Dining in the Turks & Caicos

The Turks and Caicos Islands may be tiny but their tourist hub, Providenciales, is an impressive dining destination, with more than 80 restaurants crammed into a mere 38 square-miles.

And when it comes to romantic Valentine's Day-worthy dining, Parallel 23, the signature restaurant at The Palms, really knows how to set the scene. Take one stately great house; add a coral-stone dining terrace overlooking gardens punctuated with cascading bougainvillea blossoms and trees wrapped in fairy lights; embellish with candlelit tables for two and a little moonlight, and next thing you know, you're telling the children where Daddy proposed.

But as magical as the setting is, it never upstages the cuisine at the chic restaurant, named for Provo's latitude. To start, try, as I did, scrumptious caramelized butternut squash ravioli with goat cheese. Then, as I did, go for the deliciously decadent foie gras served three ways: pan-seared, a la terrine and creme brulee. (Who needs arteries, anyway?) And for a fitting finale, choose the piece de resistance, a seven-item chocolate degustation dessert platter. Yep, you guessed it: I did.