Updated: ValDayLove

Mimosa Grill offers a small-plates-and-sparkling-wines menu for Valentine's night, with dishes ranging from N.C. oysters to pork loin, for $60 (that's including the wines). It will also offer a Valentine Sunday brunch Feb. 17 for $40 per couple. 327 S. Tryon St.; 704-343-0700.

Sir Edmond Halley’s plans specials, including wild mushroom bruschetta, Maine lobster tail bites with habanero cream, horseradish-encrusted filet medallions, pan-roasted corvina, and more Feb. 14-16. 4151 Park Road; 704-525-7775.

Chima does its Brazilian rodizio dinner for $79 per person on Valentine's Day -- that's an array of grilled meats and other proteins, plus a salad bar, dessert, glass of Champagne and coffee. 139 N. Tryon St.; 704-601-4141.

Mimi’s Cafe begins a Feb. 7-17 deal for Valentine's in which diners get a three-course French-inspired dinner for two for $26.99. Offered 4-11 p.m., the meal has entree options such as chicken Madeira, beef Bourguignon and four-cheese ravioli. 10224 Perimeter Parkway; 704-509-5911.

Harvest Moon Grille does three courses and a bottle of Prosecco for $120 per couple. 235 N. Tryon St. in the Dunhill hotel; 704-342-1193.

BLT Steak (at the Ritz Carlton uptown) offers Champagne tastings in a flight for $12 Feb. 11-16; a complimentary chocolate heart with lunch on Feb. 14; and a special menu for dinner that night that includes Kumamoto oysters, Scottish salmon, New York strip and more. 201 E. Trade St.; 704-972-4380.

Fern (1323 Central Ave.; 704-377-1825) will have three courses for $30: choice of Brussels sprouts salad or roasted and raw glazed white carrots; butternut squash risotto or puree and vegan chocolate cheesecake or mint whipped beets.

Halcyon (500 S. Tryon St.; 704-910-0865) will do a $60 Valentine meal, with courses including housemade ricotta and strawberry salad; shrimp and grits sushi roll; petite filet mignon with truffled turnip puree; and more.

Something Classic (1419 East Blvd. or 220 N. Tryon St.) will offer a pick-up Valentine menu (order by Feb. 11) that includes peppercorn beef filet for two, chicken Wellington for two and more.

Cosmos Cafe (300 N. College St.; 704-372-3553) offers a $34.95 menu Feb. 14-17, including choice of appetizer; salad or crab bisque; petite filet, chicken, prawns or pork loin; and dessert.

Kabuto at Lake Norman has a three-course, fixed-price Valentine's special Feb. 14-17: Japanese onion soup, salad and choice of steak, shrimp or salmon with chicken and glass of wine for $50 per couple. Choose two from the steak, shrimp or salmon grouping for $60. Reservations recommended: 704-655-0077; info at www.kabutolakenorman.com.

e2 will feature dinner specials Feb. 14 from chef de cuisine Brian Mottola, such as she-crab soup, filet of beef for two, and seared halibut. Reservations will be taken for 5-10 p.m. 135 Levine Avenue of the Arts; 704-414-4787.

D'Vine Wine Cafe offers a "special red menu" Feb. 14, 15 and 16, along with its regular menu. Among the red (which is $39.99 or $69.99 with the wine pairings): seared scallop with braised red cabbage and Duval-Leroy Champagne; filet and lobster with beet risotto and 2006 Conn Valley Pinot Noir and 2008 Keenan Merlot; and more.
14815 John J. Delaney Drive; 704-369-5050.

The Palm offers a three-course menu for two Feb. 13-17, featuring a 4-pound Nova Scotia lobster for two. 6705 Phillips Place Court; 704-552-7256.

Gallery does a three-course prix-fixe menu for Valentine’s Day Feb. 14-Feb. 16. with entree choices including vegetable pappardelle, grilled filet of beef and seared red snapper, for $55. Diners can get wine pairings for an additional $20. Reservations: 704-248-4100; 10000 Ballantyne Commons Parkway; www.gallery-restaurant.com.

Passion8 offers a five-course "Love Bug" dinner 5-10 p.m. Feb. 14 for $150 per couple. Among the options are red shrimp with Champagne sabayon; Hudson Valley foie gras; Maine lobster and parsnip bisque; filet mignon with fennel and Israeli couscous salad; duck breast; chocolate terrine and more. 803-802-7455; 3415 Highway 51 N, Fort Mill.

The Ritz-Carlton has an array of Valentine's plans:
Its 15th-floor Urban Sip will have live jazz Feb. 14 (a Thursday) as well as on that Friday and Saturday as usual, and will introduce "First Date": three courses of dessert with sparkling wines, offered both at Urban Sip and at the lobby-level Bar Cocoa for $75 per person. Example: strawberry sabayon with Lamberti Rosé Prosecco; warm chocolate cake with Banfi Rosa Regale; and spiced cranberry clafouti with Veuve Clicquot Rosé.
Urban Sip will also offer desserts for two, such as chocolate fondue and chocolate tasting plates, and a Champagne menu ranging from Krug Rosé and Dom Ruinart to Dom Pérignon and Veuve Clicquot.
Bar Cocoa will also offer, in its Cocoa Lab kitchen, a chocolate and Champagne lovers workshop 9 a.m.-noon Feb. 16 for $75.

