As I just mentioned, it appears that Gretchen and I are not alone in not going out very often because we prefer our own cooking to that which can be had in local restaurants. However, we do go out occasionally. If you are like us but thought that Valentine’s Day would be a good time to break that “eat at home” habit, here are a few people that would caution you otherwise:
Valentine’s day is not a good night to go out to restaurants. Basically, people who go out to dinner only once a year go out on Valentine’s Day. The restaurants have to cater to these people’s narrow tastes and enormous expectations. Not a good night to go out. [tastingmenu.com]
Then there is this:
Ah, Valentine’s Day. It makes me think of red roses, candy hearts, snuggly kisses, over-booked restaurants, grumpy servers, and the time I was seated next to couple that was breaking up. It’s hard to be cooey with your love while over-hearing, “Nope, not once. I faked it every time.” And, as you may recall from my New Year’s Eve column, Valentine’s Day is one of the worst days, service-wise, to go to a restaurant.
I say skip the dinner out, make a kick-ass meal at home, and go out to brunch on Sunday morning. [Cinnamon Cooper]
And this just supports that belief:
With Valentine’s Day falling on a Saturday for the first time since 1998, restaurants have been turning away hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of frustrated diners who didn’t make reservations early enough. One restaurant had to buy more dishes, tables and silverware.
“You hear this phone ringing?” said Ken Lurie, a partner and front-of-the-house manager at Tersiguel’s French Country Restaurant in Ellicott City. “Every call is for [tonight], and we’re just filled. We’ve turned away thousands.”
At restaurants across the area, the message seems to be: If you haven’t secured a Valentine’s Day dinner reservation by now, you might as well forget it. [Baltimore Sun]
So, I hope you have a nice romantic dinner at home planned!