Couples Night Out: The Sweet Stroll Culinary Crawl

Grab your sweetheart, your besties, or your favorite plus-one and follow your heart straight to downtown Grinnell. With so many swoon-worthy local restaurants, turn dinner into a full-on love affair by sampling four fabulous stops in one evening. Everything is within walking distance, so park the car, hold hands (or link arms), and let romance lead the way.

Happy Hour: Where Love Happens

Start the night with a toast to love at Solera, because nothing says be mine like a perfectly poured glass of wine. This cozy wine bar offers a variety of hand-picked wines for all palates, along with a great selection of craft and domestic beers. And let’s be honest—their uniquely curated handcrafted pizzas are love at first bite.

Main Course: Pasta La Vista, Baby

Make a date with Prairie Canary on Main Street, where love is best served family-style. During open dinner hours at the Sweet Stroll (5 PM-close), savor a Dinner for Two Valentine’s Day/Sweet Stroll special made for sharing. Start with a crave-worthy appetizer, enjoy one irresistible entrée each, and finish sweet with a dessert meant to be split. Because the best meals (and dates) are the ones you linger over just a little longer.

Pagliai’s is another great choice for those hungry from the Sweet Stroll. Serving made-from-scratch Italian dishes, Pagliai’s (pronounced Pol-ee-i’s) has been stealing hearts for three generations. Fall hard for their Baked Cavatappi with homemade meat sauce or say I dough to a Pag’s Hero stacked with ham, capicola, salami, and pepperoni. And whatever you do, don’t forget a side salad drizzled with their famous “Liquid Gold” homemade ranch — because love isn’t love without it being just a little messy!

Hometown Heroes will also bring back hot chocolate from Jingle Bell Holiday if you’d like to grab a warm drink after dinner. Spiked or not, this delicious beverage is available all night long. 

Dessert: Love at First Bite

End the night on a sweet note back at Prairie Canary, because every great romance deserves dessert. Slip underground into the Canary Underground Speakeasy, tucked below Prairie Canary, and step back in time to a place that feels just a little forbidden (ooh la la). Indulge in their expansive menu of handcrafted cocktails and mocktails, soak in the intimate ambiance, and treat yourselves to a beautifully plated dessert—the true icing on the cake of your Valentine’s night.