What To Do: Valentine’s Day 2015
What To Do Valentine’s Day 2015: This year Valentine’s Day falls on a Saturday. How convenient. Here’s our Valentine’s Day Guide complete with 7 romantic things to do for townies, foodies, culture vultures and locaavores. Plus, our pick for the two most romantic dinner spots in & around town … and a last minute shopping guide for you know how.
Valentine’s Day at PAC with Superstar Violinist Midori & Chef Peter Kelly: Impress your Valentine with this hot ticket – a solo recital by superstar violinist Midori. With her virtuoso technique, pure tone, and artistic interpretations, she’s been wowing critics and audiences alike since her debut at the age of 11 with the New York Philharmonic 32 years ago. This Avery Fisher Prize-winner will perform a romantic selection of pieces from Beethoven, Faure, Mozart and Strauss with Ozgur Aydin. Really make it romantic by signing on for a pre-concert dinner crafted by celebrity Chef Peter Kelly of Xavier’s H2O. To make a dinner reservation please contact Shaunice Jordan, Coordinator of Advancement, at 914-251-6178. Sat, 2/14: 8pm. (Performing Arts Center, 735 Anderson Hill Rd., Purchase; www.artscenter.org)
Valentine Dates at NYBG: Here’s a different way to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Treat yourself and your loved one to Wild Medicine in the Tropics—a showcase of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory’s permanent collection and the medicinal plants featured there. Start the evening at The Pine Tree Café, where small plates of foods known for their aphrodisiac properties will be available for purchase. Then enter the lush Conservatory, where a glass of complimentary champagne awaits. Indulge your senses with the romantic qualities of dark chocolate and other plant-based aphrodisiacs. Guides will be on hand throughout the Conservatory to share information about the featured plants. Fri, 2/13: 6:30–8:30pm; Sat, 2/14: 5:30–7:30 pm. (2900 Southern Blvd., Bronx; www.nybg.org)
Valentine’s Day: A Taste of Italy at Lasdon Park: Lasdon’s main house will be transformed into a romantic retreat for a tasting of homemade Italian foods, good wine and live music. This fundraising event to support Lasdon programs is limited to 50 people and features authentic Italian pasta, sauces, homemade cheese, meats and vegetables prepared by Pete Monteleone and Vincent Nicolosi. Special wines and Italian beer will be served and desserts will complete the menu. Sun, 2/14: 7-9pm. (2610 Amawalk Rd., Rt. 35, Katonah; www.lasdonpark.org)
Camelot: Technically, there is no show on Valentine’s Day. But this timeless masterpiece from Lerner and Loewe is so damn romantic that we put it on the list, anyway. This tale about King Arthur and his new queen, Guinevere, who rule their kingdom with ideals of chivalry and peace is one of the most fabled love triangles of all time. In fact, the music is so brilliantly romantic that even guys can’t resist it. Check out these songs from the score: “If Ever I Would Leave You”, “The Lusty Month of May”, “How to Handle a Woman”, “I Loved You Once in Silence”, “What Do the Simple Folk Do?” Come on guys. You can handle it. Fri, 2/13: 6:15pm & Sun, 2/15: 11:15am, 5:15pm. And remember, here you get a dinner with your show. Now, that’s romantic! (Westchester Broadway Theatre, One Broadway Plaza, Elmsford; www.broadwaytheatre.com)
Bringing Up Baby: Check out this 35 mm screening of Howard Hawks screwball comedy for a reminder about how they spelled romantic in 1938. This tale of true love (with it’s quintessential snappy dialog and upper crusty humor) stars Cary Grant as a paleontologist trying to raise a million bucks to complete his Brontosaurus skeleton, and Katharine Hepburn, the heiress with a pet leopard named Baby, who turns his life upside. In the end, he loses the Brontosaurus but gets the girl. Or rather the girl gets him. The American Film Institute selected Bringing Up Baby as one of the Top 100 American Films of All Time. An inspired Valentine’s Day choice by Jacob Burns and with a 5pm screen time … you can be at dinner at 7:30. Sat, 2/14: 5pm. (Jacob Burns Film Center, 364 Manville Rd. Pleasantville) www.burnsfilmcenter.org)
