Swannanoa Valley offers flavorful bouquet of options for Valentine’s Day
Local businesses cook up sweet treats and savory feasts around town
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
February 11, 2022
Hey Hey Cupcake! will carry its 12 daily flavors of cupcakes, along with special recipes on Valentine’s Day weekend. Photo courtesy of Hey Hey Cupcake!
While finding the right person to share Valentine’s Day with is not always easy, finding a place to celebrate it in the Swannanoa Valley will be.
Whether you love sweet treats, savory entrees or flavorful beer, there are plenty of local businesses offering ways to make the occasion a romantic, and appetizing one.
A quiet evening for two
Couples looking to share a quiet evening over a multi-course meal on Monday, Feb. 14 will find several options in Black Mountain.
Milton’s Cuisine & Cocktails, located in the historic Monte Vista Hotel, is offering a three-course prix-fixe menu at $59 per person. Customers can choose from three appetizers, entrees and desserts, with options including N.Y. strip steaks; seared scallops with smoked trout hash, fennel and mustard beurre blanc and raspberry pot de creme. Reservations are required and can be made through miltonsblackmountain.com.
Diners seeking international flavor can find it at La Guinguette. The French and Latin café is normally closed on Mondays, but will open on Valentine’s Day with a five course dinner that includes vegan and gluten free options. The meals are $45 per person, and include four appetizers, salad, soup, entrée and dessert. The special menu will feature options like, mini blue corn seafood empanadas, artichoke bruschetta, chicken roulade with spinach ricotta and sundried tomatoes served with creamy lemon parmesan risotto. The Richardson Boulevard eatery will serve champagne with raspberry ice cream and a chocolate and dulce de leche bite for dessert. Reservations can be made at laguinguettecreperie.com.
For views of the rolling greens of the Black Mountain Golf Course, set in front of a backdrop of mountains, couples can spend the evening dining at the Green Tee Grille. The restaurant will accept reservations, from 5 -8 p.m., for its three-course Valentine’s Day dinner. The meal, which includes options of pear salad with candied pecans and golden beets drizzled with balsamic dressing and grilled salmon with spinach and sun-dried tomatoes in a pesto cream sauce, is $25 per person. To reserve a table, call 828-357-8247.
A taste of fresh locally grown ingredients combined with flavorful catches from the Atlantic Ocean will be available at Que Sera and Tayloe’s Oyster Bar on Valentine’s Day, as the adjacent restaurants that are typically closed on Mondays will open their doors to diners for the holiday. Both Black Mountain Avenue establishments will offer their traditional menus, with specials available. Reservations are recommended, and can be made at queserarestaurant.com.
Neapolitan pizza cooked in the intense 800-degree heat of a wood fired oven will be among the offerings available on Valentine’s Day at Fresh Wood Fired Pizza. The farm-to-table pizzeria on South Ridgeway Avenue will feature the starters, salads, sandwiches and pizzas for which it is known, while offering a dinner special to mark the occasion.
Celebrate a ‘Weekend of Love’
Just south along Ridgeway Avenue, an eatery that “plays hopscotch with South African flavors, cuisine and drink” will bring its unique flavors to the tables. The Bush Farmhouse, and executive chef and founder Mark Henegan, will entice Valentine’s Day diners with an a la carte menu, and culinary creations, ranging from fish en papillote to spaghetti Bolognese to rack of lamb. Couples can toast the occasion with the “President’s Choice” of Graham Beck Brut Rose. The sparkling wine is made using traditional South African methods, and was toasted widely in 1994, when Nelson Mandela became the country’s first democratically elected president.
But, the celebration at The Bush Farmhouse will start before Valentine’s Day, as what Henegan calls “the weekend of love,” which will include the Valentine’s Day Love Brunch on Sunday, Feb. 13. The event features a DJ and drink specials.
Valentine’s Day at the Black Mountain Bistro, which is closed on Mondays, will take place on Friday, Feb. 11 and Saturday, Feb. 12. In its quaint homestyle setting, the Bistro will offer special entrees and soups, along with its regular menu.
