Valentine’s Day in the Valley

Love is in the air, but what to do for your special someone on Valentine’s Day? The Frontiersman’s got you covered.

Evengelo’s Restaurant

2530 East Parks Highway, Wasilla

If Italian is the pleasure of your heart throb’s palate, Evangelo’s is a great spot to take your sweetheart. Their Valentine’s Day specials are halibut wellington, smoked New York Steak and manicotti, lobster fettucine, smoked halibut fettucine, prime rib and filet mignon.

To make a reservation, call 907-376-1212.

Settlers Bay Lodge

5801 South Knik Goose Bay Road, Wasilla

If luxe is your love’s delight, Settlers Bay Lodge in Wasilla has prepared a V-Day menu sure to spark a night to remember. The four-course dinner begins with an appetizer of crab cake with Cajun aioli or braised Hungarian beef short ribs. The salad or soup course is a broccoli cheddar soup, spinach and tomato salad with feta, or Caesar salad. Entrees are a choice of prime rib, fillet mignon, New York steak, lobster tail, lobster thermidor, walnut crusted halibut, stuffed prawns, or chicken cordon bleu. Dessert is a three-layer chocolate cake with kahlua sauce, cheesecake with berry topping, bailey’s crème brulee, or red velvet cheesecake. There is also an extensive Valentine’s Day wine menu.

To make a reservation, call 907-357-5678.

Bistro Red Beet

5301 East Mayflower Lane, #1, Wasilla

If local fare is the path to your lover’s heart, Bistro Red Beet is where you’ll want to take your darling. Open for special hours on Valentine’s Day evening, the extensive menu includes such esoteric locavore items as brie hearts with fresh berries and apple goat cheese tarts for the appetizers, lamb ribs with cherry reduction and turmeric pasta with pine nuts and roasted red pepper sauce for entrees, beet hearts with greens and goat cheese and gingered carrot apple soup for sides, and apple cherry galete and krumkake chocolate pot for desserts. To view the full menu, find them on Facebook.

To make a reservation, call 907-376-1400.

Turkey Red

550 South Alaska Street, Palmer

Turkey Red’s Mediterranean-style dining might be just the place to tell your Venus or Adonis how much they’ve stolen your heart. The restaurant’s four-course Valentine’s Day menu is a choice of oyster stew or creamy mushroom soup to start, then a salad with goose confit and lentils or artichoke salad. The main affair is a duck braised with navy beans, rocky ranch beef tenderloin in red wine sauce with string beans, or Alaskan seafood and butternut squash ravioli. Dessert is a trio of chocolates – warm drinking chocolate, cholate mouse and crunchy chocolate nut butter – or a vanilla glace with berries and pralines.

To make a reservation, call 907-746-5544.

And don’t forget the frosting

There are lots of local options for making your love feel special on Valentine’s. Local baker Sarah Brooks of Chaotic Canning and Crafts has delectable red velvet fudge, cookie dough truffles, and pretty pink swirled white chocolate and peppermint fudge special for the holiday. She takes orders via Facebook, at https://www.facebook.com/Chaotic.canning.and.crafts. Bistro Red Beet also has a variety of special baked goods for Valentine’s, and is open for special hours on Monday from noon to 4 p.m. for holiday bakery purchases only. Holiday items can also be special ordered, by calling 907-376-1400. Local flower shops such as Aurora Flowers (907-631-3029) and the AK Flower Lady (907-841-9871) are great options for ordering flowers. AK Flower Lady also has unique Valentine’s Day gifts, such as the pretty, red-cellophane-wrapped Damsel in Defense self-defense gift packages. JB Chocolatier is offering special hand-made chocolates for the holiday, in lemon carmel, cayenne, passion fruit, salted caramel, crème brule and pistachio. Orders can be made by calling 907-351-8168. And, the newly-opened DuJour Fashion lingerie store in downtown Palmer (next to Palmer Downtown Deli) has a 40 percent off sale on all lingerie through Valentine’s Day.