Looking for something sweet for your Valentine's boo? Boston is brimming with creative ways to express your love.
In case you missed it, Travis Kelce formed a Taylor Swift signature heart after his epic touchdown. While you may not have as dramatic a play as the tight end to release Cupid’s arrow, if you live in Boston you’ve got a bevy of romantic bars and restaurants to visit plus a long list of things to do on Valentine’s Day. There’s also a plethora of sweet spots in and around Boston to shop for Valentine’s goodies. Along with classic confections, we curated a list of novel Valentine’s treats like a heart-shaped pizza, a sweetheart stack of pancakes, and a cherry chocolate shake.
Sweetheart Stack
"Pancakes are always a treat, but especially on Valentine's Day - and we've recreated them with the Sugar Factory flair - the Sweetheart Stack is a decadent stack of pancakes with a creamy Tres Leches sauce in place of the traditional syrup. And of course, they're pink, like our famed Pink Room. Valentine's Day is the ultimate holiday for us at Sugar Factory -- sweets, desserts, romance, pink dishes, candy, photo ops, and more.” says Sugar Factory Boston Executive Chef Jaime D’Oliveira. The fluffy pink buttermilk stack is topped with a creamy Tres Leches pink sauce and fresh berries sprinkled with strawberry shortcake crumbs.
Vanilla Heart-Shaped Cruller
(Available 2/08-2/14)
Show your sweetie just how much you love them with a hand-piped heart-shaped French cruller dipped in pink vanilla bean goodness! And did you know you can pick up a few of these at Time Out Market Boston?
Salts of the World Chocolate Collection
“My favorite Valentine's treat isn’t sweet candy … it’s the chance to take some of the best flavors the world has to offer and encapsulate them in chocolates. Our Salts of the World Collection is the perfect example. We take unique ingredients and really cool salts from global cultures and blend them with the very best chocolate in the world. It’s M. Cacao’s love letter to the world, and it’s our pleasure to create these chocolates, to savor them, and to give them to our loved ones,” says M. Cacao’s founder, Michael Nichols.
The collection features eight unique chocolates, each celebrating a different country around the globe, from Cyprus to Peru. From each destination, M. Cacao selected an evocative, sourced salt and other real food ingredients that celebrate what’s treasured in that country. Each one is adorned with a chocolate representation of a wildflower native to that country.
Heart-shaped Pizzas
Dedham House of Pizza, a Greek family-owned pizzeria located in the heart of the historic Dedham Square, which has been serving New England pan-style pizzas for over 50 years - is re-introducing wine perks with the return of its beloved heart-shaped pizzas for Valentine’s Day. Those who pre-order through February 14, can be delivered a heart-shaped cheese pie. For pick-ups and dine-ins, the limited-time pizza can be accompanied by two splits of wine for a discounted price. Dedham House of Pizza is one of the first restaurants in the Greater Boston area to serve heart-shaped, New England pan-style pizzas for Valentine's Day.
Chocolate Puzzle
“I love all things chocolate and Valentine’s Day is my favorite holiday because it is an extremely intense chocolate holiday for a short period of time and the love for chocolate is shared by all,” says owner Paula Barth.
The chocolate puzzle offers a delicious duet, solving a puzzle and eating the pieces. The sweet features 16 scrumptious puzzle pieces made with the very best milk and dark chocolate.
Shantay Financier
"I love Valentine's Day because it is a celebratory day for appreciation of all kinds and love in all forms. I celebrate my love for my close friends, as well as my romantic partners. I'm a simple boy who will appreciate any form of Valentine, but the truest way to my heart is anything made by Reese's. I know I know, isn't that sacrilege as a chocolatier? I think it would be kind of awkward if my boyfriend bought me my own chocolate!” says Chef T.
"Shantay Financier" (pronounced fin-ah-nt-see-YAY) is part of Chef T’s collection and is a magical French patisserie bake in the form of a chocolate bar; notes of milk chocolate, brown butter, caramel, and almonds with a drizzle of raspberry on top.
