For Valentine's Day, restaurants usually unveil a prix fixe menu or special offerings in addition to their regular menu. If a nice meal out isn't your thing, here's my list of other Valentine's Day activities, including cooking classes and chocolate tastings.

Here are a few dinner options that I spotted in my inbox or online:

• Durham's West 94th Street Pub is offering a four-course meal Friday through Valentine's Day and 50 percent of the proceeds will be donated to the St. Baldrick's Foundation. Dinner costs $25 per person or $35 per person with beer or wine.
• There will be a Valentine's Day Food Truck Rodeo and Fundraiser in Carrboro from 5:30-9:30 p.m. Tuesday. See my earlier post for details.
• The Point in Raleigh's Five Points neighborhood is offering a three-course menu for $40 a person. Go HERE to see the menu. (Scroll down a bit to see it.) They are offering that menu on Friday, Saturday and Valentine's Day.
• Tribeca Tavern in North Raleigh and Cary is offering a three-course meal for $50 per couple or a la carte off their special menu. Go HERE to see it.
• Twisted Fork, also in North Raleigh, also is offering a special Valentine's menu.
• Cary's Coffee and Crepes is offering a Valentine's special: a strawberry and nutella crepe. As the owner Terri Pastrana says, "Pair it with a hot mocha latte and you have a smiling date that won't break the bank."
• Raleigh's 42nd Street Oyster Bar is offering a three-course menu for 2 for $65. Go HERE to see the menu.
• bu.ku in Raleigh is offering a special three-course menu that is $75 per couple. The special starts Friday and runs through Valentine's Day. Go HERE to see the menu.
• Jibarra in Raleigh is offering a three-course meal and a margarita for $49. Plus, they will be offering some other specialty cocktails for the occasion. Go HERE to see a menu.
• The Angus Barn in Raleigh is offering a four-course meal on Saturday for $95 with live music and dancing in the pavilion after dinner. Go HERE for details.
• Daniel's in Apex is offering an Almost Valentine's wine dinner on Thursday offering five courses for $75. Go HERE and click on Wine Dinner for details. Daniel's is also offering a special Valentine's Day menu, including lobster bolognese for $22.
• The Matthews House in Cary is offering dinner and dancing from 6:30-11:30 p.m. Saturday. It costs $50 per person. Plus, one lucky couple will win a night in the honeymoon suite. Call 467-1944 for more details and reservations.
• Herons at The Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary is offering a five-course tasting menu for $85. You can get wine pairings for an additional $35. You can take your date for this special meal on Friday, Sunday, Monday, Feb. 13 and then Feb. 15-Feb. 18. Call 447-4000 for a reservation.
• La Residence in Chapel Hill is offering a three-course meal for $49 or a four-course meal for $65 on Valentine's Day. Call 967-2506 for a reservation.
• Taste Carolina is offering walking tours in Durham and Raleigh on Valentine's Day. Tickets cost $62.50.
• Dos Perros in Durham has posted its Valentine's Day menu, which it will be offering in addition to its regular menu. I'm most intrigued by this drink, which could stand in for dessert: Mexican Affogato, a Mezcal-spiked coffee poured over mole ice cream with house-candied orange peel. 
• Its sister restaurant in Chapel Hill, Jujube also has posted its Valentine's Day menu.
• The Fairview Dining Room at the Washington Duke Inn in Durham is offering a five-course meal for $65. Go HERE for details.
• The Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill has a series of dining and overnight stay packages starting at $129. Go HERE to see their offerings. UPDATE: If you just want to dine at the Carolina Crossroads restaurant, there is a special four-course meal with champagne and a rose for your sweetheart on Valentine's Day for $75 per person. On Feb. 11-13, you can enjoy a four-course meal with champagne for $65 per person. Call 918-2735 for a reservation. 
• Il Palio at The Siena Hotel in Chapel Hill is offering a five-course meal for $95. Go HERE to see the menu.
• Chef Chip Smith, formerly of Bonne Soiree, is now cooking at The Inn at Celebrity Dairy in Siler City. They are offering a Valentine's Day menu on Saturday, Sunday and Valentine's Day. Call 742-5176 for details.
• Watts Grocery in Durham is offering a three-course meal for $50. Go HERE to see the menu.
• Foster's Markets in Durham and Chapel Hill are offering a three-course take out meal for two for $75. You must place your order by Saturday to pick up on Valentine's Day. Go HERE to see the menu.

If you would like your restaurant added to this list, please send an email to aweigl@newsobserver.com and put "Valentine's Menu" in the subject line.

There are special dinners at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 27 at two Durham restaurants:

• Guglhupf is offering a farm-to-table restaurant featuring products from Four Leaf Farm. The five-course meal with wine pairings will cost $45 plus tax and tip. To see the complete menu, go HERE. For a reservation, call 401-2600.
• Dos Perros is offering a five course-meal paired with Durham's Fullsteam Brewery beers. To see the full menu, go HERE. The dinner costs $40 plus tax and tip. Call 956-2750 for a reservation.

And then save the date:

• Downtown Raleigh Restaurant Week will be Aug. 22-28. Almost 30 restaurants have signed up to offer three-course prix fixe meals for $20-$30 per person. Some restaurants will offer three-course beer or wine pairings for an additional $10. For more information, go to www.dinedowntownraleigh.com.

