Ahhh…Valentine’s Day! A day for lovers! A day to express love to your one and only! Whether it’s with a kiss, a rose, fine chocolates, etc. the day is designated to those in love.

For some, a romantic dinner is the perfect way to celebrate. For others, like Mike and I who have been married 35 years, it’s just another day.

Valentine’s Day can be very stressful for men as they often wait to the last-minute to find that special something for the one they love then frantically panic. For years, I felt bad for Mike as he never knew for sure if “Don’t buy me anything” really meant “Don’t buy me anything.” Money was tight when we were younger and I much preferred an unexpected $3.99 bouquet of flowers from the grocery store “just because” over a gift on Valentine’s gift when he felt it was something he had to do or else!

We’ve learned over the years not to get caught up in the commercialism of the holiday. I’ve never been a fan of red roses and dinner in an over crowded restaurant isn’t very romantic. Besides, we dine out at least once or twice a week.

As most of you know, I’m always looking for fun so when I saw Tamarack Lodge advertised a Dinner Comedy Show on Valentine’s Day it seemed like a fun way celebrate.

Like always, I waited to the last-minute to make a reservation and was disappointed to learn the day before the event was sold out. I quickly reached out to Valoree requesting to be placed on a wait list. We were in luck! Two love birds canceled freeing up a table just for us!

When we arrived we were greeted by the hostess, Amylu, who escorted us to the bar where Val was busy preparing Strawberry Mimosas for her guests. Amylu handed Mike and I a mimosa then proceeded to take us to a private little table nestled in the corner.

Cottrell Brewing, one of the oldest breweries in Connecticut, sponsored the evening’s comedy show and offered 3 mini tasters to all the guests. As I sipped samples , Jeff provided history of the brewing company and details of each beer – Stonington Glory (my favorite), Incredibly Pretentious Ale (look for the secret code on the birds neck) and Foggy Night-Perry’s Revenge Whiskey Barrel Aged (I loved the hint of chocolate.)

Dinner included a house salad with mesclun greens, dried cranberries spiced walnuts, Cucumbers and tomatoes. For entrées I had a Grilled New York Strip Steak with a Roasted Garlic Hollandaise Sauce and Mike had the Grilled Stuffed Pork Chop with Gouda Mashed Potatoes and Braised Apples and Cabbage. The meals came quickly and served nice and hot which one of my biggest pet peeve’s is cold food. We were stuffed yet still saved room to share a piece of Chocolate Turtle Cheesecake.

The comedians were a group of four young couples. I can only imagine what they thought when they looked out and saw the majority of the audience was 50 to 70 years old. They did a great job keeping everyone entertained for an hour and a half. Of course being Valentine’s Day there were a lot of jokes about love, sex, marriage and divorce. I appreciated no mention of politics! It was a fun evening, lots of laughs, which is healthy for every relationship and we were home by 10:00 p.m.  A great way to spend Valentine’s Day!

Check out Tamarack Lodge’s Facebook Page to find their list of events!