The Ultimate Mother’s Day Dining Guide
The NoMad’s famous Roasted Chicken
Chances are your mom dealt with your toddler tantrums, indulged your New Kids on the Block obsession, bought you your first car, sent you to college, and suffered through your string of highly unsuitable significant others. And let’s not forget that whole pushing you out of her birth canal business.
So why not make a few installments on a lifetime of payback by taking her out for Mother’s Day? From an elaborate dinner at The NoMad in Manhattan to laidback Italian at Antica Pesa in Brooklyn, and a day trip to City Island in the Bronx, this handy guide will help show your mom how much you really care.
Antica Pesa
If you can’t afford to fly your mom to Italy (don’t worry, not many of us can), dinner reservations at Antica Pesa might just be the next best thing. The Williamsburg restaurant is the first U.S outpost of the historic, Roman eatery, which has been serving traditional Cucina Romana in Trastevere for over 90 years. You’ll find similar dishes at both locations, like “Uovo Fritto” with Cauliflower Puree and Truffle Oil, and “Gnocchi di Castagne,” a Chestnut Flour Pasta studded with Lamb and Broccoli Rabe. And who knows, you might even see Robert DeNiro, Madonna, or Mayor Bloomberg at the next table!
LIC Market
This seriously adorable Long Island City spot is a combination gourmet grocery and Seasonal American restaurant. Open for breakfast, lunch, brunch, or dinner, they serve market-fresh fare like Ricotta and Pignoli Salad, Cockles with Salsa Verde, Fettuccini with Sea Urchin, Pear, Tomatoes and Basil, and Pork Tenderloin with White Beans and Pommery Vinaigrette. But no matter when you choose to dine out on Mother’s Day, be sure to buy your mom a few artisanal goodies to take home after you eat, like Fig Jam, Olive Tapenade, and Pickled Baby Carrots.
The NoMad
It’s not like we’d ever pinch pennies when it comes to mom. But $95 for a four-course dinner at the tony The NoMad, known for serving $20 carrots and $79 roasted chicken, isa pretty great deal. Especially since the Mother’s Day menu actually includes those carrots (slow-roasted with wheat berries, crispy duck skin and cumin), and that chicken (basted with liquid foie gras and stuffed with black truffle and brioche), along with desserts, like the popular “Milk and Honey,” a buckwheat honey-flavored milk ice with honey brittle, honey oat shortbread, and dehydrated milk foam.
Read Moredell’anima
Who needs an excuse to eat at dell’anima? (You certainly don’t have to twist our arm.) But now you can enjoy a deliciously hip Italian meal with mom while supporting a good cause. That’s because a portion of all Mother’s Day brunch sales at Joe Campanale and Gabe Thompson’s chic West Village trattoria, will help fund breast cancer research (and the same goes for its sister restaurant, L’Artusi). So grab a seat at the chef’s counter or a table with a Roasted Orange Negroni, a plate of Eggs with Charred Ramps and Calabrian Chili’s, or a Frittata with Spinach, Red Onion, Fennel and Pecorino, knowing that your money has gone towards finding a cure.
City Island Lobster House
It’s true. The Bronx doesn’t usually get much love when it comes to fine dining roundups. But City Island, a historic seaport community located at the western end of Long Island Sound, is a veritable hidden gem. Accessible by car or public transportation, there’s plenty to do (antique shops, a visit to the nautical museum), and even more importantly, to eat. The Lobster House is the first restaurant you’ll see upon entering City Island, and it’s also our favorite. Situated right on the water, you and your mom can do a little shopping then feast on fresh-off-the-boat lobsters, crab legs, whole fish, shrimp cocktail, raw oysters and steamed clams, all for outer-borough prices.
Tanoreen
Run by mother and daughter team, Rawia and Jumana Bishara, this Middle Eastern spot was one of the first worthy dining destinations to lure Manhattanites across the bridge and into Bay Ridge (for something other than Italian food!). So reserve your table now if you want a shot at Freekah with Lamb, Crispy Brussels Sprouts with Pomegranate Syrup and Tahini, Stuffed Baby Eggplant, and impossibly creamy Hummus on Mother’s Day. Because as Rawia once told us, “I’ve had to turn my own husband away during dinner hours more than once.” Yep, it’s that good.
Read MoreBosie Tea Parlor
How many pretend “tea parties” did your mom sit through when you were little, squeezed at a tiny table amongst your Barbie dolls and teddy bears? You might want to consider treating her to the real thing this year at Bosie Tea Parlor in the West Village, which offers one of the best formal tea services in the city. At $51, the basic tea for two includes Mini Scones with Clotted Cream and Jam, Tea Sandwiches, Teacakes, and of course, tea. Then, there’s the Chef’s Tea Service, which you’ll need to reserve 48 hours in advance. For $113, you’ll receive a 4-cup pot of premium tea, champagne, 24 canapés (like Quail Egg and Black Truffle and Duck Breast with Roasted Plum), and Chef’s Macarons in flavors, like 25-year aged Aceto Balsamico or Single-Origin Sao Tome Dark Chocolate. This is mom we’re talking about here. Go for the upgrade.
Corkbuzz Wine Studio
What mom doesn’t appreciate wine? Afterall, it ain’t easy raising kids these days. And it’s even more appropriate that Corkbuzz is run by the world’s youngest female master sommelier, Laura Maniec. How cool is that? So meet mom at the bar for a glass of Vinho Verde or Pinot Blanc, take a class together, like “A Tour of Argentina” or “Everything Rosé”, or reserve seats for the special, Mother’s Day Sunday Supper. For $100pp, you’ll enjoy a seasonal menu, paired with wines exclusively from woman winemakers. Expect Fluke Ceviche, coupled with a Pewsey Vale Dry Riesling, Bucatini Pasta with Iron Horse Vineyards Rosé, Roasted Cornish Hens with Tami Nero d’Avola, and Strawberry Shortcake, with vanilla bean cream and Renardat-Fâche Cerdon du Bugey.
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