Ellington

We celebrate love Feb. 14—and not all of us love cooking dinner. What better way to celebrate Valentine's Day than showing your affection for your loved ones and local Jackson businesses than having dinner at local restaurants? Luckily, some of them want to help you celebrate.

Nick's Restaurant

3000 Old Canton Road., 601-981-8017

Nick's Restaurant is offering a three-course dinner starting with a choice of two soups or salads. The main courses include Chateaubriand for two, salmon, grilled pork tenderloin, chicken piccata and Maine lobster with fettuccine pasta; and a variety of desert choices. The dinner is $50 per person.

Mint

1000 Highland Colony Parkway, Ridgeland, 601-898-6468

The week of Valentine's Day, Mint will offer nightly special dinners starting with a father-daughter dinner Wednesday, an early-bird dinner Thursday, a Valentine's Day dinner Friday and the last-chance dinner with two-for-one entrees Sunday. Mint is taking requests for flowers and Champagne. Flowers are $25 to $65, and Champagne is $25 to $100. A credit-card number is needed to hold a reservation, with a $50 no-show fee. Regular and special menus are available on all nights. The menus and prices are to be determined.

Strawberry Cafe

107 Depot Drive, Madison, 601-856-3822

A special menu and Strawberry's regular menu will be available, including appetizers such as smoked tuna dip, crab and asparagus bisque, and chocolate salad made with mixed greens, red onions, goat cheese, fresh strawberries and chocolate vinaigrette. Entrees include filet and lobster, grouper on white rice with roasted peppers and lemon butter sauce with capers. Dessert is chocolate cheesecake with strawberries. Optional wine pairings are available with the menu. The special menu is $88 per couple, wine pairing $18 a single and $34 for a couple.

The Penguin

1100 J.R. Lynch St., 769-251-5222

A special Valentine's concert, titled "Love Notes: An Evening With Larry Johnson and the Beasty Tunes," begins at 7 p.m. The special menu for the evening includes five entrees, three salads, two sups and five desserts. The salads include the Penguin salad and a Passion salad. The entrees include a Shrimp Amore—jumbo shrimp stuffed with crabmeat stuffing, wrapped in bacon, glazed with a seafood sauce and served with rice pilaf and asparagus.—beef medallions and redfish Cupid. The soups are lobster bisque and tomato bisque, and the desserts include red velvet cake and strawberries Romanoff.

Hal and Mal's

200 S. Commerce St., 601-948-0888

Swing de Paris will be playing for a special dinner with menu to be determined.

Walker's Drive-In

3016 N. State St., 601-982-2633

Walker's will have their regular menu and a special four-course menu on Valentine's Day. Dinner is $65 per person.

High Noon Cafe

2807 Old Canton Road, 601-366-1513

For Valentine's Day, High Noon Cafe will host its "My Vegan Valentine" dinner, a four-course vegan dinner with a prix fixe menu. Tickets are $50 and reservations are available at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Visit rainbowcoop.org for more information.

Amerigo Italian Restaurant

6592 Old Canton Road, Ridgeland, 601-977-0563

Amerigo's Valentine's Day special is blackened snapper with broccoli and cheese potatoes served with asparagus and hollandaise, strawberry tiramisu, a strawberry version of the restaurant's classic dessert, and an Italian Kiss, an Italian sparkling wine with pomegranate. No reservations.

CHAR Restaurant

4500 Interstate 55 N., Suite 142, 601-956-9562

For its Valentine's Day special, CHAR will have pan-seared gulf shrimp served over au gratin potatoes and finished with a corn and lobster sweet chili sauce, a jumbo lump crab meat quesadilla topped with tomato relish and avocado cream and drizzled with a chipotle glaze, and a strawberry shortcake with brandy-macerated strawberries and whipped cream. Char is accepting reservations.

Sombra Mexican Kitchen

140 Township Ave., Suite 100, Ridgeland, 601-707-7950

Sombra's Valentine's Day special includes grilled redfish topped with a roasted corn and crab pico de gallo and served with an herbed vegetable medley and jalapeno cheese grits, and a shrimp and avocado salad. Sombra is not accepting reservations.

Anjou Restaurant

361 Township Ave., Ridgeland, 601-707-0587

Anjou will have Filet Oscar—grilled beef tenderloin topped with jumbo lump crab meat, bearnaise sauce and shaved asparagus, and served with a root vegetable puree and French onion Brussels sprouts, a pan-seared red snapper topped with baby heirloom tomato jam, and served with a creamy parmesan risotto and sauteed vegetable medley, and a mixed berry tiramisu—strawberries, raspberries and blueberries between layers of ladyfingers, with a sweet mascarpone cheese, and soaked in Chambord.