Happy (Belated) Valentine's Day from San Diego, California

I am pressing pause on my Japan series to wish you a belated Valentine's Day. I purposely postponed posting this until after Valentine's Day, so as not to possibly sully the day for fans. Now that we are two days past what I call the "Hallmark Holiday" (I will explain), I'm letting loose. Let me start by sharing the origins and evolution of this holiday.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/312219_a013cdbc56f043e4af958a321eac23cb/720p/mp4/file.mp4

Valentine's Day Flower Display, Ritz Carlton Dana Point

The holiday began in Rome as the Feast of Lupercalia. Between February 13-15, Roman men would sacrifice a goat and a dog and then whip women with the hides of the slain animals, believing this would make women fertile. The romance didn't stop there though. Next, the men would draw the name of a woman from a jar to determine who they would be ... eh hem ... coupled with for the duration of the festival.

Information around how the name of the holiday changed from the Feast of Lupercalia to Valentine's Day is murky at best. Best I can tell, there were two men, both by the name of Valentine that were executed by the Roman Emperor Claudius II, but the details on who they were and exactly what they did is based more in legend than facts. Regardless, one or both of these men were honored by the Catholic Church and a feast in their name replaced the Roman festival of Lupercalia.

Hand Painted Card by Famous Kimono Maker, Yoshida Tatsushi

The day began to grow in popularity thanks to poets like Chaucer and Shakespeare who romanticized it in their work. This led to people in Britain and Europe creating handmade cards and circulating them as tokens of love.

Even the poetic writings of the masters however, didn't launch the holiday the way Hallmark Cards of Kansas City, Missouri did in 1913 with the mass production of factory-made cards.

Handmade Chocolates I Bought In Ghent, Belgium

This inspired other businesses, motivated solely by love of course (that's sarcasm, if you missed it), to capitalize on the holiday. Today, this highly marketed, retail-dominated holiday drives consumers to buy heavily marked up flowers and chocolate, make restaurant reservations and purchase jewelry that they otherwise wouldn't buy on a random day in mid-February.

In fact this year, this major, multi-billion dollar, commercial event generated an estimated $29.1 billion in the U.S. alone. That breaks the previous record of $27.5 billion set in 2025.

Valentine's Day Bouquet, Mercado de Jamaica, Mexico City, Mexico

From deeply pagan fertility rituals to Catholic sainthood, to Medieval poetry to post-Victorian marketing, we arrive at the holiday we celebrated two days ago. That, in my opinion, is a master's level class on rebranding.

So, how did I celebrate the sentimental commercialized event? Well, truthfully I forgot about it until I was reminded on Thursday by my nieces who returned from school with Valentine's cards and bags brimming with candy.

What I did remember was that this was a long weekend and therefore, I made plans to spend it with loved ones, many weeks in advance, eating delicious meals, and drinking great wine in San Diego, California.

A.R. Valentien

A.R. Valentien

I started the weekend with a meal at A.R. Valentien. Interesting coincidence, huh? The restaurant is named after Albert Robert Valentien, a 20th century artist. Neither he, nor the restaurant, have anything to do with Valentine's Day, but transpose the last two letters of his name and you can see how I got there, right?

The Lodge at Torrey Pines

A.R. Valentien is the signature restaurant at The Lodge at Torrey Pines in La Jolla and its dining room is adorned with the work of Mr. Valentien.

The restaurant is Michelin recommended and celebrated for its use of fresh, local ingredients.

A.R. Valentien overlooks the 18th hole at the Torrey Pines Golf Course and has a view of the Pacific Ocean.

The building itself is stunning and is an homage to California Craftsman design. The metal-strap post-and-beam structure, handcrafted wood-framed windows and Tiffany-style lanterns are all swoon worthy.

Fresh Baked Sourdough and Butter

And so is the food.

Hand Picked Green Salad

We started with a green salad made with soft lettuces, French beans, peas, asparagus, dill, and basil, all tossed in a mustard vinaigrette.

Duck and Pistachio Pâté

We also had a duck and pistachio pâté that was served with grilled sourdough, pickled ballerina carrots, two types of mustard and cumberland sauce.

Smoked Ruby Trout Tartine

Next, we shared smoked ruby trout on toasted brioche, topped with horseradish cream, beets, pickled mustard seeds and frisee.

