Mother's Day

Roses from my mother’s garden

~MOTHER’S DAY~ brunch and lunch and dinners will be hosted at practically every restaurant with a kitchen on Sunday May 10th. If you (or Mom) have a favorite place to dine, call and see what they’re offering. I was totally and completely inundated with Mother’s Day press releases, but I picked out just a couple that stood out for various reasons. Here you go:

San Francisco:

Waterbar
I recently brought my grandma, her best friend, and my mom and sis to lunch at Waterbar, and both the food and ambiance scored high with the ladies. I just found out their special Mother’s Day prix-fixe brunch menu is only $40, mighty reasonable considering the prices I am seeing out there. You get an amuse of sea bass ceviche; first course (choose one): Maine Lobster bisque, little gem salad, or house-cured smoked sturgeon; main (choose one): Dungeness crab Louie salad, stuffed cornmeal crepes, or local halibut papillote; and lemon pound cake for dessert. 11am–3pm. Reservations: 415-284-9922.

Silks
Mother’s Day brunch will be served at Silks from 9am–1pm, and you gotta love an endless flow of mimosas (those puppies can add up quick otherwise). The list of items to be served includes but is not limited to: chilled soba noodle salad; smoked salmon; steamed dim sum; scrambled eggs, bacon, chicken-apple and pork sausage; and carrot ginger soup. A dessert table will offer a wide array of sweets. $49 for adults and $25 for children, plus tax and gratuity. Reservations are suggested and may be made by calling 415-986-2020.

Luce (and I-SPA)
If you want to wine and dine and pamper mom, the I-SPA at the InterContinental San Francisco has teamed up with their restaurant Luce to offer a one-day Mother’s Day getaway for $149. It includes lunch or dinner at Luce for Mom (a special Mother’s Day menu will be offered), chocolate box takeaway, spa treatment (50 minute massage) at I-SPA, spa gift bag, and parking (to be validated in Luce). The package needs to be booked by Thursday May 7th by calling 415-616-6597.

Parties That Cook! Mother’s Day Brunch Class
Take Mom to the Ferry Plaza for a fun morning of sipping mimosas and whipping up a gourmet brunch in the kitchen with Parties That Cook! At this hands-on cooking class, you and your mom will learn new cooking techniques, then sit down to a buffet brunch that will include miniature smoked salmon croque monsieur sandwiches and asparagus and green garlic frittata bites. Coffee and mimosas included. $75 per guest. 10:30am–1pm. View menu and sign up here.

East Bay:

Pican
Pican will open early at 11am and will have three brunch seatings that will include crawfish eggs Benedict and bourbon-Champagne mimosas. For reservations, call 510-834-1000.


Wine Country:

Martini House
Because Martini House is Mother’s Day central, this lovely St. Helena restaurant will offer a prix-fixe lunch and dinner menu for $45 on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (May 8th, 9th, and 10th). In addition, Martini House will have its à  la carte, tasting, and cellar menus available. Call 707-963-2233 for reservations.

Brix
I know my mom would love admiring the gardens at this place. Executive chef Anne Gingrass-Paik of Brix in Napa is hosting a special buffet-style Mother’s Day brunch, with items like sourdough pancakes with pecans, soft scrambled eggs with fromage blanc, carved beef filet, along with a seafood bar with barbequed mussels, Beau Soleil oysters, and a Laughing Bird shrimp cocktail. $44 per person, children age 12 and under are $22 per person, exclusive of taxes and gratuities. Orange juice and coffee is included. 10am–3pm. Call 707-944-2749.

SolBar
For a wine country Mother’s Day brunch, the $35 price tag ($19 per guest under twelve) on this one at SolBar at Solage is hard to beat, and the setting in Calistoga is faboo. The menu begins with a parfait of strawberries and granola with honeyed yogurt and brut rosé granita, then a first course (Forni Brown whole leaf lettuces, or little gem Cobb salad, or SolBar smoked salmon with Delta asparagus, or house-made tagliatelle with Mendocino morels and English peas. The second course choices include a Belgian-style waffle, or bacon and onion quiche, or poached eggs on their English muffins with Monterey artichokes and Dungeness crab hollandaise, or Pacific coast halibut. Macadamia-crusted cheesecake is offered for dessert. To make your reservation, call 707-226-0850.

Mother’s Day
Sun. May 10th, 2009

Various locations