‘Valentine’
courtesy of ‘erin m’

Yep, it’s that time a year again: Valentine’s Day. And if you’re single, you might be moping about wondering why there’s no one to take you to a nice pre-fixe, four course dinner with truffles and free champagne. So in order to prevent yourself from being a shut-in, listening to sad Fiona Apple songs while you down a bottle of red wine, let’s buck up and get out there. Sure, it can be a tough holiday if you’re not in a relationship, but I am a firm believer that just because you’re single on Valentine’s day does not mean you have to be morbidly bitter or that you have to eat frozen pizza while all the couples in the city enjoy their fancy dinners.
Here are a few options in food and drink for the weekend and Valentine’s Day itself:

Againn – Well, hallelujah. A restaurant with a pre-fixe menu for Valentine’s Day that doesn’t involve aphrodisiac-inspired cuisine, or complimentary singing nymphs who will serenade you and a date at your table while hand-feeding you homemade chocolates. The gastropub near Metro Center is offering a good-looking three-course menu for $40 per person. And if you want to get a little chortle over dessert, you can order the “spotted dick”–a maple rum custard with vanilla ice cream. It’s available from 6 to 9 pm from February 11th through February 17th. Bonus: Againn will be playing movies like The Breakup and So I Married an Axe Murderer while you dine with friends.

Bar Pilar – Because it’s presumed (and wrongfully) that single people are bitter, Bar Pilar is hosting an Anti-Valentine’s Day Party on the 14th featuring bitter cocktails and sour desserts. Some of the featured cocktails include “The Bitter End” made with Jim Beam Whiskey, Amaro Italian herbal liqueur, ginger liqueur with fresh lime juice; “The Hater” with Segura Viudas Aria Cava and Campari; as well as “The Pierced Heart” with brandy, Jagermeister, St. Elizabeth allspice dram and an orange-clove syrup. There will also be sour desserts such as the lemon curd tart and a buttermilk panna cotta with a sour cherry compote.

‘Love is….’
courtesy of ‘christaki’

National Tortellini Day – What’s that? You’ve never celebrated National Tortellini Day? Must have missed those cards at the Hallmark Store. So it’s not related to Valentine’s Day per se, but The Copper Pot Food Company will be doing a free tortellini tasting on Sunday the 13th at the Dupont Circle Farmer’s Market. They’ll have more than 10 varieties of tortellini including ones stuffed with duck confit, red beet and goat cheese and even one with chocolate and ricotta in honor of Valentine’s day. Yes, there will be accompanying sauces (read: smoky bacon and parmesan, mmm).

Hush Supper Club – So you don’t have a date for Valentine’s weekend, but maybe you can meet one at the next Hush Supper Club dinner on February 25th at 7 pm. If the other dinners are any indication, the “Single Hearts Supper” will be an intimate gathering over vegetarian Indian food. Guests must be between the ages of 28 and 45 to attend, and it should go without saying, but you must be legitimately single to attend.

‘Hearts on Yellow Wall’
courtesy of ‘M.V. Jantzen’

Garrett’s – If you really are looking to forget the entire holiday ever happened by drinking yourself silly, Garrett’s in Georgetown is hosting a “Singles Appreciation Night” starting at 9 pm on February 14th. The bar will have $3 Miller Lite and Miller High Life bottles, but if I were you, I might take advantage of the $16 Corona buckets (yes, they said “buckets” of beer) and $12 margarita pitchers.

Eden Lounge – Similarly, if you want to just put your purse and shoes in the middle of a circle (yes, I stole the idea from Dane Cook) and dance with your girlfriends, you can head to Eden Lounge on the 14th. The lounge’s “Stupid Cupid” event will feature different cocktails, including “The Temptation” made with coconut ciroc, pineapple and orange juices and grenadine. Sorry fellas, you don’t get free drinks. But if you’re a single woman and arrive before midnight, you get a complimentary glass of strawberry champagne. I’m willing to bet money that at some point the DJ will play Beyonce’s “Single Ladies.”

So go forth, single people of DC. Enjoy some good food and drinks and maybe even meet a new mate in the process.

Marissa Bialecki

Marissa was born and bred in New Jersey, but moved to DC for undergrad at GWU (Go Colonials, go!), fell in love with the District and learned that there was life and civilization beyond New York City. She loves eating at white-tablecloth-three-forks-at-your-place-setting restaurants, but she’ll also be the first to suggest we scarf down some chili dogs at 2 am. Simply put, she loves all things food. You can also read about why she loves DC. Follow her on Twitter and email her at mbialecki (at) welovedc.com.