Fatsumo (3100 N. State St., 769-216-3574)
Fatsumo will have special feature rolls plus a five-course meal. The first course is quail egg-drop soup or corn and crab chowder. The second course is lobster tail tempura, vermicelli noodle salad and jalapeno ponzu, or citrus-crusted marlin with Asian slaw. The third course is smoked salmon salsa or scallop ceviche with shrimp chips. The fourth course is a 6-ounce ribeye with edamame mash and candied garlic asparagus, or exotic fish sampler. The fifth course is your choice of strawberry cheesecake, peppermint bread pudding or chocolate mousse.
Mezza (1896 Main St., Madison, 601-853-0876)
The Valentine’s Day special for two is $55. It includes two seasonal salads, appetizer sampler, entrée (lamb kebab with shrimp and scallops) and dessert (Lebanese yellow cake with cashew and raisins).
Nick’s (3000 Old Canton Road, 601-981-8017)
The Valentine’s special for two is $80. The first course includes Maine lobster cake with arugula, sweet onion and tarragon aioli. The second course is chateaubriand for two with truffled potato gratin, roasted asparagus and a red wine bordelaise. The third course is dark chocolate mousse with Chantilly cream and fresh berries.
Char (4500 Interstate 55 N., Suite 142, 601-956-9562)
For lunch, have lobster meat tossed with angel-hair pasta, English peas, pearl onions and wild mushrooms in a herb cream sauce for $16. Valentine’s night, have an appetizer of broiled oysters on the half shell with horseradish compound butter and champagne mignonette for $12, or an entree of porcini-mushroom-dusted sea bass over lobster and Yukon-gold potato hash with sweet vermouth burre rouge for $34.
Mint (1000 Highland Colony Parkway, Suite 5002, 601-898-6468)
Regular menu plus Valentine’s Day “Wine Me Dine Me” menu designed by Executive Chef JT Nicholson, $69 per person. It will feature an appetizer, a choice of entrees (meat or fish) and a dessert. Sommelier/owner Patrick Kelly will pair each course with wine. Make reservations at opentable.com or by phone.
Pan-Asia (720 Harbour Pointe Crossing, Ridgeland, 601-956-2958)
Pan-Asia features the “Romance by Sea” Valentine’s Night menu, guest chef Keith Kornfeld, live music and complimentary Champagne. The meal costs $50 per person or $80 per couple. The amuse bouche includes chili prawns, crunchy wonton, “hot pink” pickled red-onion relish, “sizzling” wok-fired wild mushrooms, or crispy rice-flour tartlet with Thai basil (vegetarian). For an appetizer, choose from flashed-fried cod “embraced” by fragrant leaves and toasted sesame-sweet soy glaze, or broiled oysters on the half shell “seduced” with lemongrass cream, caviar and fried shallots, or steamed vegetable dumplings “allure” with black-soy rice vinegar (vegetarian). Choose entrées: “from the heart” Thai red-curry lobster, dumplings, apple eggplant, coconut and basil, or “steamy” Asian bouillabaisse, prawns, mussels, crabmeat, scallops and sake, or “luscious” paneer butter masala makhani with tomato, spices (vegetarian). Dessert is “silky smooth” ruby-red chestnuts, coconut ice cream or dark-chocolate “love” soufflé and vanilla-bean ice cream.
The Strawberry Café (107 Depot Drive, Madison, 601-856-3822)
The Strawberry Café will serve its regular menu plus a special Valentine’s Day menu with one appetizer, a soup or salad, two entrées and one dessert for $90 per couple (wine pairings available). The appetizer is a strawberry picnic with fresh fruit and cheese ($10). Soups and salads include lobster bisque ($5) or mango salad (fresh mangoes atop mixed greens with goat cheese, candied bacon, purple onions and a champagne vinaigrette, $5). Each entrée is served with asparagus. Try a hand-cut 8-ounce filet topped with béarnaise sauce and jumbo lump crabmeat served with garlic mashed potatoes ($33) or seared diver scallops served atop a walnut pesto with rice pilaf ($30). Have chocolate mousse with strawberries ($8) for dessert.
The Penguin Restaurant and Bar (1524 Highway 80 W., 601-352-0036)
The Valentine special is $50 per person. Appetizers include chipotle shrimp cocktail and crab cake with cajun remoulade. Choose New England clam chowder or tomato bisque. Salads include the Penguin Salad (mixed greens, bacon, cheddar shreds, egg, purple onion, cucumber, tomato and choice of dressing), a Caesar salad (blend of romaine lettuce, parmesan cheese, croutons and Caesar dressing) and a passion salad (mixed greens, purple onions, strawberries, chopped walnuts and a strawberry vinaigrette). The three entrées are redfish cupid (blackened, topped with lump crab meat with rice pilaf and asparagus), tournedos amor (beef medallions glazed with a peppercorn sauce plus garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus) and chicken picatta (sautéed, boneless chicken breast topped with a caper buerre blanc with rice pilaf and asparagus). Have red-velvet cake, chocolate-mousse pie or New York cheesecake with strawberry topping for dessert.
Remember to add your restaurant’s special Valentine’s Day menu to this story at http://www.jfp.ms.
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The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippi’s systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.
