Do you prefer the intimate, high-brow experience of dinner by candlelight or the laid-back atmosphere of chicken nuggets and fries? It’s always a hassle to decide exactly how formal to be with someone you want to impress. We decided to spend this Valentine’s Day on opposite ends of the spectrum: expensive versus cheap. Did we get what we paid for?
Jay’s Valentine’s Day:
I’ve recently been seeing someone. In the most millennial manner, we’ve both agreed to use the term “seeing” as loosely as Urban Dictionary will allow. My new hunk and I decided to spend the evening at a Thai restaurant called Chiriya’s Thai Cuisine. I should make it clear that we didn’t get dinner last night because we’re grandstand romantics. We did it because we’re both starving college kids who know that couples get really good deals at these joints. I, for one, never say no to paying $20.29 instead of $34.15.
We arrived with fake smiles and dead eyes to be seated by a beautifully uniformed wait staff. The interior design was calming, red and floral. The tables were decorated with a minimalist approach with only a warm-colored vase and a heart-shaped balloon. Soft lounge music echoed throughout the restaurant as my date and I chowed down on some wonderful V-Day specials, particularly a Panang Curry Duck which I’m certain I’ll be dreaming about later. They even brought us complimentary glasses of champagne along with dessert. I respectfully declined though because I was on the job.
While the price of dinner isn’t something I enjoyed, I think my date and I had a good time. Afterward, we took a pleasant drive down to the Thunderbolt area and plotted out which houses we were going to buy when we got older. That definitely left the night on a sweeter note.
Sam’s Valentine’s Day:
It was an interesting night, to say the least. A Valentine’s dinner in Chik-Fil-A is apparently the wheelhouse of the elderly and parents with young children. But we knew the food would be delicious and it seemed like we wouldn’t be disappointed. There were no high expectations for the evening, but as we entered the restaurant and got in line to order, everything was going surprisingly well. Something about their golden nuggets always tastes better than normal. Was it the batter or the seasoning? Perhaps it was the delicious irony of spending so little on such a high-profile evening.
It was fun breaking the news that we’d be spending Valentine’s in a fast-food place. All of our friends were making plans for extravagant parties and dinner dates. Our extraordinarily low-maintenance plans helped everything take on a good-humor. The night went underway without any anxiety or tension. We made jokes about
We ordered the promotional heart-shaped tin of chicken nuggets they advertise for Valentine’s Day (our real reason for being there). When our little bites of chicken arrived in the shape of a cartoon heart, it was so underwhelmingly simple. But we didn’t care, because on a deep level that’s the preferable attitude with which to face a holiday like Valentine’s Day. Fast food with someone you can relax with is grade A quality time.
The main takeaway from these two experiences: Valentine’s Day is about the person not the place.
