HEART-Y DINING

Valentine’s Day is traditionally a day to splurge on a luxurious meal or gift to show the recipient of your affection how much you care for them. If that’s true, those lucky folks who get taken to “A Night to Remember” at Atmo are really loved –or maybe they’re just lucky enough to be dating someone rich doesn’t have a problem spending $399 a person for dinner. To be fair, it does sound like a tremendous experience. The red-carpet treatment includes six courses, each with a wine pairing, unlimited champagne, and hors d’oeuvres. The limited seating dinner uses multi-media to take diners on a journey throughout Europe.

Of course, you don’t have to spend a fortune to show your loved one a good time. Consider the ARC CULINARY gourmet experience for a much more reasonable rate. The five-course meal includes oysters, surf and turf, and chocolate strawberry souffle. The fundraising event will be at the Emeril Lagasse Foundation Innovation Kitchen located on the campus of Arc Broward in Sunrise and benefits ARC Broward, which helps children and adults with autism, and Down syndrome. Go to exploretock.com/ arcculinary/ to make your reservations.

The stars and calendars have aligned!

Valentine’s Day is on Taco Tuesday! (Imagine me jumping up and down in delight!) That means $2 tacos and $8 jumbo Margaritas (starting at 7 p.m.) at LE MEXICANA in whatever they’re calling Eucalyptus Gardens this week. Now that’s a budget Valentine’s Day treat if I ever heard of one.

ELISABETTA’S in Delray Beach and West Palm Beach will feature four specials for Valentine’s Day. The specials include smoked salmon pizza with mascarpone, chives, and caviar ($28); house dry-aged bone-in filet with chanterelle and black truffle butter ($68), and grilled sea scallops with risotto Milanese with a speck gremolata ($46). For dessert, there will be chocolate-glazed vanilla profiteroles ($14).

CITY OYSTER in Delray Beach will present a convivial quartet of specials that would even tempt Cupid to make a dinner reservation. “Will You Be Mine” sushi features bluefin toro, salmon roe, and fresh jalapeño, “Forever and Always” showcases three seared scallops served with homemade maple bacon jam, “I Only Have Eyes for You” brings four grilled lamb chops topped with hazelnut chimichurri and an 8-ounce Australian lobster tail, mashed potatoes, and asparagus for $98. End the repast with cherry chocolate cheesecake for $9.

At LOUIS BOSSI ON LAS OLAS , the Valentine’s Day special will be panseared scallops over a bed of brown butter spaghetti squash, golden raisins, pink peppercorn, lemon butter, and caperberries.

Of course, if you’re going to splurge, you can’t go wrong with the Ritz-Carlton Fort Lauderdale, where the BURLOCK COAST seafood restaurant is offering the ultimate seafood feast. Sit with a view of the ocean and enjoy the special Valentine’s Day package available Feb. 11 – 14. Reasonably priced (given it’s the Ritz, darling) at $125 per couple (not including tax and gratuity), the deal includes a seafood platter with oysters, shrimp cocktail, poke, and smoked fish dip; crustacean kisses featuring butter poached lobster, sweet corn risotto, watercress, roasted mushrooms; and for dessert, a white chocolate Grand Marnier mousse with Torrone pistachio. Dinner is served from 5-10 p.m.

If your honey is into edibles, check out the special love-themed collection at SUNNYSIDE MEDICAL CANNABIS DISPENSARY on Cordova Rd., near the 17th St. Causeway. A special curated Valentine’s Day collection, featuring the dispensary’s best-selling products and accessories is available. Imagine a big heartshaped box full of gummies and brownies!

Names Can Be Deceiving

POPSTROKE is not a medical incident, it’s the new 3-acre, mini-golf course and restaurant designed by Tiger Woods, opening in Delray later this spring. Before the ladies get all excited, the new restaurant in Boca Raton’s Piccadilly Square Plaza is not a women-loving-women operation. LEZIZ is a Mediterranean restaurant. The menu includes Turkish pizza, a spicy, cheese-less version topped with ground lamb, spicy peppers, tomatoes, onions, and red bell peppers. Also on the menu are kibbeh, falafel, tabouli, moussaka, and braised lamb shank. MARINA VILLAGE is not a drag queen. It will be a large food pavilion at Bahia Mar opening this fall. It will be family friendly by day, with dining-table QR codes that link to touchless menus for ten food and drink kiosks. At sunset, the village will flip into “a clubby place for adults,” where major DJ acts will spin as late as 2 a.m. on the weekends.

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Rick Karlin is SFGN’s food editor. Visit SFGN.com/Food to read his previous reviews. Have a culinary tip to share? Email Rick at RickKarlinFL@gmail.com.