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We were scratching our heads trying to think of a more interesting way to celebrate what can sometimes seem like a clichéd commercial holiday. In doing some research, as we do, we learned that Valentine’s Day is named after St. Valentine, a third-century Roman saint who ministered to early Christians. He was martyred and buried in a cemetery in Rome, which became a popular pilgrimage site during the Middle Ages, especially for those seeking love. We also learned that, in another Eastern European tradition, St. Valentine was the patron saint of beekeepers. This piqued our interest and made sense to us, as this holiday is often associated with the birds and the bees, if you know what we mean.
We’re always up for taking advantage of a holiday in new and creative ways, so we invited some of our favorite local business to feature their Valentine’s Day suggestions for Buzz readers who’d like to shop locally and find a unique, “out of the box” way to celebrate their bee-loved for Valentine’s Day.
FIN Asian Tapas
Valentine’s Day is not only a great day to celebrate love and friendship, but it’s also a great day to support our local small businesses — especially “newbees” like FIN Asian Tapas, whichrecently opened at Melrose and Gower. In fact, FIN is extending its Valentine’s Day celebration throughout the weekend, so you’ll have plenty of time to celebrate and, if you prefer, avoid Thursday’s crowds.
FIN will be serving a four-course Valentine’s Day dinner from February 14th – 17th. The chef will treat guests to options that include everything from citrus salmon sashimi truffle to a rosemary-butter filet mignon, yuzu shitake mushrooms, and grilled asparagus. For those of you who do visit, see if you can find the secret space at FIN. If not, fear not, we will let you in on the “classified” information very soon. To secure a reservation, please call: 323-579-1501.
Valentine Special $80 Dinner for 2 — (2 glasses of Bubbles or Sparkling Rose included) (pick one option to share)
Course 1 Options
Citrus Salmon Sashimi Truffle – wild Alaskan salmon, black truffle shavings, citrus ponzu, microgreens
Albacore Onion Sashimi – crispy red onion, daikon ponzu, spicy Vietnamese rub
Seaweed Salad – carrot, cucumber, chukka, wakame
Course 2 Options
Lobster Beef Gyoza – beef dumpling, minced lobster, chives
Tuna Jalapeno Crispy Rice – pan seared rice cake, soy, spicy tuna, jalapeno garnish
Vegetable Gyoza – edamame, shitake mushroom, carrot, asparagaus puree
Course 3 Options
Baked Crab Hand Rolls – snow crab, dynamite sauce, soy paper
Spicy Yellowtail Hand Rolls – Yellowtail, chili oil, tempura flakes, soy paper
Maguro Delight Hand Rolls – Tuna, avocado, masago, scallions, sesame
Course 4 Options
Ginger Chicken Breast – miso ginger chicken breast, ground shishito mashed potatoes
Miso Black Cod – miso glazed cod, asparagus, baby carrots
Chef Valentine Filet (+$10) – rosemary-butter filet mignon, yuzu shitake mushrooms, grilled asparagus
Chevalier’s Books
Books last longer than chocolate! Stop by our own Los Angeles book store treasure, Chevalier’s Books, at 126 N. Larchmont, for any of the romantic selections below…or to choose your own favorite love story.
diptyque
These roses will last long after Valentine’s Day. The diptyque Roses Collection blooms for only a few weeks in diptyque’s garden. This limited edition collection features two candles, dressed in bespoke blossoms and celebrating two of the most sublime roses in all of perfumery. Each candle may be lit alone or together, to create a bouquet of rose scents.
The Centifolia candle captures the fresh exuberant scent of Centifolia rose, with a subtle spiciness and unique provenance that make it a rare and delicate scent indeed. And the Damascena candle’s scent is both sophisticated and surprisingly honied. Both are available though Valentine’s Day.
Landis Gifts and Stationery
Landis Gifts and Stationery, 138 N. Larchmont, has some great ideas for those following the bee theme for the holiday. For example, you can bee thoughtful and write thank you notes with this elegant engraved stationery. Your honey-do list will be irresistibly adorable on a Busy Bee notepad. And you can relax with a Bee-calm candle while lathering on some Tokyo Milk Bon Bon Shea Butter after a long day.
Landis proprietor Edie Frère searches high and low for unique products like Joan’s A Keeper, a line of soaps, creams and lip balm sustainably made by bee keeper Joan on her farm Honey Hill in Carlisle, Ohio…which are, of course, perfect for your Valentine honey.
Le Petit Marché
You may not be able to get to Paris for the holiday, but you can definitely get to Le Petite Marché at Melrose and Larchmont, where Chef Step just launched a new dinner menu. He has also put together an exquisite menu for a special Valentine’s Day dinner, to celebrate love of all kinds, from romance to friendships. And of course a great way to spend this holiday is celebrating your valuable friendship with your significant other.
As one of our new locally owned small businesses, Le Petit Marché has become a great local gathering place for breakfast, lunch, dinner, happy hour, and meetings, and it even has a marketplace (that is growing every day). If you’ve had the pleasure of tasting Chef Steph’s dishes, then you know why the French are known for good food!
Á votre santé !
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