Best of Mother's Day Dining

Mother’s Day is less than a week away, so you might want to make a reservation.   We’ve scoped out the city’s best options for brunch, dinner, and even sweets to pick up for your mom…

 

Dell’anima

38 Eighth Ave. (btwn. Jane St. & W. 12^th St.)
(212) 366-6633
www.dellanima.com
Dell’anima’s new brunch menu debuts Mother’s Day. If you’re a regular, you’ll recognize the ricotta pancakes and the arugula salad.  But newcomers include “uova in purgatorio” – baked eggs in a spicy tomato sauce with pancetta, shallots, rosemary, and parmesan cheese, and the crespelle di castagna – chestnut flour crepes filled with fresh ricotta and honey. 
The Oak Room
The Plaza Hotel
10 Central Park South (@ Fifth Ave.)
(212) 758-7777
www.oakroomny.com
There’s a new chef in the kitchen at the Oak Room and Mother’s Day might be the perfect day to give his new menu a try.  Chef Hara is offering a $75 three-course menu with a glass of sparkling wine. Savory appetizers include oysters on the half shell with pineapple-vanilla mignonette as well as sweeter options like homemade granola with vanilla yogurt, berries and passion fruit doughnuts. For the mains, there’s lobster eggs benedict with lobster hollandaise and chorizo sausage.  End with a pastry from one of the dessert carts.

SALONTEA
501 E. 75th St. (btwn. York Ave. & FDR Dr.)
www.salontea.com
RSVP only to storenyc@tracystern.com
Mother’s Day will be celebrated a day early at this new Upper East Side tea emporium. There’s a Tea Party from noon to 4 PM for $35.  Guests will receive a pot of loose leaf tea and the all the traditional tea party bites, including scones with jam and Devon cream, tea sandwiches, pastries and petit fours.

Market Table
54 Carmine St. (btwn. Seventh Ave. South & Carmine St.)
(212) 255-2100
www.markettablenyc.com
Market Table’s offering a $45 three-course Mother’s Day prixe fixe from 12:30p.m. to 8:30p.m.  Start with the spring-inspired sweet onion gnocchi, fava beans and prosciutto in a parmesan broth, followed by sangria-marinated hanger steak, served with romaine lettuce grilled a la Caesar and burst tomatoes.  Desserts like polka dot cheesecake and apple cake with rum raisin gelato round out the menu. 

Bouchon Bakery
Time Warner Center, 3^rd Fl.
10 Columbus Circle
(212) 823-9366
Take your mom to Bouchon this Sunday.  Thomas Keller’s offering a $35 three course menu is in the café at Bouchon from 11:30 to 7PM.  Try the spring pea soup with brioche croutons and shaved pecorino, croque madame, and seared diver scallops with white asparagus, wild leeks and mushrooms duxelle. Then there’s dessert – Bouchon’s main attraction. Try the Delice au Chocolat – dark chocolate cremeux with almond sable, cocoa nib coulis and salted caramel ice cream. Just picking something up from the bakery?  Get the Spring Bonnet cake ($9.) The fillings are lemon cake with blueberry compote and almond streusel, or vanilla angel food with fruits of the forest and almond streusel.

 

JoeDoe
45 E. First St. (btwn. First & Second Aves.)
(212) 780-0262
www.chefjoedoe.com
This downtown brunch haven will be hosting an all-day celebration in honor of Mother’s Day.  During the day, dishes such as Mom’s Pancakes and Eggs, featuring a short stack with an egg hidden inside, and I ‘Heart’ Mom, a braised beef heart with horseradish and pickled onions, abound.  At night, the “Irish Lady’s Pasta Dinner” pays homage to the chef’s own mother, with a prixe-fixe menu including spicy seafood misto, meatballs, and baked ziti.

Toloache
251 W 50th St. (btwn 8th Ave. & B’way)
(212) 581-1818
www.toloachenyc.com
Between 11:30 AM and 3PM this Saturday and Sunday, mothers eat free when their family takes them to brunch. The menu features various tacos from chef Julian Medina, along with housemade guacamoles and ceviche. Mains include roasted banana French toast with dulce de leche and a zucchini flower omelet with doble crema cheese.

 
Payard
1032 Lexington Ave. (btwn. E. 73^rd & E. 74^th Sts.)
(212) 717-5252
www.payard.com
Payard has a $55 three-course prix fixe on top of their usual range of confections. Brunch offerings include a twice-baked, upside down cheese soufflé with parmesan cream sauce and white truffle oil and morrel risotto with spring garlic and wild ramps. For dessert, pick something from the patisserie.  Need to grab a gift for Mom?  Try the “Sweet Love”– a box of two Mother’s Day chocolates and the Joie – a raspberry mousse atop vanilla almond pound cake with champagne ganache and Harmonie macaroons.

The Smith
55 3^rd Ave. (btwn. 10^th @ 11^th Sts.)
(212) 420-9800www.thesmithnyc.com
The Smith will be providing more decadent offerings than usual this Mother’s Day. Additions to the brunch menu include lobster eggs benedict and lobster salad. Dinner continues with the lobster celebration, featuring a whole roasted lobster for $28.