Chicken "Under a Brick"

Finally, we shared an entree of chicken cooked under a brick. The spatchcocked, herb and lemon marinated chicken is literally cooked beneath a brick used to flatten the bird against a hot skillet. The result is a very crispy skin and juicy, evenly cooked meat. The chicken was served with Yukon Gold potato puree, chanterelle mushrooms and natural jus.

Chocolate Truffles

The meal ended with complimentary chocolates that were extremely rich with dark chocolate flavor and a hint of yuzu.

I suggest a visit to A.R. Valentien for great views, beautiful architecture and delicious food.

Bird Rock Fine Wines

Late afternoon on Valentine's Day, it was off to a wine tasting at Bird Rock Fine Wines, one of my favorite tasting venues in Southern California.

The owner, Ken has a superb selection of fine wines from around the world. Best of all, if you go to his afternoon wine tastings, you can sample a selection before purchasing.

Frédéric Esmonin Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Prieur 2023

On this particular afternoon, this supple and elegant Burgundy from Côte de Nuits, France, captured my heart. But then again, great Pinot Noir always does.

Wormwood

Wormwood

Late evening, I headed to the intersection of San Diego's North Park and University Heights neighborhoods to meet a friend for dinner at Wormwood.

Fairy Shrine at Wormwood

Situated in the middle of the restaurant is what they refer to as the Green Fairy shrine. Sounds strange until you have some context.

La Fée Blanche Absinthe

Here it is: The restaurant is named after the bitter herb that, along with anise and fennel, is part of the "Holy Trinity" used to make absinthe, an alcoholic spirit. Absinthe has been nicknamed "The Green Fairy" due to its natural green color and historic reputation for causing hallucinations due to a chemical called thujone that it contained.

As a result, the drink was banned in many countries in the early 20th century. Absinthe was re-legalized in the United States in 2007 and can be sold and consumed as long as it is free of thujone.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/312219_badbf937ddf748efb33835c1884e4455/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

Wormwood has an extensive list of absinthes. I decided to try the La Fée Blanche, a classic French absinthe with a 53% ABV. It has a delicate, floral flavor, but with that high an alcohol content, a few sips mixed with some water, poured over a sugar cube (as it is traditionally served), suited me just fine.

Champagne Kumiai Oyster

Now, onto the food at Wormwood. Because it was Valentine's Day, the restaurant was offering a special, four-course menu that started with Baja Kumiai oysters topped with pomegranate-serrano granita, light champagne sabayon and pomegranate seeds.

Bluefin Tuna Crudo

The oysters were followed by a thinly sliced bluefin tuna dressed with yuzu absinthe and white balsamic vinaigrette.

Rosa de Alba Salad

Our salad was made with rosa de alba radicchio, salanova lettuce, nutmeg and cinnamon-cured sweet potatoes, seasonal local farm fruits, candied pecans, aged mimolette cheese and was dressed with a sweet mustard vinaigrette.

Surf and Turf

Our entree was a surf and turf combination of wagyu short rib bourguignon, a grilled yakitori langostine and handmade taleggio angnolotti.

Crème Brûlée Aux Fluers

For dessert, we shared a Oaxacan vanilla crème brûlée that was plated with golden kiwi and finished with lemon zest, rose-orange blossom syrup and a touch of absinthe.

Modern Chocolate Tart

The last item we enjoyed was a chocolate tart made with Valrhona dark chocolate, banana, salted caramel and a malted creme anglaise. The entire meal was outstanding.

Bird Rock by the Sea Bench, San Diego, California

Whether you celebrated Valentine's Day this year as a romantic holiday with a partner, Galantine's Day with friends, Single's Awareness Day (yes, I just learned that's a thing) or enjoyed the day with loved ones and treated it like any other day on the calendar like I did, I hope you enjoyed it.

For me, it was a wonderful day with family that are my friends and friends that feel like family. The day truly filled my heart. Hmmm ... is Valentine's Day making me feel all warm and sentimental? Nah ... I think it's that absinthe making my heart grow fonder. Get it? (giggles)

Sunset, San Diego

Anyhow, whatever you did this Valentine's Day, I pray you experienced true inner joy and peace. If you did, in this culture, that especially on February 14th, tells you that your significance is inextricably linked to having a significant other and your happiness is dependent on a thousand material things, that is truly something to celebrate. Happy (belated) Valentine's Day!