“Heart beet ravioli,” stuffed with a mixture of mushrooms and topped with white chocolate sauce, is on the menu for Valentine’s Day weekend at The Grocery Market and Bar in the Village of Cheshire. The restaurant and bar will be open Friday and Saturday, when customers can enjoy signature cocktails and wine specials. The Grocery’s “Love Tree,” a tinsel-covered holdover from the holiday season, offers customers an opportunity to display handmade cards and messages to their Valentines. The market in The Grocery will be open on Valentine’s Day, with a wide selection of wines to choose from.
Waffles and a topping bar are on the menu at Four Sisters Bakery, which will celebrate Galentine’s Day with a brunch, Feb. 13. Photo courtesy of Four Sisters Bakery
Valentine’s Day often includes more than its fair share of romance, but Galentine’s Day is all about girls getting together to spend time with their friends. Four Sisters Bakery is a place to celebrate both. The neighborhood bakery on North Dougherty Street is closed on Monday, but will unveil its beet sourdough bread over the weekend. The recipe produces a fluffy pink bread, resulting in a unique Valentine’s Day treat. The bakery will also serve its cherry chocolate mini-pies and small flourless chocolate cakes with fresh raspberries, and carry Everlasting Valentine Bouquets from Walker Town Farms.
Get the girls together for a Galentine’s Day brunch, Sunday, Feb. 13, when Four Sisters serves up waffles with a topping bar, in addition to its normal menu items. The brunch, which takes its name from an episode of the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation, allows women to “remember what’s important in life: friends, waffles, work,” according to the show’s main character Leslie Knope (played by Amy Poehler).
Sweet treats
Picking up a sweet treat for a sweetheart is a long-held Valentine’s Day tradition, and local businesses provide an assortment of options.
Near the center of downtown, Kilwin’s serves its rich chocolate, hand-paddled fudge and 28 flavors of ice cream, year-round. But, this weekend, customers can order the perfect treat for their significant others. Custom strawberries, apples and chocolate can be ordered, Friday - Monday, adding a sweet surprise to Valentine’s Day, while Kilwin’s traditional caramel corn, brittle and hand-crafted waffle cones and sugar free options remain available to the public.
The sweetness in the center of downtown nearly call out from the window of Hey Hey Cupcake! Owned by sisters and Swannanoa Valley natives, the shop will be serving its 12 daily flavors of cupcakes, dressed up for Valentine’s Day, from 12 - 6 p.m., Friday and Saturday. Hey Hey Cupcake! is also baking up some special recipes for the weekend, including Strawberries-N-Cream, raspberry filled dark chocolate stout, Mel’s Coconut and Sourwood Honey & Lavender.
Wash it all down
Floyd’s Humor Raspberry Wit, one of the latest brews from Lookout Brewing Co., features a unique pink color that complements Valentine’s Day weekend. Photo courtesy of Lookout Brewing Co.
On the southern end of Cherry Street, BAD Craft offers a unique trifecta of Valentine’s Day options. A wide assortment of local craft beer, available in cans and on tap, are served in a welcoming atmosphere, where the diverse and creative works of area artists are prominently displayed and available for purchase. BAD Craft will offer 10% off all local art this weekend, while customers can pair their favorite beers and ciders with desserts made by Four Sisters Bakery.
If locally made craft beer is something your heart desires, then Black Mountain Brewing Co. is the place to find Momentary Bliss. Incorporating the flavors of raspberry, mocha, fudge brownies and vanilla, this limited release sour is a collaboration with Dynamite Roasting Co., and will be available at the Broadway Avenue brewery on Valentine’s Day.
Lookout Brewing Co. has been brewing small batch beers from its location on South Ridgeway Avenue since 2013. Known for its blend of creative styles and traditional brews, the brewery’s Floyd’s Humor Raspberry Wit is aesthetically pleasing with what Lookout calls a “unique and funky twist.” The brew’s pink coloring sets it apart, and makes it one of many Swannanoa Valley offerings to consider on Valentine’s Day.