By Sidney Burt
With Valentine’s Day on the horizon, it’s time to start making plans. And, with the holiday falling on a Wednesday, it’s the perfect opportunity to plan a week’s worth of fun-filled activities!
Whether you are planning a romantic date night or just looking to have fun out on the town with friends, there are plenty of options for everyone! Take a look at how you can celebrate this year’s Valentine’s Day in style.
Valentine’s Day Date Night Options:
Dawson’s Steakhouse Valentine’s Day Dinner – Indulge in specialties such as a Dungeness Crab Tower, Seared Scallop or a Niman Ranch Prime Beef Filet. And be sure to save room at the end for something sweet. (Reservations required)
Hyatt Regency Sacramento
1209 L Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Painted Cork Date Night – This Valentine’s Day, enjoy an evening of professional art instruction with all art supplies included. Plus, complimentary wine and chocolate with the class to celebrate that special someone!
The Painted Cork
1624 J Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Ella Dining Room & Bar – Enjoy a beautifully prepared and locally sourced prix fixe menu to celebrate Valentine’s Day! (Reservations required)
Ella Dining Room & Bar
1131 K Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Valentine’s Dinner Train – Treat your loved one to three courses of hearty American fare while taking a leisurely ride along the old Garden Highway in rural West Sacramento.
Sacramento River Train
400 N Harbor Blvd, West
Sacramento, CA 95605
Selland’s Market-Café – Spend the night at home with delicious bites. Menu is available for pick-up and don’t forget the bubbles! (Must place orders by February 12)
Selland’s Market-Café – East Sacramento, Broadway and El Dorado Hills
Valentine’s Week Celebrations:
Cupid Crawl – Grab a friend and head out to the Cupid Crawl. Indulge in some great eats and delicious libations from Milagro’s Restaurant Community.
Milagro Center
February 9, 2018
Advance: $10; Door: $15
Port, Wine and Chocolate Lover’s Weekend – Enjoy wines, ports, dessert wines, and sweet delights at the Old Sugar Mill Wineries. 15 Wineries will be offering wine tastings and pairings all weekend.
Old Sugar Mill
February 10 & 11, 2018
Advance: $29.50 Door: $40
Valentine’s Day Yappy Hour – Celebrate Valentine’s Day rain or shine with your furry friends and help the animals at the SPCA. For every pint purchased, $1 will go directly to the Sacramento SPCA.
Big Sexy Brewing Company
February 15, 2018
FREE
Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates
By: Laurel Harrison
If you forgot to make reservations, buy flowers, or write your S.O’s name in the sky today, don’t fret. Instead, head to Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates, located on 18th and L. Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates features signature and seasonal creations sure to satisfy any sweet tooth, and is holding extended hours today from 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. SacFoodies decided to stop in and ask Alison, the executive pastry chef, a few dessert-related questions to help us hone in on the perfect Valentine’s dessert. Valentine’s Day procrastinators – this one’s for you!
If you could only eat one dessert for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Ice cream. There are endless possibilities for flavor combinations and textures you can add. I will never tire of eating it.
If someone was having Ginger Elizabeth chocolates for the first time, what would you recommend they try?
Our bon-bons and macarons. We have 24 flavors of bon-bons, and always have special flavors rotating. The bon-bons are my babies and we have spent years perfecting them. The macarons are delicate, not overly sweet and are an extra special treat as well. We have 7-8 different flavors at a time.
What’s your favorite dessert to make for Valentine’s Day?
I love making our Valentine’s Day entremet cake every year. It is a different flavor each year, and the recipe developing and testing is one of my favorite things to do. This year it is a salty caramel cupcake entremet that has a caramel custard, salted butter caramel, devil’s food cake, and 62% Valrhona bittersweet chocolate mousse.
You can see more dessert options at Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates.
Need more sweet treat ideas? Check out past SacFoodies Valentine’s features below:
Where to Get Something Sweet for your Sweetie in Sacramento
Sweets for the Sweet
More Chocolate-Covered Strawberries
Valentine's Day in Sacramento
By Cheyenne Cameron-Pruitt
Valentine’s Day is almost here. We know that everyone can use a little bit of help with the planning process sometimes, so we have gathered Valentine’s weekend events and restaurant specials that are sure to please!
Valentine’s Day Weekend Events:
Port, Wine and Chocolate Lover’s Weekend
Port, Wine and Chocolate? You can’t go wrong there! Old Sugar Mill is giving you access to all three with their Lover’s Weekend. Thirteen wineries are in one location offering tastings from the barrels – of wine and chocolate. A cigar lounge, live music and demonstrations, including a “Bottle Your Own Port” activity round out the event. This is a unique event that will certainly add some fun to your Valentine’s Day weekend.
