>>> Del Frisco’s Steakhouse (1426 Chestnut Street) is offering, from February 10th to February 14th, an 8oz. Filet Mignon and an 8oz. Lobster Tail for only $79, in memory of the first Valentines, surf and turf.

>>>Square 1682 (121 South 17th Street) is offering a six-course, $65 per-person dinner (minus tax and gratuity). The dinner is $100 with wine pairings.

>>>10 Arts Bistro & Lounge is offering (from February 10-14) an, “indulgent six-course tasting that concludes with a progressive chocolate tasting.” The courses are $195 per couple, or $275 with a Moet & Chandon champagne pairing.

>>>The Gypsy Saloon in West Conshohocken is offering their aphrodisiac menu (hey now!) from, once again, the 10th to the 14th, including Parmesan Crusted Striped Bass, Goat Cheese Ravioli, and Crab Cake.

>>>And finally (and weirdly) local Qdoba restaurants are offering a Buy One Get One Free deal for an entree if you, “share a kiss with a significant other, friend, family member or even an understanding stranger (emphasis ours) at the cash register.”

Lots of our favorite breakfast joints are closed on Monday’s, as we discovered this morning in search of another breakfast for National Hot Breakfast Month. So we headed to a reliable favorite. Ants Pants Cafe to the rescue!

Ants Pants serves breakfast all day long, which we love. Today we tried the “Bacon Stack” – sourdough bread with bacon (crispy – just the way we like it), tomato, tons of arugula, two sunny side up eggs and freshly shaved pecorino romano with mixed greens. This meal made for a wonderful late breakfast/early lunch, as it’s almost like an open face sandwich with a side salad. The thick slice of perfectly toasted sourdough bread really completes the dish.

Many of their menu items are Aussie inspired. Why not try their TimTam coffee? On the specials menu now! We really wanted to get a side of their hand-cut sweet potato fries, which come with sweet chili sauce and sour cream, but our plate came out too piled-high with goodness. Good thing there’s always a next time at Ants Pants.

Todd Carmichael, CEO and Co-Founder of La Colombe Torrefaction is at it again. Saving the world, one bean at a time! Last week they announced their charitable alliance with Leonardo DiCaprio, in which 100%, yes 100% of the net profits from the sale of LYON will be donated to environmental charities that Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation currently supports. “Raising awareness on the most pressing environmental issues of our time is more important than ever,” says DiCaprio.

We went to La Colombe over the weekend to give it a taste, and expected to see Leonardo’s face plastered all over the walls, but they maintain their air of modesty and, as always, good coffee and amazing pastries. LYON is smooth and sweet blend of sustainably grown coffees directly sourced from Haiti, Peru, Ethiopia and Brazil. The video below shows how it all starts.

…gotta love these guys. Who is up for a factory tour?

Both Zahav (237 St. James Place) and Bibou (1009 S. Eighth St.) moved up from 3 bells to four, while Vetri (1312 Spruce St) and Fountain (1 Logan Square) retained their four bell status and newly reviewed Talula’s Table (102 W. State St., Kennett Square) received an inaugural four-bell review.

But all was not good news, Lacroix at the Rittenhouse (3 bells, down from 4), Le Bec Fin (2 bells, down from 4), and Barclay Prime (2 bells, down from 3) all dropped in the rankings. LaBan has spoken.

P.S. They’re also offering special “Date Night” edition Valentine’s Day Cake Decorating Workshops. They’re $55 per couple and space is limited. Sessions are:

Thursday, February 9th, 7-9pm
Saturday, February 11th, 7-9pm
Tuesday, February 14th, 7-9pm

Gray sky days call for hot cocoa, and even better, hot cocoa with a kick! This one pictured we made at home with Wilbur’s Breakfast Cocoa, our favorite cocoa for baking and hot chocolate-making, from Lititz PA! We also added some chili powder. Spicy hot cocoa seems to be our vice this year, and we wanted to point out a few of our favorite places to get it in Philly, as well as some other crazy hot chocolate concoctions we’ve stumbled upon.

Food Spotting hosted a Hot Chocolate Crawl in Philly in December, and you can add to it still by going to these three chocoloate places: Max Brenner, Philly Chocolate, Capogiro Gelateria. Find out what’s so great about out their hot chocolate, and add a photo of your findings!

These choices for hot cocoa are just skimming the surface when it comes to the Philadelphia hot cocoa scene. We suggest RIM Cafe, a french/Italian-influenced cafe at 9th and Federal, famous for their “volcano hot chocolate drinks”, which come in 12 flavors, like White Raspberry, “Spicy” and Mozzarella Marshmallow Brulee. They cost anywhere from $7 – $15, but totally worth if you need a chocolate fix. Take a look at some images of their mad chocolate experiments at 22nd & Philly’s blog.

Over at Golosa, the drink menu alone has to 14 different types of hot chocolate, like their “Speziata,” which is 56% chocolate with cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Sazon, on Spring Garden Street, serves a year round revolving menu of more than twenty varieties of hot chocolate, along with the chef’s unique chocolate truffles. Some other great places to get hot cocoa are Milkboy Philly, Cafe Lutecia, and Franklin Fountain.

One of our all-time favorites is the Ancho Chile Hot Chocolate at Red Hook Cafe, which always hits the spot. Do you have a favorite hot cocoa? Tell us in the comments!

Kobi sat down to a meal with the guys over at The 700 Level where he revealed some of his insane eating habits, that he considers himself a “foodie” and we realized, based on his fashion sense (and him taking pictures of his food) he may be a hipster.

Earlier this week we met with Gerri Trooskin, director of the Philadelphia Science Festival, to talk about some of the fun and interesting things that are happening for the fest this Spring. Phoodie might make an appearance in the line up, so stay tuned! For now, we wanted to bring your attention to their, now annual, naming of the official Science Festival Beer. They’re really trying to ramp up the intrigue amongst people like you who undoubtedly pay little attention to science in the city. So, what better way to do it than with beer, honestly. The Science Festival will once again include several drink-related events. Brewing is indeed the best biochemistry their is! Last year, Yards Brewing created a special beer for the fest, a Belgian strong ale called E=MC Beered. There was a vote last year to name this beer… but obviously lots of you didn’t know. That name is pretty pitiful. I think we can do better this year.

Yards is taking part again this year and will be brewing a larger batch of their special edition Sci Fest brew. This year, they’ll come in bottles too, with a fun custom label design. You only have until February 9th to vote for the 2012 Philadelphia Science Festival Beer, so get on it! Below are your 6 options. I wish we had had in on this earlier. We would’ve loved to create a “write in your recommendation” line and collect the responses. Feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments section!

Heisenberg’s Drunken Principle
Avogadro’s Numbeer
Bucky Ball Bock
German String Beer-y
Science FestivALE
Atom Blonde

Once again, you only have until 10am on February 9th to VOTE!

(Images via Philly.com and Philasciencefestival.org)