Dine out, do good

Feb. 24 is a Daytona 500 viewing party at Buffalo Wild Wings at Sardis Road North (near Independence Boulevard), with drawings for Daytona and NASCAR items, and with 10 percent of diners' tabs going to the "Relay for Life" fundraiser of the American Cancer Society. If you buy a "Blazing Challenge" -- a dozen of the place's hottest wings, which must be eaten "in 6 minutes or less without the aid of napkins or beverages" -- all the money goes to the ACS. (Mention "Relay for Life" to your server.)
Then, Feb. 28, eat at Salsarita's at Cotswold (304 S. Sharon Amity Road) and bring in the flyer below, and 15 percent of your total will go to Relay for Life, which raises money for services and educational programs for cancer patients and their families.

The 2013 Relay for Life will be May 31, at the Irwin Belk Athletic Complex at Johnson C. Smith University; info: www.relayforlife.org/charlottenc.

'Breakout 50' restaurant ideas: How many do we have?

Several.

Nation's Restaurant News named its 50 "breakout brands" for 2013, concepts the folks there predict will do best this year. This is some good reading for those interested in what's happening across America in this segment of the dining world. Some highlights:

* Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q continues to win kudos for its "innovative networking with the farm community, devotion to high-quality food and a state-of-the-art inventory and personnel-management system." (We have this one.)

* Pure Taqueria just closed its Matthews location: Apparently that one didn't have what the company's Chris Sedgwick told NRN was the key: "good execution with the right partners.”

* Meatheads' originators "are fans of Sun Tzu’s 'The Art of War,' a military treatise from about 500 B.C. that they encourage their managers to read." No, this isn't from the guys at our 5Church, and we don't have a Meatheads.

* "Despite its short-shirted female servers, Brick House isn’t another Hooters or Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery, (its chief executive) said — and its restaurants do have a smattering of male servers." Later in the piece, we discover patrons can purchase a 100-ounce “Beer Bong.”

* There's Cheeseboy, the Melt and Melt, and we don't have any of these grilled cheese specialties.

Top concepts? Healthy menus, burgers, pizzas, Mediterranean grills (we have a Zoe's) and upscale bar/wine/taverns. Creative ones: sandwiches made with waffle as the bread (Bruxie), wraps using Italian tortilla-like flatbreads (Piada) and a juice place with Starbucks' power behind it (Evolution Fresh). Should be an interesting year.

Emeril named Humanitarian of Year

Emeril Lagasse (of e2 here, and a multitude of restaurants elsewhere) was named the James Beard Foundation's Humanitarian of the Year today. The organization notes his "culinary contributions, contagious enthusiasm, and philanthropic achievements," and "his passionate advocacy for youth." The Emeril Lagasse Foundation supports nonprofits and educational initiatives "that create new opportunities for children" and have varied among communities, creating such things as an outdoor classroom, gardens, a fresh foods cafeteria and a culinary learning center, in New Orleans, Las Vegas and the Gulf Coast.

Lagasse, in addition to his 13 restaurants, is a celebrity chef on TV (from the Food Network to Good Morning America), has several product lines and has written more than a dozen cookbooks.

The Palm on 'The Job'

Five people (that's them, above) will vie to be an assistant manager somewhere in The Palm chain on the Feb. 8 series premiere of reality series "The Job." So all Palms nationwide are hosting viewing parties that night, 5 p.m. to closing. Diners will get free hors d'oeuvres during that show (which starts at 8 p.m. Eastern time), and can get discounted "Prime Bites" (such as sliders, mini crabcakes, fried shrimp -- but in the bar only) all evening.

Lisa Ling from "The View" hosts the show, which will have five job candidates going through elimination challenges on each episode, "as they compete for their dream job." (Assistant manager?) 6705 Phillips Place Court; 704-552-7256.

'Culinologists' en route to CLT

Research chefs, the folks who figure out -- and sometimes create -- trends in the food industry, will descend, with an array of similarly minded folks, from food scientists and nutritionists to researchers and marketers, on Charlotte March 6-9, for the Research Chefs Association's annual conference and "Culinology" Expo.

That word (it's trademarked) refers to "the blending of the culinary arts and food science." Planners expect more than 1,200 food research and development professionals to show up at the convention center. Jim Fowler, RCA executive vice president, said in a press release that Charlotte is "where modern and traditional cuisine are in abundance -- a great backdrop for our event."

Keynote speaker will be famous molecular gastronomy guy Homaro Cantu of Moto and iNG restaurants, and the title of his address is "Trailblazing a New Culinary Frontier: Ideas for Improving Our Diets Without Harming the Planet."

Some tantalizing tidbits: Attendees will hear about "the art of sensory science, ... pungent ingredients, next-generation oils" and more. And PepsiCo's Mehmood Khan is slated to lead a session called "Global Food Challenges, the Future of Food and the Implications for R&D Professionals."

Interested in the ideas? Find out more at www.culinology.org. Interested in research chefs? Here is an old, but chatty description.

California Pizza Kitchen and hearts

California Pizza Kitchen will partner with Colby Red, a wine from a winemaker whose son had two open-heart surgeries as a child. Proceeds from the wine support charities that encourage heart health. The chain will sell the wine by the bottle and glass at all locations through the end of April, and has pledged to donate "up to" $10,000 to heart-health charities this year.

Also coming up at CPK: a Valentine's menu of one appetizer, two entrees and a dessert for $30, offered Feb. 14-17. 4400 Sharon Road and at the airport.