Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, and of course, many restaurants are offering ‘SPECIAL’ Valentine’s dinners for those of us who are (were) MUG enough to pay the extortionate prices for the so-called ‘romantic’ dinner package erm…. ‘experience‘.
After taking a seat at your assigned table, often only a cat’s whisker away from adjoining diners, it feels about as romantic as sitting on a crowded train. Then, while you sip your welcome drink of fizz (battery acid), which you force down with a smile because it is included in the ‘price’, you take a moment to scan your surroundings, trying to avoid eye contact with other diners. Helium balloon hearts bob above you, and I’m sure, if they could talk, they would be laughing as we inspect the limp flower arrangements and the sequin hearts scattered on the table.
The set courses that follow usually have fancy names, each dish presented in a poncey way to disguise the minuscule serving (just enough to feed an anorexic sparrow on OZEMPIC) with a food choice you would never order under normal circumstances (aka in full possession of your senses). But of course, it’s Valentine’s Day, so you eat up, smile and shut up. Except this year we won’t.
Nope, after 52 Valentine years, I’ve finally come to my senses. No red roses or bouquet of flowers. Mr P bought me a beautiful orchid and camellia plants to enjoy for years, and I will cook a romantic dinner at home.
With the cost of living crisis, is there a price point where you think ‘enough is enough’?
For me, yes. I’ve figured we can eat out three times for the cost of one Valentine’s meal.
Piglet in Portugal 
I was chuckling all the way through this, Carole, so thank you for that! We stopped doing Valentines’ dates many years ago. Both hubs and I find it a disgrace the way businesses take advantage of so many holidays. Commercialization is understandable, because many consumers are willing to pay the price, so it’s a boost for the businesses. Just because I “get it” doesn’t mean I have to like it. We treat Valentines like any other day and then go out for a nice meal in the following week and call it our Valentines date. Hubs even buys my chocolates a day or two after when they go on sale for half price or less, and I’m fine with that.
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I’m pleased I made you chuckle, Terry. Restaurants hiking up the prices while cutting quality and quantity really gets my goat. The problem we’ve had over the years is that it’s also Mr. P’s birthday. This year I will be organising something completely different….
I love that hubs buys your chocolates after the event :)
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HA! You’ve described my dinner tomorrow night perfectly! It’s a really fun, tapas-influenced restaurant in New York’s east village we have gone to many times and love; fun and energetic….and tapas are always reasonable, right? Well, tomorrow they have a SPECIAL Valentine’s Day menu – basically “forced tapas” to a certain $$$ – but it’s not too egregious so we are willingly being taken for a ride – er, “going along for the ride!” That said, you night sounds perfect – cheers!
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Yep, they hike up the prices in the name of love. :)
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