COUPLES & SINGLES: Find your heart in the Arts District. Ranging from dance cards for singles to meals with warning labels to Shakespearean performances, you’re sure to find love “East of Alameda” on this Valentine’s Day. Check out the following (prices below do not include tax and gratuity):
Bring your lover to Eat.Drink.Americano. A five-course menu (chocolate banana boats depicted above look yummy!) by Michelin-star consulting chef Juan Pablo Torre is planned that will be paired with romantic Shakespearean scenes performed by the Arts District’s Archway Theatre. Seating for the dinner and performance begins promptly at 7:30 PM. $95/couple includes a complimentary rose and a glass of champagne.
Eat.Drink.Americano
923 E. 3rd St., Los Angeles 90013
RESERVATIONS: (213) 620-0781
Single this year? The One-Eyed Gypsy is hosting a FREE “Bootleggers Fox Trot: A Dance Hall for the Stylishly Single” from 7:00 PM to 2:00 AM. Grab your dance card and match its number with a mate to dance the night away (or at least, for a song!). Swing to the tunes of the Fox Hills Five Band and enjoy food and drink specials all night. RSVP at the Facebook event page. [Wait, did I tell you that admission was FREE?]
The One-Eyed Gypsy
901 E. 1st St., Los Angeles 90012
NO RESERVATIONS NECESSARY
At Church & State, the Valentine’s Day dinner planned by newly named Executive Chef Tony Esnault intriguingly comes with its own warning label(!): “Consuming the aphrodisiac ingredients listed in red may affect your love life, hormones, brain chemistry, energy & increase blood flow.” The prix-fixe menu offers two to three choices per course (oysters and truffles, of course!), and is priced at $85/person with an optional wine pairing at $43/person.
Church & State
1850 Industrial St., Los Angeles 90021
RESERVATIONS: (213) 405-1434
Enjoy a seven-course Omakase (i.e., “chef’s choice”) menu at Zip Sushi Izakaya with a glass of champagne per person for only $70/couple.
Zip Sushi Izakaya
744 E. 3rd St., Los Angeles 90013
RESERVATIONS: (213) 680-3770
NOLA’s Taste of New Orleans is offering a King Crab seafood buffet with live jazz and a glass of champagne for only $90/couple.
NOLA’s Taste of New Orleans
734 E. 3rd St., Los Angeles 90013
RESERVATIONS: (213) 680-3003
ARTS DISTRICT ADJACENT: Romancing a tree-hugging hipster? Just across Alameda from the Arts District, inside of the Little Tokyo Mall, is one of DTLA’s best restaurants, which also happens to be vegan all year round. North of the Arts District, inside of Union Station, is an amazing eatery with ambience that recalls the glamour and wonder of train travel’s golden era.
For $48/person, Little Tokyo’s Shojin is offering an organic prix fixe menu of onion soup with crispy rice and creamy tofu; avocado cup salad and sweet candle sushi rolls; green pesto pasta; roasted stuffed tomato gratin, vegetables with white sauce; and chocolate cake.
Shojin
333 S. Alameda St., Los Angeles 90013
RESERVATIONS: (213) 617-0305
Love trains? Then head over to Union Station for a romantic meal at Traxx Restaurant where chef Tara Thomas has created a special menu just for lovers ($70/person). Each course offers two to three selections from which to choose, ranging from warm bacon-wrapped dates, rock shrimp and blood orange salad, to rosemary brioche bread pudding with blackberry coulis and cream. Yum … it may just inspire romantic train travels to places afar!
Traxx Restaurant
800 N. Alameda St., Los Angeles 90012
RESERVATIONS: (213) 625-1999
What are your plans for Valentine’s Day?