THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER   WINE & FOOD  THURSDAY , FEB . 10, 2005
Valentine feasts
Romance is on the menu at these restaurants, which are creating special treats for that special day

By ELIZABETH EVANS
Special to the Register

Monday night is not the most romantic night of the week. My husband calls Friday little international date night, and Saturday is of course the gold standard of romantic nights. There is even an argument for Sundays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays as having "sparkability." Yet as every single woman knows (to steal a line from "Sex and the City"), "He's just not that into you" if you're going out on Monday. For the married among us, let's face it - on Monday we're tired. Restaurateurs know that, which is why many of them close their establishments on Mondays. Food mavens will tell you Monday night is often chef's night off even if the place is open. It's a low-yield day of the week. Except in those years when Valentine's Day lands on Monday, as it does this year.

This year we will be expected to get dressed up and dine out on the one night of the week we can usually count on eating a frozen dinner in our sweats. With that in mind, it seems that the place we choose to eat this year needs to have a higher romance quotient than a restaurant we might select when the 14th of February falls on another, more glamorous night.

To offer a little help, here's a list of places that will be open and have a heavy dose of romance on the menu.

AQUA...

AUBERGINE...

BLACK SHEEP BISTRO
Rick Boufford is one of the most independent and idiosyncratic Orange County chefs. On Valentine's Day his five-course prix fixe is $75 a person, and the menu is a total surprise.

"Customers both love and hate the idea that we give no advance hints about it," he says.

Of course, anyone familiar with Boufford can expect the menu to reflect his sense of fun and whimsy.

Black Sheep Bistro, 303 El Camino Real, Tustin, (714) 544-6060.