Dust off that credit card, here comes Valentine’s Day.

Of all the year’s holidays, this one gives you the opportunity make a lasting impression on your love-mate. It could also make a lasting impression on your bank balance. In 2021, planned Valentine’s Day spending was approximately 22 Billion dollars. We spent 6 billion more in 2020, so did the extra money go to over-priced hand sanitizer and masks as we started hand scrubbing protocols that left us singing happy birthday to ourselves? Wasn’t there a better song?

Valentine’s Day is one of those very special days when the marketing people hope your sweetheart will equate the most expensive, lace laden, love song playing, Valentine’s Day card with the depth of your love. Love reveals itself in many ways, and the most visible ways are gifts that say “Hey, I’m going broke showing you the depth of my love” I’m sure that some un-scientific survey will verify that if you add a huge teddy bear and some fine chocolates, the ‘feel good’ effect will last until St. Patrick’s Day when you will once again have to start proving your love by whipping up a dinner of corned beef and cabbage in a romantic setting of Guinness Beer and heather.

And oh yes, the flowers; one of the most significant aspects of Valentine’s Day. For the slow to catch on, roses aren’t always more expensive than jumbo stone crab claws. Some will say it’s the little things like making your sweetheart a special cup of coffee to enjoy while she ponders all the expensive things you could have bought. Nothing says I love you like a double steamed whole milk mocha macchiato poured over a heart shaped ice float with cherries strung necklace-like for the aorta, or just take your loved one out of the house which means that you care enough to get in the car and drive her somewhere.

The timing of Valentine’s Day in the middle of February could not have been better. Everyone who has made a new year’s resolution to lose weight and exercise has either forgotten those vows or has lost just enough to splurge on the goodies that will bring the weight back.

Let’s talk about chocolate, which is synonymous with how sweet you really are. The equation seems to be that more expensive chocolate means more love, so that a Hershey’s Kiss is to the finest chocolate what a Kia Rio is to a Bugatti Veyron.  Let’s see how deep is your love starting with a high-end Godiva ‘G’ collection which consists of Palet D’Or, Tasmanian Honey and Mexican Hot Chocolate. Each made of premium cocoa beans. Not bad at $120 a pound.

Valentine's Day Chocolates

Let’s move on to a true declaration of your glittering love with a Delafee brand chocolate made from fine cocoa beans and flakes of edible 24-karat gold applied by hand to each praline at a cost of about $500 per pound.

Here comes undying everlasting love and affection. In 1999 a Danish chocolate maker, Fritz Knipschildt founded Knipschildt Chocolatier. He produces, on order only, a dark chocolate truffle with a French black truffle inside. Made of 70% Valrhona cacao, it is blended into a creamy ganache with truffle oil. It is then hand rolled and dusted with cocoa powder. One can visualize them wearing kitchen white tuxedos. Each truffle cost $250 with the price per pound of, are you sitting down? $2600!! If you purchase one truffle so that you each get a small bite, it will be served by a tuxedoed waiter with white gloves and a gold trimmed mask. He will speak with a French accent and offer the unique serial number of your particular treat. On the other hand, if you order their 8-pound Dark ganache filled Chocolate Truffle it sounds like a good deal for only $200 doesn’t it?

Aren’t you glad Valentine’s Day snaps at our wallet only once a year?


MIAMI SPRINGS VALENTINE’S DAY OPTIONS:

VALENTINE’S DINNER OPTIONS

Woody’s Backyard Grill

Hole 19 at the Country Club

VALENTINE’S GIFT OPTIONS

MILAM’S MARKETS

FRUTI DETAILS

POINCIANA FLOWERS

2 COMMENTS

  1. Nestor, your commentary on Valentine’s was hilarious, and I truly enjoyed it. Great writing!!
    BTW, any news on the car in the canal on North Ludlam between Thrush and Starling?

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