That annual appreciation of all things maternal, Mother's Day, is almost upon us. If you want to treat your mama to a celebratory meal, you'd better make your reservations soon (like yesterday!) because Mother's Day is the most popular dining-out day of the year. To get you started, here are some festive options that LA eateries are cooking up for Sunday, May 11th.
Blue Plate: This Santa Monica American is featuring an all-day à la carte brunch – think French toast with pecans, apricots and amaretto-whipped butter – with a complimentary tangerine mimosa, or you can pick up a to-go Mother's Day Care Package of either granola, yogurt and fresh fruit or a bagel-and-lox platter plus fresh-squeezed juice, a champagne split, fresh-ground coffee and four cookies – an instant breakfast-in-bed that serves four for $75 (8 AM–9 PM; 310-260-8877).
Border Grill: This high-end Santa Monica Mexican offers two three-course prix fixes for Mother's Day, one for brunch ($35 for adults, $12 for children) and one for dinner ($38). Brunch items include lobster Benedict, blue-corn waffles and squash-blossom relleno. Come evening, the menu shifts to an "Environmentally Friendly Dinner" featuring sustainable seafood, locally grown produce and hormone- and antibiotic-free meats (310-451-1655).
The Brentwood: Treat mom like an A-lister by taking her to dinner at what may be LA's most celebrity-intensive restaurant, which will offer its much-loved creature-comfort menu of braised short ribs with polenta, penne rustica with burrata cheese and 16-oz. Kansas City prime bone-in chop (5 PM–10 PM; 310-476-3511).
Cézanne: This upscale French-Californian in the beachfront Le Merigot does what you'd expect a JW Marriott to do – it offers a gut-buster of a buffet brunch including an omelet-and-eggs-Benedict station, a Pacific Rim station, a sushi bar, a carving station, a savory station and a dessert buffet (11 AM–3 PM; $75 per adult; $30 per child; 310-395-9700).
Comme Ça: David Myers' hot new bistro will be serving its
très Parisienne brunch menu of eggs Benedict, pain perdu (French toast), oeufs en cocotte (baked eggs) and plenty of pastries; every mom gets a complimentary glass of champagne and a rosé champagne–flavored truffle (8 AM–5 PM; 323-782-1178).
JAR: Chef Suzanne Tracht pays homage to moms with an à la carte menu of dishes like chilaquiles with shredded pork, lobster Benedict with pea tendrils and pot roast hash with two eggs; there's also a selection of special Mother's Day cocktails like JAR Holy Water (lemon-flavored vodka and club soda), Cucumber Spa Water and Blood Orange Mimosa (10 AM–2 PM; 323-655-6566).
La Cachette: This formal French offers a three-course Mother's Day brunch of dishes like smoked-herring-and-whitefish salad and grilled tuna with harissa emulsion; there will also be an assortment of homemade sweets (11:30 AM–2:30 PM; $65 per person; 310-470-2510).
Tracht's: Chef de Cuisine Randy Montoya has come up with a unique à la carte brunch menu of deviled eggs filled with crabmeat, fried oysters with celery-root rémoulade and Cobb salad with duck confit; there's a fine view of Long Beach Harbor from the floor-to-ceiling windows (10:30 AM–2 PM; 562-499-2533).