Love Better

10 great Valentine's Day dates: Creative and cunning ways to woo your lover

Valentine's Day is right around the corner. If you haven't already made plans, it's time to get moving — especially with the competing NBA All-Star Game crowd in Houston.

Here are 10 things to do in and out of town this February 14th — plus an unconventional bonus option:

In town
For a romantic outdoor experience this Valentine's Day,Hermann Park is hosting a three-course picnic meal and 30-minute pedal boat ride around McGovern Lake. Keep the romance going even after you leave Hermann Park . . . at $40 per couple, you'll also get chocolates and a flower to take home.

Guests are invited to BYOB, but no glass, please. Dinner seatings are at 5, 6 and 7 p.m.

Day trip
If you’re looking for a little adventure this February 14, take a day trip to Santa Fe, Texas and visit Haak’s Vineyardand Winery. Once there, take in the picturesque scenery, cozy up in your own private dining area and enjoy a four-course meal plus wine pairings selected by the experts at Haak's.

The fare includes items like panko crusted mini crab cakes, brie champagne soup, lamb chops with mustard-herb crust and for dessert, Tiramisu Mini Heart Cake. The cost is $175 per person.

Calling all singles
Not to be left out on this traditionally couples holiday, singles can head out to The Houston Texans Grille. The Grille has teamed up with Neumate.com, an online dating site, for a "Stoptlight" party.

If you’re single and looking to meet other singles, you’ll wear green glow light necklace. If you're single, but cautionary . . . maybe not quite so ready to mingle, you'll wear yellow. And if you're in a relationship, but looking to have fun or attending with friends, you'll wear a red necklace.

Tickets are $20 in advance and $30 at the door. This price includes a complimentary cocktail and passed appetizers.

Dining deals
For a dining deal, Straits at City Center is offering a three-course menu for $72 per couple. Start off with an appetizer like the charred ahi & sweet shrimp skewers. For the main course, it's a braised beef short rib & lobster yi mein. For dessert? Hazelnut Chocolate Fondue with pound cake and strawberries.

You may be more familiar with wine and cheese pairings, but beer and cheese can be just as complementary.

And if you can't be with your Valentine this Valentine's Day, not to worry. This deal is available from Feb. 14 through Feb. 17.

The Original Ninfa's on Navigation is celebrating with a three-course menu that features items like a field greens salad with pink peppercorn vinaigrette, surf and turf with filet mignon and jumbo shrimp, and dark chocolate mousse. The cost for this delish bargain is $65 per couple. This dining special runs Feb. 14 through Feb. 16.

Splurge on fine dining
Impress your date and splurge at Damian’s Cucina Italiana in Midtown. Damian's is offering a special Valentine’s Day three-course menu for $59.95 per person. This charming-yet-elegant restaurant, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, is the perfect backdrop for a romantic dinner with your Valentine. Begin your meal with an antipasti like the sweet potato ravioli stuffed with mashed sweet potato in a sage butter sauce.

For dinner, choose from items like the Linguini alla Gamberoni. Save room for dessert as there are several options, including the Italian Cream Cake or cannoli.

Get cozy with your date on Valentine’s Day with L’Olivier Restaurant’s plats pour deux menu (plates designed for two). Share dishes like the whole roasted chicken for $36 and the whole rack of lamb for $48. Entrees come with two sides, which include risotto, saffron, potato, bacon and leek tart, haricot verts and frites.

Shareable sushi
RA Sushi will be offering Valentine’s Day specials available from Feb. 14 to 17. The $10 "For the Love of Lobster" dish features heart-shaped sushi rolled in pink soy paper and filled with crab mix, cucumber and fresh strawberries. It's surrounded by a creamy lobster salad and fresh avocado.

Casual but fun
For a more laid back holiday, Saint Arnold brewery and the Houston Dairymaids have put together an event centered around beer and cheese pairings. You may be more familiar with wine and cheese pairings, but beer and cheese can be just as complementary. Experts from both the brewery and Dairymaids will be on-hand discussing the menu and answering questions.

This event is at 6 p.m. at the brewery and is $25 per person.

Curbside Cupcakes
Crave Cupcakes has definite “curb” appeal this Valentine's Day. From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Feb. 14, both Crave locations will be offering boxes of four cupcakes plus a card for $20, available only via curbside pickup. Simply stop by the Express Tents set up in front of each Crave location and pick up your box.

