Indulge in these Valentine's Day dinners and sweet treats (2024)

While strawberries dipped in chocolate have become something of a symbol of Valentine’s Day, chef and chocolatier Randy Page of Cricket & Fig Chocolate, 5800 S. Lewis Ave., decided last year not to offer that particular confection.

“The strawberries themselves are expensive and usually not that good,” Page said. “I thought when I said we weren’t going to have them last year that I would be run out on a rail, or something. I was a little surprised that a lot of people seemed to agree with me.”

In place of the traditional dipped strawberries, Page came up with another strawberry-forward treat.

“We did these strawberry linzer cookies, with a housemade strawberry jam sandwiched between two heart-shaped, hazelnut spice cookies, which are then drizzled with chocolate,” he said. “Last year, we sold twice the number of cookies than we did of dipped strawberries the year before that.”

The cookies are again available this year, in boxes of three, six and 12, for $10.50, $21 and $42, respectively. Cricket & Fig has also created a series of Valentine’s Day chocolates — heart-shaped truffles filled with strawberry, lemon and blueberry creams.

Cricket & Fig has been serving breakfast and lunch for some time, but last year Page decided to offer special dinners that allowed him and his colleagues the chance to show off their abilities with savory things.

The latest of these dinners will take place on Valentine’s Day, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

The menu has in Page’s mind a European air to it, including dishes such as a lobster mille feuille with celery root and green apple; roasted quail with leeks, foie gras, grits and quail confit; and vanilla bean semifreddo with chocolates for dessert.

The meal will also include a dish made with beef tongue, served with sauerkraut, a Swiss-style potato cake called rösti, and an herbed vinaigrette.

“We have friends and customers who are ranchers, and my chef (Kat Thomasson) has been wanting to do something with beef tongue,” Page said. “We’re taking a kind of Eastern European approach, where we cure it for a couple of weeks, then simmer it and cook it sous-vide, so that it’s really tender. It’s kind of a cross between corned beef and ham.

“And we just thought some people might want to have a little tongue for Valentine’s Day,” he said, laughing.

Cost for the dinner is $85, and reservations are required. Beverages, tax and gratuity are extra. For more information: 918-271-5199 cricketandfig.com.

For those who want strawberries dipped in chocolate, or a different menu for their celebratory meal, here are some choices for things to share with the one you love.

NOTE: Reservations are required for all events. All events take place on Wednesday, Feb. 14, unless otherwise noted.

Valentine Dinners Solaire

4629 W. 41st St., in the Silo Event Center

A new restaurant concept will launch this Valentine’s Day, when Solaire Food & Wine serves a five-course dinner prepared by chefs Gabe Lazarde and Jeremiah Rankin. The menu begins with a scallop crudo with grapefruit ponzu sauce, followed by pork belly with fried plantain and whipped goat cheese. Gnocchi made with purple sweet potatoes and served with a parsley pesto and sun-dried tomatoes will precede braised short rib with a tomato-saffron risotto and a sherry reduction. Dessert is Basque-style cheesecake with salted rum caramel. Cost is $65 per person. Wine pairings are available for a $35 upcharge.

The Boston Deli

6231 E. 61st St.

The Boston Deli will have a special menu for Valentine’s Day, featuring a 30-oz. bone-in rib-eye for two, with charred broccolini and smashed red potatoes, for $85. Other entree choices include a stuffed pork tenderloin ($28), a Parmesan chicken Alfredo ($25) and a grilled beef tenderloin Oscar, with a lobster cake, lobster risotto, grilled asparagus and a classic bearnaise sauce ($45). The menu also includes three starters, two salads and a roasted butternut squash soup. Wine and beer pairings are available.

Prism Cafe

217 W. Latimer St.

Chef Aimee Hunter is serving a special five-course Valentine’s Day menu, starting with raw Beaujoulias oysters with mignonette sauce, a roasted romanesco soup with romesco sourdough, a chicken liver pate with a little gem salad, a pistachio-crusted halibut or lamb chop, each accompanied by a delicata squash puree, with strawberry mousse and dark chocolate cake for dessert. Seatings are at 6:30 and 8 p.m. Cost is $85 per person.

The Melting Pot

300 Riverwalk Terrace

Celebrate Valentine’s Day with a romantic five-course menu starting with a chef-curated amuse-bouche, then indulge in Black Truffle Cheddar or Hot Honey Alpine Cheese Fondue, fresh Strawberry Arugula Salad, a Valentine’s Fondue Entrée, and top it off with Passionate Pear Dark or Bananas Foster White Chocolate Fondue. $84 per person.

Vista at the Boathouse

2650 E. John Williams Blvd., in the Gathering Place.

The Gathering Place’s fine dining venue, Vista at the Boathouse will offer a new, three-course prix-fixe menu highlighting fresh ingredients and flavors of the season, 5:30-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Feb. 9-10, as well as on Valentine’s Day itself. The menu offers a choice of four appetizers, including crab cakes and beef carpaccio, entrees that include Tuscan chicken, braised beef short rib, rainbow trout or a spinach and artichoke-stuffed portobello mushroom, and either creme brulee cheesecake or marscapone-stuffed, chocolate-dipped strawberries for dessert.

