VDay minus three: the bar on Valentine’s

In her book Garlic and Sapphires, food critic Ruth Reichl talks about her terrible visits to one of New York’s priciest restaurants called the Box Tree. The food was crap, the hostess mean. While Reichl grows angry with her service, she notices a young, cheaply clothed couple looking sad. She asks them some questions and quickly learns they’ve been saving up for months for this one shoddy meal. Reichl asks if they’re disappointed and the young man nods. “But the books! I read all the books and they said this was the best place. The most romantic!”

So one young couple learned what old hands already know: that many a restaurant coasting on its “most romantic” rating does not have good food, or even serviceable food.