I consider dining out more than just a reason to satisfy my stomach. I consider dining an “experience” because a meal has everything to do with not just great food and drink, but the atmosphere and design of the surroundings and the company of others. If I think back at some of my favorite meals, they’ve incorporated each one of these aspects.

I’m sure restaurants will see a spike in sales volume this week but going out on Valentine’s Day is a ritual that Mr. B and I don’t subscribe to. But if we were in Paris we would be willing to make an exception in order to visit Cafe Pouchkine that just opened a new location near the Place de la Madeleine. It’s everything you would expect from a quintessential Parisian interior: parquet flooring, painted mirrors, carved wood, gold detailing, and beautiful fireplaces. But believe it or not, everything in the cafe is brand new. It took 6 months of work by Russian craftsmen and millions of dollars to transform an old coffee shop into this jewel box of a space. Mr. B owes me a trip back to Paris and after seeing these pictures I’m thinking he needs to make good on that promise very, soon! Talk about the potential for a wonderful dining experience…