Cherry Chocolate Shake
Chef Gordon Ramsay’s full-service dining destination featuring the chef’s signature butter-basted burgers, including the iconic Hell’s Kitchen Burger, fries, and milkshakes is perfect for Valentine’s Day! For the month of February, lovebirds can indulge in the delectable Chocolate Cherry Shake, a blend of cherry custard with a dark chocolate drizzle topped with whipped cream and finished with a maraschino cherry.
Lemon Lavender Truffle
“My favorite Valentine's Day treat is our Lemon Lavender Truffle. This dessert-sized truffle is not only visually stunning, it pairs subtle lemon notes and fragrant lavender to create a unique and delightful flavor,” says Erin McCarthy, Creative Director of Hilliards Chocolates.
A surprisingly delightful truffle creation with subtle notes of lemon and fragrant lavender which define this new addition to our Truffle Collection. Enjoy this distinct and delicate dessert-size truffle, made with velvety smooth ganache enveloped in rich dark chocolate.
Love Struck Cocktail
February is the month of love and Flight Club is ready to let love fly! The ultimate Social Darts® destination will welcome guests as Cupid’s arrow meets tech-infused darts, delicious food, and handcrafted cocktails – including Flight Club’s special Valentine's Day cocktail, "Love Struck" Cocktail, a refreshing and romantically floral blend of Hendrick's Gin, Ketel One Grapefruit & Rose Vodka, Aperol, lemon juice, apple rose syrup, and egg whites, garnished with Candy Wafer Hearts. The brand-new “Love Struck” cocktail features refreshingly tangy flavors with romantic floral undertones, and it is the ultimate treat to enjoy during the “Month of Love.” This specialty cocktail was crafted to celebrate love of all kinds and is available to enjoy throughout February.
Hearts on Fire Chocolate Disc Sampler
Taza believes in celebrating all kinds of love by sending a love note that says, “From romantic partners to family to dear friends, Valentine's Day can be a reminder to let all our loved ones know how much they mean to us.”
Show your love this year by sharing this eight-flavor gift pack of Taza's stone ground chocolate, made from organic, Direct Trade Certified cacao. Unique flavors like Guajillo Chili, Cinnamon, and Vanilla make sampling together fun. Discs can also be made into delicious hot chocolate!
Valentine’s Cookie Tins
“There’s nothing better than a freshly baked cookie, it’s the perfect treat any time of day and makes anyone you share it with feel special. For us, Valentine’s Day is about sharing a delicious baked treat with your best friend,” says Pam Weekes & Connie McDonald, Levain Bakery co-founders.
Upgrade your ooey-gooey Valentine's treat with a sweet, limited-edition cookie tin. For the first time, Levain has designed a Valentine’s Day exclusive tin that holds 8 of their iconic 6-ounce cookies. The Levain Valentine’s Day tin adds delight to the unboxing experience. And after the cookies are enjoyed (that won’t take long), the tin doubles as a home for sweet memories.
Love Sloops
“The Harbor Sweets ‘Love Sloops’ hold a special place in my heart as the ultimate Valentine's treat. The sailboat-shaped almond buttercrunch chocolate is a special evolution of our ‘Sweet Sloops’ which not only launched Harbor Sweets fifty years ago but keeps us rooted to our New England nautical history. This year we have handcrafted two new versions – ‘Love Sloops’ exclusively available for Valentine’s Day and ‘Dark Chocolate Sloops’ which are sure to be a new fan-favorite,” says Colleen Norve, President of Harbor Sweets.
Only available for Valentine's Day, enjoy a sweet new twist for this Harbor Sweets signature item! Each heart-shaped box includes 16 pieces of almond buttercrunch toffee sailboats coated in white chocolate, dipped in dark chocolate, and adorned with festive hearts.
Raspberry Swirl Profiteroles
"When I was little, my dad always got my sister and me the heart-shaped Whitman’s chocolate boxes that came with a little holiday-themed plastic snoopy figurine. I loved getting those! So for me, Valentine’s Day has always been a chocolate treat holiday,” - Executive Pastry Chef Valerie Nin.
She is adding Raspberry Swirl Profiteroles to the menu to celebrate Valentine’s Day. These profiteroles are baked with a dark chocolate cookie shell, filled with sweet cream ice cream that is swirled with raspberry jam, and garnished with salted caramel sauce and candied nuts.