Mother's Day Dining
 
Restaurants
 

Mother's Day Dining

 
There is a certain type of Mom for whom Mother's Day means one thing and one thing only: brunch at Tavern-on-the-Green, the mother of all Mother's Day venues. Call her the Traditional Mom or the Old-Fashioned Mom. She will accept no substitutes, and if you haven't made your reservation by now, you'll witness her sudden transformation into the Guilt-Tripping Mom. On the bright side, there's a Mother's Day menu for every personality type. Do the following suggestions remind you of anyone?
 
Mother's Day Planner

Beyond Brunch: Five great things to do with your mom, from the Botanic Garden to a marathon makeover.

Mother's Day Menus: Seven top restaurants with Mother's Day specials (advertorial).

for the sleepyhead mom
"Little Buddy" Mother's Day cooking class at the Minnow
In spite of all that clanking in the kitchen, Mom can relax in bed well into the morning after sending the kids off to Aaron Bashy's latest cooking class the day before. On Saturday, May 11, Bashy will guide aspiring Food Network personalities (ages 4 to 8, accompanied by a parent) through the breakfast-in-bed basics, and show them how to make quiche Lorraine and strawberry shortcake, even how to set a proper tray, after which Junior can try it at home the next day. Have bagels on standby.
• The Minnow, 442 9th Street, Brooklyn 718-832-5500

for the been-there-done-that mom
AZ
Patricia Yeo proves she's a good daughter by finally opening her Chelsea triplex for its inaugural brunch to coincide with Mother's Day. Like Charlie and Grandpa Joe, you and Mom ride the glass elevator to the third-floor rooftop garden, where lucky Mom will be the first among her envious friends to sample warm-asparagus salad with "bacon and eggs," a blueberry-and-lemon souffl� pancake, or hot tea-smoked salmon with green-tea risotto.
• AZ, 21 West 17th Street, 212-691-8888

for the down-home mom
Kitchenette Uptown
 Mother's Day specials like stuffed French toast with strawberry-rhubarb compote for brunch or chicken and dumplings for dinner, plus a homemade cupcake with cream-cheese frosting and decorated with letters m-o-m at this cheerful new spinoff of TriBeCa's beloved country kitchen make for a smart, less hectic alternative to Harlem's soul-food shrine Sylvia's.
• Kitchenette Uptown, 1272 Amsterdam Avenue, near 123rd Street, 212-531-7600

for the eat-your-veggies mom
Verbena
Verbena's proximity to the Union Square Greenmarket and Diane Forley's and Michael Otsuka's seasonally inspired cooking — spring-artichoke broth with pea sprouts, potato-leek-spinach-and-fava frittata, and pistachio-filled cr�pes with rhubarb compote — should please the most discriminating earth mother. Book a garden table.
• Verbena, 54 Irving Place, 212-260-5454

for the oenophile mom
March
 The only thing to match Wayne Nish's asparagus vinaigrette with chervil and chopped egg, ravioli poulet au pot, and Mediterranean sea bass with ratatouille and tarragon is a $25 "premier" or a $35 "grand" wine tasting, pairing glasses from March's renowned cellar to every course.
• March, 405 East 58th Street, 212-754-6272

for the i'll-diet-tomorrow mom
Peacock Alley
 A brunch buffet outfitted with omelette and pasta stations, a raw and sushi bar, and 30 desserts, plus soothing live harp music and unlimited champagne (optional) should distract Mom from delving too deeply into your personal life.
• Peacock Alley, 301 Park Avenue, at 49th Street, 212-872-4895