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Cruces eateries offer romantic meals

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As For the Love of Art Month marches on, the weather continues to warm and cupid strings his bow, sights trained, this Valentine’s Day weekend, love is in the air in Las Cruces.

Unsure of what to do for your sweetheart?

Don’t wait until two days before.

Since you did, though, we’re here to help, running down what to do for the one you love.

Valentine’s Day dinner is always a classic, and of course Las Cruces’ best restaurants have prepared sumptuous special menus to please any palate.

Amaro Winery, just west of Downtown at 402 S. Melendres St., has invited Joshua’s pies — Las Cruces’ finest purveyor of mobile-baked wood-fired pizzas, regular faces at the Las Cruces Farmers and Crafts Market — to cater the evening’s fourcourse meal; it’s safe to say it’s not pizza. Cost is $80 per couple in the tasting room or $95 per couple in the barrel room. Call 527-5310.

On the third floor of the Stan Fulton Athletics Center overlooking Aggie Memorial Stadium on the New Mexico State Campus, the Third Floor Bistro is cooking up a three-course meal featuring duck breast, beef tenderloin, Gouda mashed potatoes and more, finishing sweet with berries in Gran Marnier Zabaglione and chocolate spritz and sparkling ciders. Tickets are $65 per couple, dinner hours are 5 to 9 p.m. Call 646-4802.

Pecan Grill and Brewery near Mesilla Valley Mall at 500 S. Telshor Blvd. — you may still call it De La Vegas, but stop — has whipped up a three-course Valentine’s Day dinner with fare including the chef’s signature rellenos, balsamic-glazed salmon, lemon chicken, short rib empanadas and beef Wellington along with vegetarian options and finishers like white chocolate fruit tartlets and chocolate-covered strawberries with Pirouette cake. This special menu is available for dinner service, beginning at 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday night, and will be available beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday. Cost is $75 per couple; call 521-1099.

For dinner and a show, check out ‘Play Me,’ a dinner and Neil Diamond tribute show at Picacho Peak Brewing Co., 3900 W. Picacho Ave. Dinner starts at 7 p.m.; show starts at 8 p.m.; call 6806394.

Looking for something a bit quaint? The town of Mesilla offers lots of options. The famed Double Eagle restaurant will host its regular champagne brunch — the best of its kind in town — with seatings at 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. ($26.95 per person), and at 5 p.m. its special three-course St. Valentine’s Dinner, with filet mignon, lobster tail, prime rib, lobster bisque, raspberry Napoleon pastry and more. Cost is $40.95 per person. Double Eagle is located at 2355 Calle de Guadalupe.

At his Savoy de Mesilla (1800 Avenida de Mesilla), renowned Chef Tatsu Miyazaki has cooked up his own 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Valentine’s brunch buffet – think caprese shooters, oysters in half-shell, jalapeño bacon, roasted pork loin and lots more – for $48 per person. Tatsu’s six-course Valentine’s Day will include jalapeño dates, salmon, ahi Tuna Napoleon, vegetable lasagna, prime rib, pecan tiger shrimp and, for the sweet tooth, classic crème brulee, sorbet and more. Tickets are $68 per person, dinner begins at 5 p.m.

Down the road at Luna Rossa Winery and Pizzeria, in two seatings at 4:30 and 7 p.m., the evening’s menu includes scallops, steak, polenta topped with shrimp, cucumber feta salad and a few sweet finishes. Luna Rossa is located at 1321 Avenida de Mesilla. Cost is $50 per person.

A stroll along the town’s bricked streets and through its numerous shops and tiendas is also an option — stop in for something dark and divine at The Chocolate Lady, drop by Emilia’s on the Plaza for tapas and drinks, pick up a stunning silver picture frame from Nambe or take in a show at the theatre.

Showing twice Sunday, the historic Fountain Theatre in Mesilla is currently screening “The Danish Girl,” director Tom Hooper’s 1930s period drama following Danish painters and husband- and-wife Einar and Gerda Wegener and the tribulations they faced as Einar underwent sex-reassignment surgery — one of the first known recipients of the practice — to become Lili Elbe. Eddie Redmayne, Alicia Vikander and Matthias Schoenaerts star. Sunday showtimes are 2:30 and 7:30 p.m.

If you and your sweetheart are into something less traditional, the City of the Crosses has plenty of decidedly different options.

Lovebirds and art lovers? The annual For the Love of Art Month Studio Tours are set for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday throughout Las Cruces — flip to page B8 for more information on locations and participating artists, studios and galleries.




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