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Valentine's Day Stories From Bay Area Restaurants: Lost Rings, Uniformed Proposals And More (PHOTOS)

First Posted: 02/14/2012 12:52 pm   Updated: 02/14/2012 12:52 pm

When it comes to Valentine's Day stories, Bay Area restaurant workers have literally seen it all.

From swallowed rings to blowup fights, from room-silencing proposals to heartfelt anniversaries -- if it's happened, it's happened in one of our restaurants. "I have seen so many marriage proposals at our restaurant," said Foreign Cinema Chef Gayle Pirie to The Huffington Post. "I can hardly remember them all!"

We asked our chefs, servers and concierges to share their wildest VDay stories with us. Here are a few of our favorites. Happy Valentine's Day, San Francisco!

Michael Mina
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"Last year during Valentine's week, I had a husband and wife come into the restaurant. The moment they arrived, something was off, " said Michael Mina General Manager Ryan Cole. "The woman was at the table, but the guy got up and was gone for at least ten minutes. When he came back, they started arguing, and she was very upset." Cole expected the couple might leave, but they ordered the lengthy tasting menu instead. "I thought is was so odd - if a couple is fighting and miserable, they usually don't prolong the dinner."

According to Cole, the strange behavior continued. The husband continued to leave the table for long periods of time, and the woman had started crying. Finally, the restaurant captain approached the table to check in and was able to get part of the story. "The couple was celebrating their 20th anniversary, and somehow the woman had pulled her wedding ring off of her finger with her bag while stepping out of the taxi," said Cole. "The ring bounced into the gutter and out of reach."

The bell captain sprung into action. With the help of the valet team, the captain lifted the grate, searched through standing water with dishwashing gloves and found the ring. "After washing it off, the husband got down on one knee and gave it back to his wife."
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When it comes to Valentine's Day stories, Bay Area restaurant workers have literally seen it all. From swallowed rings to blowup fights, from room-silencing proposals to heartfelt anniversaries --...
When it comes to Valentine's Day stories, Bay Area restaurant workers have literally seen it all. From swallowed rings to blowup fights, from room-silencing proposals to heartfelt anniversaries --...
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Beatriz Sandoval
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02:11 PM on 02/15/2012
Love this! Sf does have some crazy stories along with some AMAZING restaurants. http://www.skinnyscoop.com/list/claudia/best-eats-in-bay-area
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