Valentine's Day is when restaurants offer a special.
Or not.
"We want people to come for what they love, not to be hit with some $100 menu," said Kraig Thome of New Orleans-style Gogo Gumbo! in Wise County.
Thome, a former country club chef, went out of his way to decry the Valentine's markup.
"Gogo is open for Valentine's Day for normal business," he wrote on the restaurant's Facebook page: "regular menu, regular pricing" -- and "no-gouging rules are in effect."
"A lot of places like to change on holidays, but we like to stay the same," he said this week.
He's featuring a stuffed lobster dinner all weekend (about $25) or a Dijon-crusted Nova Scotia halibut (about $21). Desserts will include s'mores made with Girl Scout cookies.
Gogo doesn't take reservations. Just get in line. It opens at 4 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays; 116 W. Rock Island Ave., Boyd, Texas, 940-433-3474.
And some restaurants turn their regular dinner into something special.
Buttons, home of one of Fort Worth's busiest Sunday buffets, is offering its traditional fried chicken and waffles on a special platter with sweet-potato fries and collard greens, a bacon-shrimp appetizer and dessert for $50.
Diners can also choose either a tenderloin Oscar topped with crab and lobster or salmon with spinach and artichokes.
Buttons is at 4701 West Freeway; 817-735-4900, buttonsrestaurant.com.
At press time, other restaurants with prime Tuesday-night tables available included Cat City Grill in Fort Worth, Cityhouse in the Sheraton Arlington, Lucile's Stateside Bistro in Fort Worth, Sushi Zushi in Southlake and both Mac's Steaks and Seafood locations.
Of 1,600 Waffle House restaurants, only a few are selected to serve Valentine's Day dinner.
All three of the Texas selections are here.
Waffle Houses in Benbrook, north Fort Worth and Grand Prairie will serve special white-tablecloth dinners by candlelight with mood music.
The menu: rib-eye, pork chops or grilled chicken with a salad, drink and dessert for $25 per couple.
Call for reservations: 8505 Benbrook Blvd., 817-249-3458; 5045 N. Beach St., 817-831-8845; or 2610 Interstate 20 West, Grand Prairie, 972-606-1468; wafflehouse.com.
