Time to get ready for the Xs and Os! Whether you want to celebrate My Big Fat Greek Wedding-style, explore the birds and the bees over chocolate and wine or dive into a ginormous Tomahawk for two, we’ve got you covered. Let’s get ready to celebrate with Cupid this Valentine’s Day in Des Moines.
OPA! Italian and Greek Dining
For an Aphrodite- and Venus-approved Valentine’s Day dining experience, look no further than OPA! Italian and Greek dining. Reserve a table for dinner for two on Feb. 13 or Feb. 14, and enjoy any two drinks or one bottle of wine, an appetizer, salad or choice of entrees from over 25 delectable dishes, including beef tenderloin, handmade pasta and salmon. The finishing touch of one dessert and two spoons will have you exclaiming Opa!
Cost: $99.99 per couple.
To book: www.opawdm.com.
Des Moines Botanical Garden
It’s all about the birds and the bees–wink, wink–this Valentine’s Day at Des Moines Botanical Garden’s Dome After Dark. If wine and chocolate are your love language, then you’ll enjoy the garden’s 50 Shades of Green, an educational and tasty program offered Feb. 14 and Feb. 16. Learn about the fascinating sex facts of plants amidst the sensational setting of the garden’s illuminated conservatory and Gardener’s Show House, all the while savoring wine and chocolate. Each couple will receive an orchid to take home.
Cost: $51 for members; $60 for nonmembers (per couple).
To book: dmbotanicalgarden.com.
The Hall DSM
Nothing says “I love you” quite like a big hunk of meat. The Hall DSM is serving up a Valentine’s Day Tomahawk dinner for two on Feb. 13. The menu includes a 56-oz. Tomahawk ribeye, fancy potatoes, seasonal vegetables, salad, dessert and four glasses of red wine or four pints of craft beer. Ticket sales end Feb. 1, and all proceeds benefit the Justice League of Food to support its culinary job training and placement program.
Cost: $150 per couple.
To book: www.eventbrite.com.
Paws & Pints
Enjoy a romantic dinner for two and your four-legged best friend at Paws & Pints Valentine’s Day dinner on Feb. 13. Tickets include a delicious menu including brisket-stuffed jalapeno poppers; smoked pork chop with apple chutney; green bean salad; eggplant pirogue with sauteed vegetables; cheesecake bars with chocolate strawberries; and, of course, drinks to toast to love. For an additional $20, your pup can mingle and play at Paws and Pints’ Mo’Tail & Spaw.
Cost: $84 per couple.
To book: www.eventbrite.com.
BeerStyles Taproom & Gastropub
Eat your heart out this Valentine’s Day in Des Moines at BeerStyles Taproom & Gastropub with French Master Chef David Baruthio. Choose from four seating times on Feb. 13 and Feb. 14. Each seating includes a prix-fixe four-course dinner, starting with an amuse-bouche. For the first course, enjoy a strawberry and champagne Caesar salad with cured salmon, followed by a second course of artichoke veloute with truffle, herbs and brioche. For the third course, choose from slow-roasted filet mignon with bordelaise sauce, potato espuma and seasonal vegetables or pan-seared pistachio-crusted filet of halibut with saffron potatoes. As for the final touch, enjoy a crème brulee cheesecake with raspberry and white chocolate.
Cost: $95 per person.
To book: www.eventbrite.com.