7 ways to eat your way through V-Day

The day that you love or hate is coming up. If you wake up Sunday morning with no one in your bed, stay there all day and eat garlic knots. It is a Sunday. If, however, you’re celebrating a new crush or a long-time love, here are some budget-friendly ideas from some of our favorite Brooklyn foodists. Bon appetit!, Brokelyn Luv Style.

1) Go for a sugar high. “I love the homemade Pop Tarts from Ted & Honey in Cobble Hill (264 Clinton St., 718-852-2212). They have absolutely zero in common with that beloved and most favored breakfast of my youth—they’re buttery rectangular tarts fashioned from paté sucre and they come filled up until swollen with fresh strawberry preserves, or peanut butter and homemade jelly, or the most decadent, chocolate and banana ($3.50 each). No toasting needed. Or you can do the grownup version of make-your-own sundaes. Start with the basics (try the vanilla from Blue Marble) and add in accessories: malt balls, peanut brittle, salted nuts, and booze-soaked cherries. Afterwards, bring your left over whipped cream into the bedroom to explore its other uses.”
— Andrea Strong, food writer and Strong Buzz blogger

2) Roast a manly cut of meat: “My favorite cheap cut with a beautiful, cute presentation is a cross cut pork or lamb shank. They’re cheap, rich and just the right amount of food and have a bone sticking out of the center which is, you know, suggestive. The best part is that they’re easy to prepare, just slow cook them in little stock and wine, and place them tenderly on a bed of risotto or greens or roasted root vegetable purée. It’s a really nice no-brainer that will get you laid for less than $15.”
—Tom Mylan, The Meat Hook

3) Have brunch—at the counter: “My favorite brunch place is the counter at Buttermilk Channel. Better to cozy up to your date if you’re sitting side by side! Get an egg dish, a short stack of pancakes and a side of the homemade breakfast sausage and share everything. If you go after noon, you get a complimentary brunch cocktail and everything comes out to $30, with tip!”
— Eat it, the Brooklyn Food Blog

4) Order in killer fried chicken: “You can get all fancy for Valentine’s Day if you’ve got the coin. But what’s much more romantic is serving up something delicious, with soul and heart and wit. Here’s my perfect pairing: Spicy fried chicken and a nice cold bottle of Prosecco . The bubbles work beautifully with the salty/crispy/fatty flavors of great fried bird. If you’re anywhere near my neighborhood (Ft. Greene/Clinton Hill), you can get good chicken from Maggie Brown.”
— Ted Allen, Former Queer Eye, Top Chef judge, and current host of Chopped

5) Get over yourself and eat pizza with the tourists: “Grimaldi’s is really one of the most romantic pizza dates I can imagine. After tasting their sublime pies, you get to walk over to the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory and enjoy a cone (ice cream’s GREAT in the winter) as you gaze at the Brooklyn Bridge. It’s seriously one of the most romantic places on earth… People often propose at pizzerias. I once had a marriage proposal at the end of my tour at John’s of Bleecker Street. Lombardi’s once served a pizza with “Marry Me” spelled out in pepperoni. She said ‘yes.’ ”
— Scott Weiner, Scotty’s Pizza Tours

6) Make home-made pasta: “Nothing compares to the sumptuous experience of a homemade bowl of tagliatelle, even if each strand is a different length. In pasta-making, as in affairs of the heart, forget about perfection. On February 14, I’ll be making my boyfriend tagliatelle and I will dress it in a spicy tomato sauce. We’ll be very happy eating it, no matter how it turns out, because being together is what we’ll be celebrating and both of us will be there at the table, flaws and all.
— Giulia Melucci, author I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti

7) Eat some cupcakes, Cupcake: “If you are alone on Valentines Day, don’t go for the pedestrian pint of Haagen Daas, get some mini cupcakes. Kumquat Cupcakery sells delicious mini cupcakes that would be enjoyed with a few bottles of champers and your best single gal pals for a night of fun.
— Nichelle Stephens, blogger and co-creator of Cupcakes Take the Cake

Tomorrow: look for our best boozy ideas. Or another list. We haven’t decided yet. And as always, we want to hear your ideas in the comments: What’s your favorite thing to eat on Valentine’s Day? (Please stick to food, kids.)