Fearrington House has announced its special dinners for the entire year. Seats at these events sell fast so you might want to reserve now. Fearrington House's wine director Maximilian Kast is the series host and menus are planned by executive chef Colin Bedford. Here is the line up:

• Jan. 16, a dinner featuring Sparkman Cellars wine and guest chef Charlie Deal of Chapel Hill's Jujube and Durham's Dos Perros.
• Feb. 20, Fullsteam Brewery beer dinner with brewery owner Sean Wilson.
• March 20, a dinner featuring wines chosen by Thomas Meunier with Authentique Vin Imports. The wines will be from Burgundy, Bordeaux and the Loire Valley regions of France.
• April 10, Elk Cove Vineyards wine dinner with winemaker Adam Campbell.
• Sept. 28, Blackbird Vineyards wine dinner with vineyard owner executive Paul Leary.
• Nov. 13, Perception Winery wine dinner with winery founder Mark Ray.

Each dinner costs $125 per person. Each dinner starts at 7 p.m. but is preceded by a reception at 6 p.m. To make a reservation, call 542-2121.

For more details, go HERE.
 

I'm back after the three-day holiday weekend and I've got a bunch of events to mention:

• Elaine's on Franklin in Chapel Hill is offering a special Peregrine Farm dinner menu Wednesday, Sept. 8 from 5:30-9:30 p.m. The cost is $45 for five pepper-inspired courses including chili relleno with local goat cheese, black beans, cotija, cilantro and salsa verde and for dessert, lemon-verbena and jalapeno sorbet. For reservations, call 960-2770.
• Sherri Brooks Vinton, author of "Put 'Em Up!," will be at Flyleaf Books in Chapel HIll tonight at 7 p.m. and teaching a class at A Southern Season at 6 p.m. Wednesday. If you wanted to learn more about canning and preserving, this is your opportunity. If you want to sign up for the class, call 929-7133. The class costs $35.
• Herons at the Umstead Hotel in Cary reopens today after an extensive kitchen renovation. They will start serving lunch and breakfast today, and dinner Thursday.
• Dos Perros hosts the occasional movie night in its private room. At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 8, they are showing "Like Water for Chocolate," and chef Charlie Deal will be serving up five courses.The meal costs $30. Call 956-2750 for a reservation.
• If you don't want to watch the movie, Dos Perros is hosting a five-course beer dinner at 7 p.m. Wednesday featuring brews from Stone Brewery. It costs $45. Call 956-2750 for a reservation.
• The Old Granary at Fearrington is hosting a three course beer dinner at 7 p.m. Thursday featuring beers from Carolina Brewing. The cost is $45. Call 542-2121 for a reservation.

Durham's Dos Perros has two upcoming beer dinners: 

7 p.m. Tuesday, July 13, Brewery Ommegang vegetarian beer dinner. The menu includes cherry tomato, celery and pumpkin seed salad with local goat cheese paired with Witte; grilled nopales (that's cactus) and onion with roasted tomato, garlic and oregano paired with Rare Vos Amber Ale; summer squash and spice timbale with tomatillos, peach and habanero paired with Hennepin Saison Ale; and local artisanal chocolates paired with Three Phillosophers Quadruple Ale with Cherries. Cost: $45 per person.

Then as part of a "beer geek" dinner series, they will offer a dinner/beer tasting at 9:30 p.m. Friday, July 16 featuring single hop IPAs. It's not a course-by-course pairing but "simple fare" that complements the half-dozen or more beers for tasting. Some of the beers include: Simcoe, Chinook, East Kent Goldings and Cascade. Cost: $27 per person.

Call 956-2750 for reservations.

Chef/owner Charlie Deal has a couple special dinners coming up at his restaurants:

• 7 p.m. June 16, a Steele Winery dinner at Jujube featuring five courses for $47.50. For the full menu, click HERE. Call 960-0555 for a reservation.
• 10 p.m. June 18, a late night tequila cage match dinner at Dos Perros featuring five courses for $45. For full menu, click HERE. Call 956-2750 for a reservation.

Durham's Dos Perros has two upcoming beer dinners and one is vegetarian!

Here's the details: 

Sweetwater Brewery of Atlanta beer dinner will be 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 16. 

The courses are: 

• Tuna and Grapefruit “ceviche” with salted cabbage and pickled onion paired with IPA
• Shrimp tamale with guajillo chile sauce paired with 420 Extra Pale Ale
• Grilled pork with tangy prune sauce with Dark Tank Belgian Quad
• Roasted duck with almond sauce paired with Happy Endings Imperial Stout

The four-course meal for $36. Call 956-2750 for a reservation.

The vegetarian beer dinner features beers from Ommegang Brewery of Cooperstown, NY. 

This beer dinner will be 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 30. The five-course meal costs $45.

The menu includes:

• Salad of mango, purslane, and citrus served with Hennepin Saison
• Green plantain-masa patties with salsa verde and Oaxacan cream paired with Witte
• Mole verde with hominy and pineapple served with Ommegeddon Funkhouse Ale with Brettanomyces
• Toasted bread with refried beans, grilled cactus and panela cheese paired with Rare Vos Amber Ale
• Mole Poblano of sweet potatoes and spinach paired with Abbey Ale

Call 956-2750 for a reservation.

Chef/owner Charlie Deal just sent out details about some upcoming beer dinners at his two resturants: Jujube in Chapel Hill and Dos Perros in Durham.

On Nov. 23, Dos Perros will host a Dogfish Head beer dinner: 5 course, six beers for $45 plus tax and tip. Then Dec. 8 and 9, Deal is offering up a beer geek cage match pair of dinners: the same beer, two cuisines. See how Jujube's Asian food and Dos Perros' Latin cuisine pair with the same set of beers. Each dinner cost $42 without tax and tip. 

In case you missed Greg's Epicurean column, he writes about Dos Perros, Charlie Deal's new Mexican place in Durham. And his Hot List is Takeout Treasures.

And this story just amused me to no end because the writer got porkasmic in the lede. It's about bacon desserts.