Chris Botti Valentine’s Day Gala: Pop/jazz trumpet superstar, Chris Botti has produced four albums that reached no. 1 on The Billboard Jazz charts and his 2013 Impressions won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album. He will play his soulful and romantic jazz interpretations at the Ridgefield Playhouse on Valentine’s Day. The show starts at 8pm but all ticket holders are invited to join the Playhouse for a dessert and cheese reception in the lobby at 6:30pm. There will be a rose waiting for all the ladies courtesy of Rodier Flowers and a chocolate fountain courtesy of Deborah Ann’s Sweet Shoppe. Plus there will be desserts from Elizabella’s Bake Shop, Tom Tom’s Bakery & Whistle Stop Bakery. Sat, 2/14: 8pm. (Ridgefield Playhouse, 80 East Ridge, Ridgefield, CT; www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org)
Dinotopia: The Fantastical Art of James Gurney: Okay, so if you are not a paleontologist you may not find this exhibit particularly romantic but for those of you who find any museum stroll romantic, this exhibit opens on Valentine’s day – so it made our list. It features 59 original oil paintings from the New York Times best-selling Dinotopia book series by author and artist James Gurney. The setting of the books, is a fictional island utopia inhabited by humans and dinosaurs who have created a complex, interdependent society. Gurney’s work was inspired by a childhood fascination with archaeology, dinosaurs, lost civilizations and art. Also on display are the artist’s preliminary studies, reference photos and handmade scale models. (Picture here James Gurney’s Convoy Surrounded, an illustration for Dinotopia: The World Beneath, Oil on board.) Opens Sat, 2/14: 9am-5pm. (Stanford Museum & Nature Center,39 Scofieldtown Rd., Stamford, CT; www.stamfordmuseum.org)
Most romantic dinner spots
Campagna at the Bedford Post Inn: The pairing of Richard Gere’s Bedford Post Inn with the Altamarea Restaurant Group and all-star Italian Chef Michael White is more than a marriage of two Relais & Chateau level service providers. Michael White’s countryside Italian fare, with its famed pasta program and creative small plates menu, instantly transforms this romantic special occasion restaurant in a rustic/elegant 1760′s house in rural Bedford into a highly pedigreed yet accessible go-to spot for everything from a casual mid-week meal to … yes, the perfect Valentine’s Day spot. (954 Old Post Rd. /Rte. 121, Bedford, 914.234.7800; www.campagna-bedford.com) See our review.
La Crémaillère, The original farm to table restaurant: This Country French classic in a romantic farmhouse (circa 1750) is regularly ranked as one of the very best in the Hudson Valley. The Meyzen family creates a festive atmosphere that is casual and elegant without pretense. On a recent visit, the duck was incomparable, the snapper divine and we all had great fun with the award-winning wine list. (46 Bedford-Banksville Rd., Bedford, 914.234.9647; frenchcountryrestaurant.com)
Check out our What To Eat: Restaurant Guide
Whoops, forget to order flowers
You can order your Valentine’s Day flowers from, our good friend, Maureen Laning at Bedford Village Florists, 641 Old Post Rd, Bedford, 914.234.7180. Or order online here:
For chocolates good enough for the Queen of France: Check out Debauve & Gallais in Mt. Kisco. Dating back to before the French Revolution, Sulpice Debauve was commissioned to create a range of chocolates for Queen Marie Antoinette in order to ease her distaste for taking medicines. Those same chocolates (now sold at Barneys – you know what that means) are available today in & around town. (DeBauve & Gallais, 333 N. Bedford Road, Suite 150, Mt. Kisco, 914. 244.8998; or order online.)