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One of the busiest days of the year in the restaurant industry, Mother’s Day (May 12) will be celebrated at a number of local establishments across the area. After compiling a fairly tall and narrow list of Easter brunch options, we decided to go short and wide for Mother’s Day events. Here are 5 to get you started, ranging from a traditional brunch to DIY locavorism.
While Ben Poremba and his staff aren’t doing anything “special” for Mother’s Day, we’re betting that the regular brunch you’ll find at his wildly popular restaurant—it’s Olio’s space with Elaia’s food—is more special than some places’ special menus. The generic “soup and salad” label belies what’s offered: chilled asparagus soup with yogurt and lemon, for example, and endive salad with cucumber, sunflower shoots, snap peas, and leeks. Burrata—a mozzarella ball with cream nestled in the center—is a must and could be paired with an Elderflower Bellini or a Bloody Mary, which provide vitamin A and electrolytes, respectively, according to the playful menu. Among the hot plates, you’ll find an egg scramble with crispy sweetbreads and a revolving list of specials that live up to their names, even if they’re not “special” to the holiday. Reservations are accepted and recommended. Still not convinced? You don’t have to leave Olio to make the short journey across the street to Simone Faure’s recently opened patisserie; you can start with a basket of La Patisserie Chouquette’s baked goods, but mind your manners: They’re for sharing . . . just as Mom taught you.
Laumeier Sculpture Park Art Fair
Over Mother’s Day weekend, the 26th Annual Art Fair at Laumeier Sculpture Park will take place, offering you and Mom an opportunity to browse more than 150 artists’ wares in the park, accompanied by live music, while sampling food and drink along the way. If your mother likes wine, treat her to The Art of the Vine on Friday night. Or if she’s more of a beer drinker and wants to meet Schlafly’s brewers and co-founders, there’s The Art of the Ale on Saturday. For more traditional mothers, desiring a more traditional celebration, Whole Foods will present a Mother’s Day brunch at the fair on Sunday; two seatings are available, at 10:15 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. The brunch buffet costs $35 per adult ($25 for park members), $10 per child (ages 6 to 11), and is free for children under 5. Brunch tickets include Art Fair admission and must be purchased in advance.
Whoever decided that Mother’s Day had to be celebrated in the morning or early afternoon didn’t know about Claverach Farm’s Sunday Suppers. At least once a month, the farm’s Sam Hilmer and Joanna Duley host guests in a refurbished barn on their working farm. Suppers begin at 5 p.m., with an aperitif from the farm’s vineyard, followed by a family-style, multi-course dinner prepared from whatever happens to be sprouting, growing, or “laying” around the farm. Current seasonal items, for example, might include sunflower, radish, and pea shoots, as well as pasture-raised eggs. For your sake, we hope one of their flatbreads is on the menu, since the pizza oven, located front and center in the barn, turns out addictively amazing breads. Don’t spoil your dinner, Mom would probably tell you, but she’s going to have a hard time herself moderating the carb consumption. The Mother’s Day dinner is the only Sunday Supper in May—reason enough to fête your mom at one of St. Louis’ most charming dining destinations. Dinners run $60 per person, and reservations can be made via email at claverachevents@gmail.com.
On the Tuesday before Mother’s Day (May 7), the talented trio that is Tenacious Eats—Liz Schuster, Justin Yarrington, and Jake Alcorn—will cook (and probably sing and dance) alongside the mother of all camp movies, Serial Mom. Schuster chose John Waters’ flick over Mommie Dearest because, she said, the director, like Hitchcock, makes you use your imagination. “It’s what you don’t see that makes it more terrible,” Schuster enthused. Offerings will most likely include wasabi deviled eggs and fried nori chips with a Sriracha glaze—a culinary representation of the main character’s dichotomy (“proper Wasp meets evil”). Schuster is also considering serving something from a Jell-O mold that “looks normal and ‘Wonder Bread’ but tastes evil . . . and delicious,” and cereal-encrusted quail or pork belly. The chef’s “quirky and awesome and weird” mom will be in attendance along with her son who regularly works as a server, so the event will be truly cross-generational. Also “crossed” will be some of the dressing that night, with either Yarrington or Alcorn costumed as Kathleen Turner’s signature crazed character. For those whose moms’ tastes run more classic than camp, the May 14 Tenacious Eats event will air Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Dinners are $55 per guest and can be purchased through Brown Paper Tickets.
While Mother’s Day provides a good reason to take Mom somewhere special, why not cook for her? After all, she might be the reason why you can cook well in the first place—either by spending countless hours in the kitchen sharing her secrets or, like food writer Ruth Reichl’s mom, nearly poisoning you as a child so that you grew up determined to get that whole culinary thing right. Make a weekend out of the holiday by starting out on Saturday at the Tower Grove Farmers’ Market, which opens for the season on May 4, and meander past the stalls, deciding what local, seasonal fare looks best. For ideas of what to do with all that food, stop by Kitchen Kulture’s booth, where you can not only buy prepared foods, but also learn from Mike Miller and Chris Meyer about how to use what’s available at the market. Since they source directly from the market’s farmers and the season thus far has been so wet, Meyer said that she and Miller don’t know yet exactly what they’ll have; like last year, however, they’ll do “something special for Mom.” Cured trout, brined chicken breasts, ramp pasta, and ramp-goat-cheese tart will most likely be on the menu. The theme, Meyer explains, is “cooking for Mom to take the work out of her day.” (Check Kitchen Kulture’s Facebook page and website closer to Mother’s Day for what will be available.)
If cheese is on your Mother’s Day menu, make sure to visit Baetje Farms’ and Marcoot Jersey Creamery’s stalls at the market. For produce and mushrooms, you can choose among EarthDance Farms, Hot Skillets Farm, and Ozark Forest Mushrooms, while carnivores should seek out Missouri Grass Fed Beef, Live Springs Farm, and Salume Beddu. For dessert—either in the moment or after the meal—stop by Pie Oh My!, Whisk, and Kakao Chocolate.
What could be more appropriate on Mom’s national holiday than expressing your love, thanks, and appreciation for her through the simple act of cooking? That you can also support some fantastic local producers, chefs, and artisans in the process is icing on the (locally sourced), homemade cake.
