I had the funny realization this week that I do not remember what my husband, I and the kids did for Mother’s Day last year.
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I had the funny realization this week that I do not remember what my husband, I and the kids did for Mother’s Day last year. It was one of many dinners we cooked and ate here, and one of the many days we tried to keep busy in the house. While I remember cooking the meal, I don’t remember what we ate or what we did that day.
It sort of blends into the 400-plus days where life has changed, and to be frank, all I remember about the month of May 2020 was that I was just glad we were safe.
Flash forward to this year and I know this is going to sound so cliché, but I told my husband I don’t want to cook on the mom holiday. I’m serious. I really don’t want to cook. I don’t want to cook quiches or tacos or pasta. I don’t want to bake cookies or whip up anything. Nothing.
Hear me out. Last year, many of us had to drop off gifts outside mom’s house, or not see her at all. The restaurants were shuttered tight, with no signs of reopening. And many moms - ahem - cooked their own meals at home. This Mother’s Day May 9, it’s time for some spoilage. And restaurants are on board, doing what twelve months ago would have seemed impossible: they are hosting Mother’s Day brunches and dinners.
“I am really excited to be back,” said Fernando Sauri, owner of Tamarindo’s in Flourtown. “I feel alive again.”
Like so many restaurateurs, Sauri is psyched up for Mom’s Day. He’s churning out free margaritas and sangrias, and he just debuted a new spring menu where moms can choose apps, salads and entrees.
“We are making the perfect free margaritas,” Sauri said. Though Tamarindo’s is known for its free margaritas, he came up with a special flavor for Mother’s Day. “Fresh lime juice, tequila and orange liqueur.”
Tamarido’s will be open for dinner May 9, and though moms can choose anything from the menu, he plans to have special brisket tacos with a cilantro, tomato and onion salad, topped with creamy avocado, as well as grilled halibut, carne asada, and authentic Mexican poblano stuffed peppers.
At Mimi’s at the Top of the HIll, chef Carl Drake is serving brunch all day from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., with live music from 11:30 to 2:30. The music will be outdoors and there is limited seating inside, but he’ll have specialty cocktails and flower giveaways for the moms.
Jansen will offer extended hours at the resto from 4 to 8 p.m. to serve “some elegant and extravagant additions to the menu to spoil the mothers in our lives,” according to manager Zachary Bourne. For those who want to dine at home, Jansen has a Mother’s Day Take and Bake option for two for $100 available for pick-up from 1 to 3 p.m. The deal is a three-course meal ready in 15 minutes at home. For $35, kids can get a take-and-bake mac and cheese and chicken finger meal to dine alongside mom.
Breakfast guru Robert Pollard, who is “so happy to be back,” is opening Breakfast Boutique from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Mother’s Day in Chestnut Hill and Mount Airy, with shrimp and grits for the ladies for $12.50, chicken and waffles, a favorite for $12, as well as steak and eggs for the guys for $13.
If it’s vegan mom craves, All the Way Live, the Hill’s mother-daughter-owned raw vegan café, will have platters for mom, featuring an entrée, soup and beverage for $20. Moms can choose from anything on the menu.
Cake, a brunch staple, will be open from 10 to 2:30 this Sunday. I’d suggest a reservation for the magical greenhouse that is always swamped on Mother’s Day.
Over at Tavern on the Hill, owner Kathlyn Egan is offering a Mother’s Day menu including broiled crab-stuffed flounder with a lemon herb compote and sauteed spinach and rice. She’ll be giving moms a $3 coupon with each entrée order which can be used toward the purchase of a book at the new Hilltop Books at 84 Bethlehem Pike. It’s just another way to spread some springtime cheer and help support a new local business.
“Last year was a very lonely Mother’s Day for most, separated by family and friends,” Egan said. “This year is brighter and full of hope.”
You can finish off mom’s meal with some chocolates from Zipf’s Candies, which has gift boxes weighing in at up to two pounds filled with chocolate truffles. Prices vary.
And Made By Me in the Market at the Fareway owner Mary Ellen Salamone is taking orders through May 6 for her chocolate-dipped strawberries ($15 for half a dozen), chocolate high heel shoes ($20) and martini glasses with assortments of chocolate ($25.)
Happy Mother’s Day! Here’s to no dishes to clean Sunday night!
Tamarindo”s, 726 Bethlehem Pike, Flourtown, 215-619-2390
Mimi’s, 184 E, Evergreen Ave., 215-420-4334
Jansen, 7402 Germantown Ave., 267-335-5041
Breakfast Boutique Chestnut Hill, 8630 Germantown Ave., 215-621-7796
Cake, 8501 Germantown Ave., 215-247-6887
Tavern on the Hill, 8636 Germantown Ave., 215-247-9948
Zipf’s Candies, 8433 Germantown Ave., 215-248-1877
Made By Me, 8221 Germantown Ave., 215-450-3165