While Most Focused On The Super Bowl On Sunday, Some Couples Decided To Celebrate Valentine's Day In NYC
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- On Sunday night, some people traded in Super Bowl chicken wings for a Valentine's Day tasting menu.
Couples told CBS2's Leah Mishkin why they celebrated their love one day early.
There was no need to take the day off from work or rush home early, and it was easier to get a reservation.
"When people are at home doing Super Bowl, this is the perfect time to go out," one woman said.
Soogil, a Korean restaurant in the East Village, offered its Valentine's Day tasting menu on Sunday night. So, one married couple decided to celebrate their 22 years together this weekend.
"Believe it or not, we're completely booked out," bartender and server Bandy Li said.
Valentine's Day is a great boost for restaurants that faced one COVID-19 wave after another.
"For every restaurant in New York City, this is a game changer," Li said.
Lower East Side beer garden Loreley extended the day of love and scattered 10,000 red rose pedals ahead of the big day.
"With it landing on a Monday and the world is kind of different now, everyone has different schedules. Some people work from home, so we're doing Sunday, Monday, Tuesday," general manager Doug Jacobson said.
One couple chose to celebrate their first Valentine's Day together early because they're flying to Paris on Monday night. A plane? Not as romantic. Plus, they're not Super Bowl fans.
"In France, it doesn't really exist, but, yes, some I guess," Diana Kadouch said.
It was a different story for one table inside.
"He actually told me that we were having a date and I didn't want to come because I didn't want to miss the halftime show. But then I was like, you know what? I'm not going to skip out on a date," Karen Bravo said.
They picked the right spot because the Super Bowl was being shown up front, so for some it was the best of both worlds over there.
Kevin Romoleroux and Bravo both work on Monday, so they made the call to celebrate love over football. Same with the couple nearby.
The good news? They didn't miss out on the heart-shaped pretzel.