Metro Diner

7474 S. Olympia Ave.

The local outlet of this national chain is ready to “think pink” for Valentine’s Day with a selection of “Strawbery Shortcake” — pancakes, waffles and bread puddings topped with strawberries and strawberry cream cheese icing — as will as a Pretty in Pink mimosa, with a splash of cranberry juice added to the classic recipe. Available now for a limited time.

Vintage Wine Bar

324 E. First St.

The Vintage Wine Bar will offer a four-course meal on Valentine’s Day, with each course paired with an appropriate wine. The menu begins with dates stuffed with bleu cheese and wrapped in prosciutto, followed by a salad of arugula, shaved Brussels sprouts, fruits and a pomegranate vinaigrette. Short rib braised with red wine with truffled mashed potatoes and roasted tri-color carrots or a balsamic and thyme roasted portobello are the entree options, with a chocolate fig torte for dessert. Cost is $150 for two.

Inner Circle Vodka Bar

410 N. Main St.

As love will be in the air, Inner Circle Vodka Bar will be open with a special Valentine’s day menu. Enjoy unique infusions and craft co*cktail inside or in the heated shipping containers on the patio.

Carrabba’s Italian Grill

11021 E. 71st St.

Carrabba’s Italian Grill is offering a customizable four-course menu for two, with a choice of shared appetizer, soup or salad, entree and shared dessert, completed with a prosecco toast, for $65. This special is available Feb. 8-18.

Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse

1976 Utica Square

Fleming’s has a special Prime Surf & Turf for Valentine’s Day, with a 28-oz. bone-in New York strip and a 6-oz. filet mignon paired with two crab-stuffed lobster tails, and a mushroom sauté, with an oysters Rockefeller & shrimp co*cktail to start, and a dark chocolate torte for dessert. Cost is $230. Or one may opt for the filet with crab-stuffed shrimp for $105 per person, or Chilean sea bass for $100. Each of these come with a strawberry-fennel salad to start and the chocolate torte for dessert. Pair any of these with the special Valentine’s Day co*cktail, Berry Basil Bliss, for $17. Menu is available Feb. 8-19. Fleming’s will open at 3 p.m. on Valentine’s Day.

Freya Nordic Kitchen

3410 S. Peoria Ave.

Freya will hold its first wine dinner of the year during the Valentine’s Day season, 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 15. The menu features an herbed cheese Danish, with white balsamic glazed mushroom and shallots, aquavit and lingonberry reduction, and a lemon-dill arugula salad; followed by a “Ski Queens Salad,’ with fresh spinach, goat cheese, fresh berries, toasted almonds, and a gjetost vinaigrette. Entree choices are Steak Odin, topped with lobster and served with broccolini and herbed barley risotto, and Chicken Kieve, with mashed potatoes, sauteed kale and roasted tri-color carrots. The final course is Danbsare Efterrätt, or “dancer’s dessert,” with rosemary cream cheese, blackberry gastrique, lemon cream, and candied fennel seeds. Cost is $55 per person, with $29 extra for the wine pairings.

The Meat and Cheese Show

1306 E. 11th St.

918-850-2579

Chef Joel Bein doesn’t want to share his menu for the Valentine’s Day dinner that will be served at The Meat and Cheese Show, the business he and fellow chef Amanda Simcoe own. “I’d rather let my guests be surprised,” Bein said, adding, “It’s a sexy menu.” Cost is $125 per person, with wine pairings available for an additional $50.

The Chalkboard

1324 S. Main St.

The Chalkboard is offering a special Valentine’s Day menu that will be available the weekend before and the weekend after Valentine’s Day, as well as on the day itself. The menu begins with champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries, followed by a choice of a salmon roulade or chicken wings. A choice of a confit of duck leg, salmon en croute or rib-eye steak is the entree, with cream of chocolate cheesecake or a shortcake stack for dessert. Cost is $75 per person. The menu will be served Feb. 9-10, 14 and 16-17.

Cabin Boys Brewpub

223 N. Main St.

One of Tulsa’s premier craft breweries will present a special Valentine’s Day event, featuring a five-course dinner by chef Geoffrey van Glabbeek, paired with five variations on the breweries Mrs. Stoutfire Imperial Stout. The menu begins with seared scallops in a white chocolate beurre blanc topped with plum salsa, followed by a salad of hearty greens, fried goat cheese, walnut chimichurri and a raspberry cacao vinaigrette. Coconut-crusted shrimp with a cilantro rice pilaf will be followed by a cinnamon and chile de arbol dusted pork tenderloin with a cocoa stout molé and fondant sweet potatoes. Dessert is a Mexican chocolate cake. Cost is $75 per person.

CHOCOLATES Nouveau Chocolate

205 S. Main St., Broken Arrow

Now is the time to order your chocolate-dipped strawberries, which Nouveau will have ready for pickup on Feb. 13-14. The shop, specializing in Belgian chocolates, also offers traditional heart-shaped boxes of chocolates, hot cocoa bombs complete with mug with which to enjoy them, and “Heart Breakers” — heart-shaped chocolates that one breaks open to reveal additional sweet treats.

Glacier Chocolates

1902 Utica Square, 10051 S. Yale Ave.

Glacier Chocolate is offering chocolate-covered strawberries, although quantities are limited. If enrobed fruit isn’t your thing, Glacier also offers its signature chocolates in special “XOXO” boxes for this holiday, which can hold 6 to 42 pieces. And, of course, there are the heart-shaped boxes that can hold up to two pounds of candy.

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