These sweet treats come in dark chocolate, vanilla, red velvet and strawberry on chocolate.

For a romantic outdoor experience this Valentine's Day, Hermann Park is hosting a three-course picnic meal and 30-minute pedal boat ride around McGovern Lake.

News_Peter Barnes_Top 10 Outdoor Improvements_Hermann_Park_View_from_the_Lykes_Grove_in_Lake_Plaza

Photo courtesy of Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau

For a romantic outdoor experience this Valentine's Day, Hermann Park is hosting a three-course picnic meal and 30-minute pedal boat ride around McGovern Lake.

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Genie Is Out of The Bottle

Texas cannabis industry fires back at Dan Patrick's push to ban THC

The THC limit in medical cannabis products is also increasing.

Photo courtesy of TOCC

A ban on THC would not be popular.

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is launching a quixotic quest to ban legal THC: According to a release, Patrick is pushing legislation that would ban all forms of consumable Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) from being sold in Texas.

He's promoting Senate Bill 3, which would be carried by Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, and would ban all forms of THC.

Patrick is unhappy with House Bill 1325, introduced by Rep. Tracy King, D-Uvalde, to bolster agriculture in Texas. It was passed by the Texas Legislature in 2019.

Part of that bill allowed for the commercialization of hemp, which included un-removable non-intoxicating trace amounts of Delta 9 THC.

“Dangerously, retailers exploited the agriculture law to sell life-threatening, unregulated forms of THC to the public and made them easily accessible," Patrick says in his release. "These stores not only sold to adults, but they targeted Texas children and exposed them to dangerous levels of THC."

"Since 2023, thousands of stores selling hazardous THC products have popped up in communities across the state, and many sell products, including beverages, that have three to four times the THC content which might be found in marijuana purchased from a drug dealer," he says.

It seems like the genie is out of the bottle: According to the Baker Institute, hemp in Texas is booming: From 2020 to 2023, sales of hemp-derived cannabinoids increased by 1283 percent, reaching a value of $2.78 billion last year.

And efforts to reel it back in are basically doomed, they say.

"While prohibition may seem like the simplest response, it is almost certain to fail — both in eliminating widespread access to hemp-derived cannabinoids and in protecting the public," they say.

"As of April 2024, Texas had over 7,000 registered hemp dispensaries," they note. "More than 50,000 Texans are estimated to be employed through the hemp sector. A state ban would ruin this industry, but it would not reduce consumer demand for hemp-derived cannabinoids. Instead, consumers would turn to the illicit hemp market that would inevitably form in the wake of state prohibition. Products sold today in state-registered shops would still be available through underground supply networks that would reap billions in tax-free profits."

They say that "a broad ban, even a poorly enforced one, would harm consumers more than the state’s current system."

Meanwhile voters are supporting marijuana decriminalization efforts such as the one recently approved by the city of Dallas, as well as Austin, Denton, Elgin, Killeen, and San Marcos.

Catina Voellinger, Executive Director of Ground Game Texas, a Texas group that has been advocating for decriminalization of marijuana, says in a statement that the legislation would turn back the clock to a more repressive time.

“Instead of banning THC, lawmakers should focus on legalizing marijuana statewide, which would allow for cannabis to be safely regulated, and would prevent countless residents from being harmed by unnecessary arrests and prosecutions for possessing something that is already legal in 24 states," Voellinger says. "We’ve seen repeatedly that this is what Texans want – our marijuana decriminalization ballot initiatives in Dallas, Lockhart, and Bastrop won overwhelmingly this November.”

Daryoush Austin Zamhariri, Executive Director of Texas Cannabis Collective, a group working to change cannabis laws, calls Patrick's endorsement of legislation that would ban all consumable THC products in Texas "tremendously out of step with the overwhelming majority of Texans."

"Poll after poll has shown the citizens of Texas support legalizing cannabis and ending the failed policy of cannabis prohibition," Zamhariri says. "These attitudes have manifested in several campaigns to progressively decriminalize marijuana possession in cities across the state with bipartisan super majority votes through local ballot initiatives. We oppose SB 3 and look forward to working with our coalition partners at the 89th Legislature to bring common sense cannabis reform to the entirety of Texas.”

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