Cost: $29.50 in advance, $40 the day of, and $10 for any Designated Driver; $125 for the Bon Temps Package for groups of 6 or more. (purchase tickets)
February 11, 2017 – February 12, 2017
11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Old Sugar Mill
35265 Willow Avenue
Clarksburg, CA 95612
Valentine’s Day Wine Tour
Odds are you are going to get some sort of chocolate this Valentine’s Day and nothing pairs better with chocolate than wine! Grab your heart shaped box and hop on the Valentine’s Day Wine Tour presented by Cain Event Planning. This all-day tour includes transportation to participating Amador County wineries Karmere, Dobra Zemjla and Helwig Winery, drink service during travel, lunch and of course wine tastings. It is a great way to spend the day with your loved one.
Cost: $59 for a single ticket and $110 for a couple’s ticket (purchase tickets)
February 11, 2017
10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Butterfield Station
9636 Butterfield Road
Rancho Cordova, CA 95827
American Whiskey with the Bourbon Babes
Hook & Ladder Manufacturing Co. offers an alternative option for Valentine’s Day weekend. Join The Bourbon Babes at Cocktail Academy and learn everything there is to know about American Whiskey.
Cost: $75
February 11, 2017
2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Hook and Ladder Manufacturing Co.
1630 S St
Sacramento, CA 95811
Where to get Something Sweet for your Sweetie in Sacramento
What’s the most fab day of Feb? Valentine’s Day, of course! It’s a double holiday for me because my adorable daughter turns 7 on the 14th. I’ve been on the hunt for the perfect sweet to celebrate my little sweetie and here’s what I’ve learned by making a few phone calls and scouring the Internet (FYI, not all Valentine’s Day menus are posted online so be sure to check out Facebook or Instagram for some mouth-watering photos):
Andy’s Candy Apothecary
1012 9th St.
MON-SAT: 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
SUN: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
When the SacFoodies made a stop at Andy’s in December during our holiday outing, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. Hands down the best caramel ever!!!! I spoke to Andy himself this week and he says the store pretty much looks like a Valentine’s Day shrine. From traditional conversation hearts and heart-shaped boxes to sour or sweet gummies to foil-wrapped chocolates, there is a candy for every taste bud. Andy says to come early because they often sell out!
Ettore’s
2376 Fair Oaks Blvd.
MON-THURS: 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
FRI-SAT: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
SUN: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Boxes of 4 or 6 chocolate-dipped strawberries are available and adorably packaged as well as Valentine’s Day-themed cookies (sugar sprinkle, tuxedo and conversation heart butter cookies!), cake pops, petit fours and individual Chocolate Cherry Cake Cups, a rich truffle sponge cake cup with chocolate and cherry mousse. For the record, the Princess Torte is one of my favorite cakes ever and would be a perfect Valentine’s Day treat (order the pink) but, lucky for us, it’s available year-round.
Freeport Bakery
2966 Freeport Blvd.
MON-FRI: 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
SAT: 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
SUN: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
No surprise here, Freeport has a lot to offer with a Valentine’s Day theme. Strawberry Heart Tart (made with fresh strawberries), Two of Hearts (think strawberry mousse filling and chocolate ganache poured on top), Jewel Box (like you see during the holidays), Valentine’s Day Log (also like you see during the holidays) are all available, plus an assortment of cookies, cupcakes and more. If you know Freeport, you know there’s no shortage of amazing sweets!
Ginger Elizabeth
1801 L Street, Suite 60
TUES-THURS: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
FRI-SAT: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
SUN: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
MON: Closed
If it were my Valentine birthday, I’d be asking for the Chocolate Heart Box, which is filled with ten chocolate caramel hearts (have you figured out yet I have a thing for caramel?!). Also available is the Valentine’s Entremet, a Dark rum custard soaked banana cake with banana pudding and 64% Dominican Republic bittersweet chocolate mousse. Holy, wow! Adorable heart-shaped chocolates and milk chocolate discs sprinkled with Vahlrona cocoa nibs, sour cherries and candied rose petals also fill Ginger’s darling shop on L Street.
And don’t dismiss your local grocery store for great Valentine’s Day treats. Stores like Safeway, Nugget, Trader Joe’s and Raley’s all have a delicious display of sweets.
Happy heart day to all! I hope it’s the sweetest ever!!
It’s a Macaron Renaissance
Can’t afford to take your Valentine to Paris this year, huh? Why not create a little Parisian romance with a bite-sized French cookie that’s all the rage – the French macaron. Not familiar with these sweet little confections? From simple ingredients like confectioners’ sugar, almond flour and egg whites emerges a dainty dessert that will impress your Valentine. These are definitely a step above a ho-hum box of chocolates!
You can make your own macarons, and there are a number of easy-to-follow recipes, but it’s the technique that makes the cookies light and chewy and the filling flavorful and lush. This Martha Stewart video does a nice job of breaking down the steps to create an authentic macaron experience.
However, if you’re more of a “pick it up at the bakery” kind of person, you’re in luck. Estelle’s Patisserie in downtown at 9th and K has delicious macarons (the pistachio one is unbelievable), as does Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates at 18th and L (the salty caramel one sounds amazing – hint, hint). Even Trader Joe’s carries macarons in the frozen section, and if you’re on a budget this Valentine’s Day, these are perfect – $4.99 for 12 chocolate and vanilla macarons (and, yes, they are good!).
Happy Valentine’s Day!