The Fancy Meal Kit That Will Make Valentine’s Day at Home Extra Special

In a typical year (read: not this one), Valentine’s Day is the second busiest restaurant holiday — just behind Mother’s Day, according to the National Restaurant Association. The number of diners (which is usually around 25 percent of Americans!) is sure to dwindle this year, due to restaurant closures and capacity restrictions, of course, but mostly because it’s still best to stay home for the safety of ourselves and others.

While takeout (and buying restaurant gift cards for future redemption!) are great ways to celebrate, it’s safe to assume that many people are planning to simply cook dinner at home. If you’re stumped on how to make your Valentine’s Day dinner taste like something you might order at a fancy restaurant, I have a suggestion: the Luke’s Lobster Valentine’s Day Special.

Luke’s Lobster started as a small seafood shack in the East Village of New York City back in 2009, committed to bringing New Yorkers the taste of fresh-caught Maine lobster. In addition to operating multiple restaurant “shacks” around the world, the company also ships seafood all across the country, working with seafood harvesters to ensure highly sustainable practices.

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the team at Luke’s is offering a pretty sweet pasta kit for lobster-lovers who want to cook something special at home. The bundle (which is shipped right to your door) includes one pound of flash-frozen lobster meat, and 12 ounces of fresh fettuccine from Terra Cotta Pasta Company. The kit also comes with a half-dozen chocolate-covered caramels from Bixby & Co, a female-owned business based in Rockland, Maine.

While it’s certainly an exciting option, at $105 plus shipping it’s very much a splurge. But by the looks of the pre-prepped lobster meat alone (still frozen below), you’re definitely getting your money’s worth.

Supporting Luke’s via the Valentine’s Day special is kind of like going to a restaurant, getting a meal kit, and making dinner yourself all in one. Luke’s has pasta recipes on their website (for which you will need to purchase a few supplemental ingredients), or you can simply go with what you have. I chose the latter route, sautéing the defrosted lobster in a sauce made with lemon zest, lemon juice, white wine, garlic, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, and butter. I topped with parsley to finish and voila!

Proving that you do not need a significant other to enjoy this meal kit on Valentine’s Day, I enjoyed this divine masterpiece with my roommate/best friend to celebrate President Biden’s inauguration. We made a simple side salad and served it with the rest of the white wine that we used to make the sauce.

If you’re spending Valentine’s Day solo and really want lobster pasta — I say go for it. This big pot yielded four servings and I ate three of them myself. (I highly recommend having lobster pasta for breakfast, if you’re so inclined.) And while you can share the box of six sea salt chocolate caramels, it’s perfectly acceptable to eat them all in one sitting too.

Buy: Luke’s Lobster Valentine’s Special, $105 + shipping

To pre-order and choose your date of delivery (all ingredients can be frozen), visit the link above.