Reserve early, since Valentine’s Day is second in popularity as a dining destination only to Mother’s Day. (In the article that follows, the prix-fixe costs shown do not include tax or gratuity.)

Who can better defy conventional cooking practices than Chef David Dibari at The Cookery in Dobbs Ferry? What Rod Serling brought to science-fiction TV and movie screens, Dibari duplicates in the confines of his Dobbs Ferry kitchen—the unexpected and the daringly different. Customers accustomed to the chef’s creativity won’t be disappointed by his four-course Valentine Day’s creations.

Dibari’s offers three exotic appetizers: spiced heritage pork belly with chocolate polenta and red chard; arugula salad with preserved kumquats, prosciutto and sweet gorgonzola; and grilled beef tongue with pumpkin “agro dolce” and horseradish gremolata.

Chocolate abounds. It’s an ingredient in the pastas (tortelli with sheep ricotta, dried orange and grated amaretti, or macaroni with and sage), in the braised oxtail which comes with ceci porridge, dates and escarole, and, of course, in the luscious desserts which include warm pudding with Valhrona chocolate, berries and vanilla gelato. Non-chocolate lovers can opt for the buttery vanilla poached monkfish entrée with millet, blood orange and wilted arugula. Cost: $50 per person or $65 with wine. Seating is from 1 to 9:30 p.m. For those who can’t make it to The Cookery on Valentine’s Day, some of the Valentine’s Day dishes will be previewed at its first monthly wine-pairing event of 2010 on February 8. Call 305-2336.

A four-course prix-fixe menu is available on February 13-14 at Rioja in the Tarrytown Sheraton. For a starter, choose either seared scallops or roasted parsnip and carrot soup; a garden salad follows. For the entrée, the selections are duck a l’orange; black sea bass with saffron rice cake; and gorgonzola-coated filet mignon with roasted Peruvian potatoes. Desserts include moist blackout cake with chocolate frosting, wild mixed-berry tart, and espresso cream brulee. The cost is $55 per person including coffee or tea. A discounted overnight package with dinner for two, overnight stay, a split of sparkling wine, hand-dipped chocolates and late checkout is available. Call 332-7900.

Even before America was discovered, Valentine’s Day was a popular holiday in Paris. No wonder Chiboust, a Parisian bistro in Tarrytown, is so right for romantic dining. Chiboust’s four-course prix-fixe dinner will start with a tart and a sparkling toast to celebrate the restaurant’s sixth anniversary. A choice of appetizers follows, including blue crab millefeuille. For an entrée, the possibilities are ricotta cavatelli, herb-dusted sea scallops, top sirloin of lamb, Moroccan-glazed free-range chicken and ponzu-glazed ahi tuna. Dessert service will be tableside. The cost is $75 per person. A special Valentine’s Day brunch is also planned. Call 703-6550.

No shortage of choices awaits guests at J.P. Doyle’s in Sleepy Hollow on Valentine’s Day. The extensive four-course menu includes jumbo shrimp cocktail, fried calamari and a bevy of other appetizers, followed by French onion soup or New England clam chowder. Chef Nick Bell’s entrées include grilled Cajun swordfish, surf and turf (filet mignon and shrimp), pork osso buco, stuffed chicken breast, and cavatelli with sweet sausage and chicken. The tempting desserts include deep fried cheesecake with vanilla ice cream and caramel. The price-fixe cost is $44.95 per person and includes coffee or tea. Call 631-3015.

Red Hat on the River will be open from noon to 10 pm. on Valentine’s Day. To see the sun as it sets at 5:28 pm., reserve for a 4 p.m. seating. Choose from the regular menu up to 3:30 pm. or order from a special three-course $70 menu after 4 p.m. On February 11, author Toni Lydecker will autograph copies of her newly published book, “Seafood alla Siciliana,” a Food and Wine selection as one of 2009’s best food books. Call 591-5888.

Need a gift for a sweetheart? A $120 gift certificate for the Red Hat and a $230 60-minute massage for a couple at Oasis Day Spa in Dobbs Ferry can be purchased for $300 at either establishment.

The regular dinner menu and usual prices apply on Valentine’s Day at Chutney Masala Indian Bistro in Irvington. But special for the holiday will be heart-shaped masala crab cakes ($9), spinach kabobs ($7) and Shahi Tukra ($7), a luscious Indian dessert made from crispy bread soaked in rose-flavored syrup topped with creamy cardamom milk. Ladies receive a miniature Indian jewelry box at dinner. A “Passage to India” lunch buffet will be available from noon to 3 p.m. at $16.95 for adults and $12.95 for children. Call 591-5500.

Start the three-course Valentine’s Day dinner at Caravela in Tarrytown with “Duo of Mushrooms” with Port wine and lingonberry sauce, or the seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras with balsamic glazed California strawberries. Try the “Duo of Duck” with seared breast and braised leg, or two stuffed quails with pecan-wild rice and Syrah sauce. Finish with chocolate-passion fruit mousse and petit fours with chocolate covered strawberries and chocolate truffles. The cost is $50 per person. Call 631-1863.

Lobster stuffed with shrimp and crabmeat, Surf and Turf (filet mignon with lobster tail), and chicken huitlacoche crammed with shrimp highlight the Valentine’s Day weekend (February 12-14) menu at Que Chula es Puebla in Sleepy Hollow. Adults receive a drink on the house—champagne or a flavored margarita; ladies receive a red rose. Call 332-0072.

Equus in Tarrytown at the Castle on the Hudson will serve a four-course $85 dinner at 5:30 p.m. and a $135 six-course dinner at 8:45 p.m. on February 12-13. Both prix-fixe dinners will also be available on February 14 at 5 and 8 p.m. Call 631-1980.

Valentine’s Day dishes to be served at Il Sorriso in Irvington include heart shaped ravioli stuffed with pear, nuts and gorgonzola, pappardelle in a wild boar ragu sauce, stuffed lobster tail accompanied by shrimp, grilled wild boar chops over sautéed portobello mushrooms and filet mignon. Call 591-2525.

Harvest-on-Hudson in Hastings-on-Hudson is serving a prix-fixe lunch from 11:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. on February 14 at $32 per person. A prix-fixe dinner menu applies from 5 to 10 p.m. at $58 per person. Call 478-2800.

Menu supplements on February 12-14 at Leo Cattarini’s Rinis in Elmsford include a three-course, prix-fixe champagne dinner at $26.95 per person. Special entrées include roasted Long Island duck and rack of veal; twin whole lobsters at $32.95, and Alaskan king crab legs at $32.95 will also be available. Call 592-6799.

The River City Grille in Irvington will offer a three-course menu at $45 per person on February 13 and 14 plus its regular menu. On February 14, it hosts a two-course brunch at $22 per adult and $15 per child with unlimited mimosas for $10. Call 591-2033.

A European sipping chocolate beverage is the Valentine’s Day drink of the day at Coffee Labs Roasters in Tarrytown. Call 332-1479.