Wine, dine, and Valentine me

Never mind teddy bears and tacky red roses; what sets the bar for love day is where you plan to celebrate it. While dinner is the popular time of this day to go out, there are so many hours of the day left untouched. Here are our picks of places to celebrate Valentine’s Day, spread out across different times of the day. Pick one, or go for all. These places are all guaranteed to make your heart sing.

Breakfast: Maple

Romantic dinners remain the timeless date option, but there’s something pleasantly refreshing about an early morning rendezvous. Like the world is somehow on your side the moment you wake up, and a shared meal just seals the deal on what a darn good day it will be. Stepping in as one of this season’s morning food contenders is the Pancake House Group’s newest addition, Maple. While I swear by Pancake House on normal days — and by normal days, I do mean daily — Maple can give most breakfast joints a schooling in how this feast goes down. Get the Big Maple Breakfast, fully loaded with two eggs cooked your way, bacon crisps, two large breakfast sausages (Pancake House-style except five times larger), a hill of pillowy potatoes, and a gorgeous Belgian waffle. Weighing in with a hefty list of other breakfast staples, their servings are large enough to share. Bingo.

Maple is located at 2F San Antonio Plaza Arcade, McKinley Road, Makati City.

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Lunch: Mary Grace Café

On normal days, Mary Grace Café has its fair share of couples dining. Peek through its window and check the restaurant loft to see a few pairs making googly eyes at each other from across the table. Who can blame them? It’s always had this entrancing air about it, what with glass lanterns raining down from the ceiling, and every nook and cranny growing roots of twinkle lights. Heck, those lights, and the perfectly grilled ensaymada, have lured me in on several occasions, googly eyes or not. Pinteresting it up even more on Valentine’s Day, Mary Grace is serving up heart-shaped brownies, as well as strawberry shortcake paired with truffle chocolate-dipped fresh strawberries. Together with this sweet disposition, the folks at Mary Grace may have a little surprise up their sleeves. Come by on the evening of the 14th if you’re looking to make the night even sweeter.

Mary Grace Café is located at the Ground Floor of Greenbelt 2, Ayala Center, Makati City. Call 501-3089.

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Merienda: Sunny Bake Shop

Forget the box of chocolates, the oatmeal cookies, and the red velvet cupcakes that practically every corner café and dessert place has. (It’s just chocolate cake with red food coloring, come on). At Sunny Bake Shop it’s all about the classics, boasting cream puffs, sans rival, and good ol’ apple pie, whose recipes date back to when Sunny first set up shop in 1960. The one thing I can never pass off is Sunny Bake Shop’s mini, almost micro, cinnamon rolls. They’re perfectly dense, slathered with a blanket of caramelized sugar, cinnamon, and raisins. And they’re small enough to pop into your mouth. Should you feel the sudden urge to inhale the box in one go, I won’t hold it against you, and I will not judge you. 

Sunny Bake Shop is located at the Corinthian Garden Clubhouse, 3 D.V. Rufino Ave. corner Madrigal Ave., Corinthian Gardens, Quezon City. Call 631-1352.

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Dinner: Lolo Dad’s Café, Malate

Thirteen years ago, Lolo Dad’s Café opened its doors — coincidentally on Feb. 14. While the staff was excited at the thought of even one customer that day, a number of twosomes had wandered in, packing the place full. Since then, Valentine’s Day remains the restaurant’s busiest time, flanked by couples making their regular pilgrimage to feast on Chef Ariel Manuel’s creations. This year’s anniversary-Valentine’s menu is glorified by a duck consommé espresso and barbecued duck leg, with a caramelized foie gras crostini. Word of caution: the set menu doesn’t come cheap at P2,850 per head. But it’s a menu made for just one day of the year and, for the love of God, a Parmesan cheese and white chocolate flan with strawberry honeycomb is waiting for you at the end.

Lolo Dad’s Café, Malate, is located at 1999 Leon Guinto St. corner President Quirino Ave. Call 522-2941 or 524-2295.

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Drinks: Blind Pig

As the night draws to a close, do me a favor: ditch the cliché coffee shop conversations. The most uncreative dates choose hanging out over cups of caffeine as their fallbacks, and it’s ridiculous, really. Instead, try taking your date somewhere unexpected. A bar. No, not the kind that has loud music pumping your brains out and no, not the kind that slams buckets of beer and pork barbecue on the table either. Try Blind Pig, this speakeasy bar inspired by days of Prohibition. There is no sign indicating it’s there, nor is its door open to all who wish to enter. A menu card is handed out, but servers — who will ask for your name and call you out like a friend throughout the night (don’t be scared) — are more than willing to whip up something not on the standard list of drinks. The Mint Julep there is ace though. The bar’s lights are dimmed down to a glow, and its music is somber and soothing, lending a mood of calm. It is just the right amount of quiet to hold a casual yet intimate conversation. Ideally, this is how a good end to the night should go down.

Blind Pig is located at 227 Salcedo St. corner Gamboa St., Legaspi Village, Makati City. Call 0917-5492264.