V-Day Alternatives to Richmond's Restaurant Romance Racket

My coworker was telling me about the difficulty of getting a Valentine's Day reservation for dinner. She feels like she needs to decide now to beat the rush and start budgeting for the big splurge, ehem, I mean, outpouring of love. For me, this doesn't quite compute, because I usually cook something (and I hate holiday gimmicks). Last year, I made heart shaped tuna carpaccio (pink!), a la Eric Ripert.

Regardless of whether you stay in or go out, I feel like the specialness of the night is enhanced by the right combination of food n'tude and not by how much you spend or how fancy you dress. After all, V-Day is about being together rather than buying distractions.

So (if you're not a stickler for ambiance) here are a few places that may inspire sentimentality while steering clear of the romance racket.

-Royal India
This place may be the best Indian restaurant in Richmond (if you're not hung up on India K'Raja) and it might even have a degree of romantic atmosphere. Be sure to try one of the many paneer (cheese) dishes and anything with a sauce that sounds creamy (like shahi). Another fave is the fish pakora appetizer.

-Cool Breeze Chaathouse
A few doors down from Royal India, the same owner runs the Cool Breeze Chaat House. Never been to a chaat house? Here you can casually lounge inside or out sampling little plates of snacky Indian treats and swilling lassi libations. Lots of potential for eye-gazing and hand-grazing while digging into shared jumbles of curried goodies. A nice informal prelude to a movie or a good strategy for leaving room for ice cream or gelatto.

-Vietnam One
If you've tried one pho noodle house, you've tried them all, right? That's what I thought until I visited Vietnam 1 (having tried many of its' previous incarnations). The inside is tidy, but not appropriate for "setting the mood." What is special here is the food. The real discovery for me are the jicama rolls. It's the ubiquitous (and awesome) soft rice paper wrapped "summer roll," but the noodles have been swapped for threaded jicama. How very Atkins appropriate. The grilled meats (or tofu) over broken rice is beautiful, delicious, and plentiful. Of course the pho is good too, but it's not date food, unless your really comfortable together (slurp!). Plus, you don't have to wait in the always crammed Pho So 1.

-Taqueria del Sol
If I'm a broken record about this, then I've finally gotten it right. Start with an horchata and two straws. Then, split a shrimp cocktail and a side of guac. If you're not prim and propper eaters, dip a chip into the guac and then plunk a shrimp down on top with a bit of that coctail gazpacho soupiness. Mmmm, this might just be an aphrodisiac. Next, order a couple homemade tortilla sopes or gorditas of different varieties (meat or grilled veggies or mix'n'match). Your other half might order the ceviche or the enchiladas con mole poblano or tacos al pastor (although you'll be getting kinda full at this point). Theses dishes will be so successful as to deplete almost all of your erogenous energy right there at the dinner table. Taqueria del Sol even makes fried ice cream better than everywhere else.

-The Phoenician:
This place has bonafied romantic ambiance: Lebanese in the casbah. Plus, they're brand new (eager to please) and it'll feel good to spread the love by throwing your support to a new food endeavor. You can go cheap with a couple apps and split an entree or splurge on an enormous mezze spread. If you hit it up, lemme know how you liked it. I can only vouch for the hummus and falafel. (4400 block of W. Broad)

-8 1/2
Get some take out and get on the couch with your sweetie. If you both get garlic breath, neither of you is allowed to act all offended.

-Cajun Bankok
This place is gonna make you swoon with their thai style she-crab soup and their coconut appetizer. Beyond this, you'll get things heated up with etoufee on just about every main dish. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Again, share the love with a fledgeling Carytown restaurant and finish with a stiff drink at Can Can.

Even as I write this, my wife is trying to convince me that "girls want ambiance on Valentines Day," but the amor does not have to be all about the benjamins. Nonetheless, if these options strike your fancy, put yourself in the hands of Ms. Timberlake at Style. I think you'll be back here eventually, but that weekly rag often has stuff that you really oughta read. Of course, please feel free to post your ideas here as well.