story designs, Southshore homes are priced between the upper $300s and the $700s.