Valentine's Day at home
Macchialina, located on Alton Road in Miami Beach, is saving hundreds of couples in the region by offering a Valentine's Day dinner for two that can be ordered and eaten in the privacy of their home. People can pre-order the dinner and cook it themselves at their house, including step-by-step instructions and a boutique bottle of Italian red wine. The cost?
$150 and the benefit is that couples can avoid waiting in line for reservations at a popular restaurant, transportation, and parking, as well as any potential tense moments with one's significant other that could ruin the day.
The menu items would be a light fare which would stimulate close conversation, dual feeding, and more eye contact with no indigestion -- Gorgonzola and pear salad, Cavatelli Macchialina, and tiramisu (paired with wine) along with their own "curated Valentine's Day playlist" available on Spotify. The orders must be placed by Sunday, February 12 for pickup on the 14th. The restaurant also offers an "in-house" chef's tasting menu for Valentine's Day at $95 per person (excluding tax and gratuity) which features a selection of Branzino crudo (fresh fish), Lardo wrapped prawns (big shrimp), spaghetti con granchio (crab) and/or 21-day aged Sirloin beef topped with a dessert of Tortino Cioccolato.
Cooking at home is a great Valentine's Day gift
Every Valentine's Day, couples often feel an obligation to "one up" the efforts that they made the year previous for their lover. The reasoning being that it will buy them goodwill credit for the rest of the year in case of a big mistake (pessimist's point of view) or that they love their significant other so much that doing the same thing year after year is too benign a statement. Truly, the significance of Valentine's Day falls in line with Christmas -- the feeling shouldn't be exclaimed in one day and should be "in the soul," celebrated and shown year round.
Macchialina, by offering a DIY solution to Valentine's Day, plays its own "Starbucks-like" role in giving back to the environment.
In this case, giving back to their customers who frequent their beautiful trattoria by equipping them with a creative, romantic idea for one's signficant other in a surprise or a seductive demand. Chef Mike Pirolo has wowed people in Miami Beach since the inception of the restaurant in 2012 with his Panini-pop-ups and the Pasta Thursdays for $10. Businesses in the area love that he delivers, which makes the restaurant a "community staple" and part of the personality and style of the Beach.