Spend your V-Day in Georgetown

It’s that time of year again, and you finally get the chance to show your very special someone just how much you care about him or her.

Georgetown is one of the most historic and charming neighborhoods in Washington, boasting many upscale shops and restaurants, a vibrant bar scene, 200-year-old homes and a picturesque view of the Potomac River — it’s the perfect place to spend your Valentine’s Day this year.

{mosads}Kick off the festivities with happy hour over at The Peacock Café. The bar has a very eclectic and energetic vibe that’s sure to make you forget about work and get you and your date in just the right mood.

“Valentine’s Day here is really great!” says Jenine Hurtado, manager of The Peacock Café. “We make the décor especially for that night. We take our time and put a few hours into it so the whole scene is super nice.”

Their happy hour menu is really easy to remember, too.

“Our happy hour is pretty cool,” Hurtado said. “It’s 4-5-6-7. So, $4 beer, $5 house wine, $6 house cocktails and $7 house martinis.”

The Peacock has a variety of martinis to choose from. I tried the apple pie martinis with my date — upon their high recommendation from multiple staff members — and they did not disappoint. The cinnamon stick and caramel drizzle around the edge of the glass complemented the apple cider and vanilla liqueur amazingly to make the perfect apple pie martini sure to keep you warm on the walk over to get some food at the next stop.

Just a few blocks away on M street sits what looks like just a quaint little piano bar — but looks can be deceiving.

Mr. Smith’s, which quite accurately bills itself as “the friendliest saloon in town,” features a bar with large antique mirrors, two of the nicest bartenders in town and a nightly piano sing-along with Jon the piano man, who has been entertaining patrons with his renditions of “New York, New York” and, of course, “Piano Man,” for years.

But that’s not why we’re here — if you take a stroll past the bar you will find a secret garden in the back that is the perfect spot to get cozy and chow down with your date while enjoying the pleasant music coming from the piano inside (especially given the unusually warm D.C. winter we’ve been having).

The ambience includes lush green plants hanging from the retractable glass roof and lining the exposed-brick walls, fireplaces that heat the room and add just a touch of coziness to the casual experience and the gas lamps and icicle lights strewn about the room that top it all off to offer the perfect mood lighting for your romantic dinner.

Mr. Smith’s offers an all-American menu, with fare ranging from sandwiches and hamburgers to barbecue ribs and freshly caught fish, and all at a very reasonable price. If, however, you are looking to really impress your date you might want to go with the $1,000 burger, which is just the house Smith Burger with a really expensive bottle of wine accompanying it, but still a very good choice.

We chose to err on the side of healthy eating, and split the vegetarian garden burger. With just 200 calories and 3 grams of fat, it’s the perfect option for those trying to save room for the quintessential Valentine’s chocolates or enjoy a very tasty meat-free meal. Mr. Smith’s cucumber sauce is the perfect complement to the veggie burger, giving it a savory, almost tangy flavor, and it makes a delicious dip for the side of fries it comes with as well.

After a dinner such as that, you are only going to want one thing: pie. And the newly opened Pie Sisters right down M street is a great place to go for freshly baked gourmet pie in this city.

“We do all the baking right here in the store, so all the pies are fresh out of the oven,” said Erin Blakely, one of the three pie sisters. 

The sisters offer all different kinds of pies with seasonal fruit, and even “savory,” pies such as chicken potpie and a tomato casserole pie that looked delicious. Some of the most popular are the classic apple pie, the raspberry cream pie and my favorite, the chocolate pecan pie.

This ooey-gooey pecan pie just came out of the oven when we walked in, and to say the smell was irresistible would be an understatement. The crispy crust complemented the soft pecans and warm filling perfectly for that melt-in-your-mouth down-home flavor you thought only your grandma could produce. This pie will leave you dumbfounded and begging for more. Top it off with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and you might as well just call it heaven.

Now that dinner and dessert are out of the way, it’s time to get close, hold hands and take a dreamy little walk down the Georgetown waterfront, the perfect end to the your Valentine’s evening.