How do you show your love each Valentine’s Day? If it’s with a decadent, edible delight, we have a few notions of where you can score excellent sweets for your sweetie in the Shenandoah Valley. From the traditional box of chocolates to an indulgent box of donuts, you’re sure to find a sweetheart of a treat for your lovebird.
Sweet Treats
The Dayton Market in Dayton is home to unique stores under one roof, including tasty stops like Warfels Chocolates, the home of excellent homemade chocolate pecan toffee.
Homemade pies, cakes, cheesecakes, and old-fashioned candies are waiting for you at Sweet Creations inside Valley Pike Farm Market in Weyers Cave.
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The Apple House in Linden is the absolute go-to for apple butter donuts. Homemade since 1963 (happy 60th anniversary!), they’re an edible treasure of the Shenandoah Valley, and a perfectly acceptable Valentine’s Day show of love. If a box is too many (phewy!), then plan to enjoy a meal at The Bushel Pub February 11 through 14 and get one of their famous donuts for free.
In downtown Staunton you’ll find several sweet places to stop and score a treat, like D&L Donuts, Giancarlo Fine European Pastries, and Magdalena Bake. Something from each sounds about right.
In Lexington, Cocoa Mill Chocolate Company is the place to find the best truffles, according to The Wall Street Journal. And why not? They’re also the “Best Chocolatier in Virginia” for 10 years running. They also seem to know that the only thing to beat a heart shaped box of chocolate truffles is a chocolate heart shaped box of chocolate truffles. Oh yes!
Dining Out
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Dine around Old Town Winchester … for chocolate! Chocolate Escape is February 4 from 2 to 5 p.m., and it’s a like a bar crawl for decadent goodies. For example, Violino Ristorante Italiano will be offering a collection of truffles, but there are also 22 other stops on the red balloon trail of treats where you can find chocolate covered bacon, free hot cocoa, and so much more. Enjoy!
Splurge in a fine dining experiencing at La Table Provencale in Boyce. Not only is the cuisine most memorable, but the special Valentine’s Day dessert menu sounds out of this world. How do you choose between coconut and vanilla panna cotta, dark chocolate with rosemary, pine nut, and sea salt, and a triple crème brie? Divide and conquer to sample at least two of the three is our best advice!
You can do more than “dine out” at Massanutten Resort this Valentine’s Day. It just so happens February 14 is a Tuesday, which means Escape Dinner is on! The setting is Chicago, 1920s, Prohibition. You’re at The Bonfire Club when you’re slipped some information that will determine the evening’s series of events. The four-course menu concludes with lemon ginger icebox cake, a decidedly non-traditional Valentine’s Day dessert but an excellent sweet treat to cap off a fun night of mystery.
Header image by Warfel’s Chocolates.