With the pandemic, we’re home a lot more. So my husband and I have made it a point to have regular date nights ordering fancy takeout.
While it’s not the same as dining at a restaurant, it’s a change from the day to day. We’ll change up the table decor and play a selection of music to transport ourselves a bit — a red and white checkered tablecloth with piazza music in the background for Italian takeout night, bamboo placemats and Asian wares such as chopsticks for sushi night while playing Japanese pop tunes from the likes of bands like Pizzicato Five, etc.
Lately, we’ve been all about not just great plates, but multi-courses for two that are available for takeout, though most are available for dine-in, too. Some are fancy, some casual. It’s nice that these meal packages help curate appetizers, main courses and desserts for you — some even include wine or beer — to make sure you’re covered for a well-rounded meal.
Valentine’s Day may be over, but that doesn’t mean regular date nights with your sweetie can’t continue. To get you started, here are some east metro multi-course date night dinners we’ve had as of late that have made our hearts go pitter-patter:
ACQUA
Acqua’s Sunday Date Night – 3 Course Tasting Menu ($80 per couple) — in which you choose two soups or salads for a first course, two main courses such as pasta, pork shank or seafood and a dessert to share — has by far the most expansive menu selection of any of the multi-course date night packages we’ve encountered. There are five appetizers, eight entrees and four dessert options to choose from, but who’s counting. That means you can head to this White Bear Lake spot on a Sunday evening time and time again for takeout (or dine in if you choose) and never have to order the same meal twice.
Contemporary fine Italian fare here is executed well. We’re especially smitten with the Roasted Beet Salad with Fried Lemon Honey Goat Cheese and Lemon Shallot Vinaigrette to start out with, the Flinstone-sized Braised Pork Shank with Sweet Potato Purée and Demi-Glacé for a main and the Lemon Cheesecake with Blueberry Compote for a sweet treat.
4453 Lake Ave. S., White Bear Lake; 651-407-7317; acqua-restaurants.com/white-bear-lake
DEGIDIO’S
DeGidio’s Date Night Dinner for Two, available for takeout only, has you covered. Choose two salads, two entrees, one dessert and a bottle of wine ($75). There’s plenty to choose from with three salad, 11 entree and four dessert choices.
Pasta choices from this red sauce restaurant include chicken alfredo, spaghetti and meatballs, fettuccine bolognese and lasagna. Available entree choices go beyond pastas, with options such as a burger or hot dago. It’s hard to head here without ordering our favorites of fettuccine bolognese or, on our most recent takeout order, spaghetti and meatballs with that perfectly al dente pasta and airy house-made meatballs. We also thought we would try something new, and the lasagna with spicy Italian sausage was also delicious. And an order of tiramisu is always spot on. Each meal comes with bread to the already generous helpings of food. For wine, we especially love the chianti. Date night takeout at DeGidio’s? That’s amore.
425 W. Seventh St., St. Paul; 651-291-7105; degidios.com
JOAN’S IN THE PARK
Joan’s is known for its multi-course meal format. And now there are some great things on the menu that come in twos.
Select entrees and sides — Thick Cut Pork Chop with an apple currant Swiss chard, Organic Chicken with roasted brussels sprouts, grape and pine nuts and Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes with rosemary gravy — are dished for two.
We recently ordered the pork chops ($40, serves two) with mashed potatoes ($14, serves two) for two as well as added an appetizer and dessert a la carte to share in order to make it a multi-course meal. Joan’s is known for its lobster toast, and that’s still on the menu. But when we spotted Crab Toast ($14) on the menu, we thought we’d give it a try. The delicate lump blue crab with chili aioli, lemon and chive was light and citrusy and a perfect palate cleanser to get ready for the rest of our meal. The pork chop with Swiss chard and a side of mashed potatoes had the refined touches that we’ve come to know from Joan’s. We’re still dreaming of that rosemary gravy and the next time we’ll order takeout so we can see it again. For dessert, you can’t go wrong with an a la carte order of any of them, but the Signature Brown Butter Pudding ($7) with chocolate caramel, whipped cream and citron salt is our favorite as of late.
Note that for those who want to order takeout instead of dining in, make sure to order before 4 p.m. Choose a pickup time and, when you arrive, food is brought to your car in the restaurant’s back parking lot for an easy handoff. For dining in, a four-course menu is available with a reservation.
631 S. Snelling Ave., St. Paul; 651-690-3297; joansinthepark.com
MIZU JAPANESE
These beautiful and massive sushi platters are something to behold. And this White Bear Lake Japanese restaurant doesn’t hold back when it comes to accompaniments, either. Choose between two Featured Feasts options ($110, feeds two to three people) that both come with edamame, seaweed salad and miso soup to start off. From there, the adventure is up to you. The Natsu Feast that comes with gyoza, fried rice, nigiri and specialty rolls is mild on the palate, with the exception of the Spicy Tuna Roll. The Ukiyo Feast is a fish lover’s delight that comes with even more nigiri and specialty rolls than the former. And two of the rolls, the Shoga and Spicy Habaneroll, have some serious heat so consider yourself warned! And it’s great that both feasts end with Chocolate Pot de Creme to cool things down with.
4475 Lake Ave. S. 651-653-4888; mizuwbl.com
PAJARITO
If tacos are your love language (or that of your partner), you can’t go wrong with a three-course meal for two ($37) from Pajarito.
Start with chips and guacamole or three salsas (we highly recommend the arbol cashew salsa, which we dream about). Then choose two proteins for the tacos (carnitas, barbacoa, pollo verde or potato mushroom) then choose a side (mushrooms or black beans) and dessert (arroz con leche or choco flan).
Everything comes neatly packaged and ready to eat. It’s like a little Mexican feast at your dining room table, and it’s always a good idea to add a margarita kit (choose your flavor, just add tequila) to the mix.
605 W. Seventh St., St. Paul; 651-340-9545; pajaritorestaurant.com
TONGUE IN CHEEK
From the team that brought you “Summer Lovin” date night, there’s now a Date Night Lovin Quarantine Edition. Choose one shared plate for starters, two mains, one dessert and a bottle of wine or four beers ($69).
The menu is as casual or fancy as you want it to be, just like the restaurant. But one thing never changes: everything gets cheffed-up touches, from the Fried Chicken Buns and Zucchini Pad Thai Salad to the bacon-wrapped hotdogs and Chicken Curry Udon.
Feeling on the more casual side, it was great during a recent order that we could select the Chicken and Belgian Waffles with crispy house-made chicken tenders for a starter, a cheeseburger, reminiscent of a play on the Big Mac, with herb-seasoned fries and a umami-layered Pork Belly Ramen — a best-seller that travels remarkably well — and airy Ricotta Donuts. The special also comes with wine or beer, and a bottle of red vino went great with our meal.
But if we wanted something more formal, next time we will order dishes such as a Zucchini Pad Thai for starters, Smoked Duck Breast for an entree and Fried Lemon Cake for dessert.
It’s also great that Tongue and Cheek is all about sustainable and has a wide range of vegan and vegetarian options if you want to skip the meat. There’s even a Vegasm special that changes regularly.
989 Payne Ave., St. Paul; 651-888-6148; tongueincheek.biz
Jess Fleming contributed to this report.
