Rich chocolates, dark red wine, sensual raw oysters-these edible aphrodisiacs are only the very basics of sensual cuisine. On Valentine's Day, local restaurants will be featuring special menus and exclusive items designed to please the deepest of culinary desires. Try one of these and you're bound to get lucky-well, at least your palate is.
Parizade
2200 West Main St.
Durham, NC
(919) 286-9712
The Mediterranean mainstay will be offering a special a la carte menu all evening. To sweeten the deal, each lady will receive a complimentary rose. The money you'll save on flowers can easily be put to more creative means.
A Southern Season
University Mall
Chapel Hill, NC
(866) 253-5317
Going to a restaurant on Valentine's Day means getting a reservation, finding that perfect dress or the right tie and dealing with crowds of cloying couples. A Southern Season caters to those seeking a more introverted date experience. Stock up the day before with one of their signature sampler baskets and head over to the Starlite Drive-in for the 9 o'clock showing of When a Stranger Calls. There's nothing like handmade chocolates and a little third-rate horror to set the mood.
Lantern
423 West Franklin St.
Chapel Hill, NC
(919) 969-8846
For those of you with more exotic tastes-yes, we all know you're out there-venture over to Chapel Hill and settle in for the four-course, $49 menu at Lantern. A dumpling goes from tame to glamorous with the addition of lobster, and a spicy tangerine duck breast is bound to excite. If the date goes sour, there's always the "love is a 'Rocky Road'" ice cream.
Vin Rouge
2010 Hillsborough Rd.
Durham, NC
(919) 416-0466Some say that French is the quintessential cuisine of romance. The rustically understated bistro that is Vin Rouge certainly aims to inspire of that joie d'amour with its three-course, $45.00 menu. Look for classics like filet mignon and chilled foie gras-because nothing says, "I love you" like rare beef and fattened duck liver.
Chamas Churrascaria
Brightleaf Square
Durham, NC
(919) 682-1309
Although Chamas isn't offering a special menu for Valentine's Day, the entire concept of the restaurant appeals to our innate tendencies of gluttony and lust. Tall men carry around swords straining under the weight of every imaginable kind of grilled meat. For the dateless, ask if they're serving coracao de galinha-the irony behind eating skewered chicken heart on Valentine's Day is just too good to pass up.
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