Mom spent years making sure you'd eat your vegetables. It's time for you to make sure that she eats hers (although they should be of the delectable, asparagus-dripping-in-hollandaise-sauce variety). Treat Mom right and take her out. Chicago's restaurants make it a lot easier than choking down that broccoli was...
Le Francais
Best for: Suburban pangs for French
Chef Roland Liccioni's three-course menu includes a first course of soup, salad or appetizer (hot or cold...oh, the choices!), a meat or fish entree and dessert. The $45 menu is available at 11 a.m. and 1 and 3 p.m. seatings. Reservations strongly recommended.
Vermilion
Best for: Avant-garde mothers
Surprise Mom with something outside her typical dining-out diet of salmon and salad. India-meets-Latin-America great Vermilion gives you your choice of celebrating over brunch or dinner, available from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Guests can choose a five-course meal for $50, or order a la carte. The prix-fixe menu inclcude mangosa (an exotic take on the mimosa), a trio of tapas, soup, and entree duo and a molten chocolate cake that (we'll admit it) tops any Duncan Hines version Mom ever made.
While you shouldn't forget to buy a greeting card, you can leave the gift up to Vermilion: All mothers will receive an elegant bottle of fragrant herbal oils and an Etro fragrance sample. Call ahead to order a $7 "individualized" cake; the lucky Mom who has the most creative/heartfelt toast on her individualized cake (this is where you come in, buddy) will also win a hamper of fragrances.
Fluky's
Best for: Starving artists who love Mom
Free breakfast. Stop squinting...it's true. Fluky's on Western will offer free breakfast on Mother's Day (Mom must be in tow) from 6-11 a.m. Choose from eats like eggs, pancakes, french toast, lox and bagels or the Flukito Burrito.
Bistro 110
Best for: Martini-drinking moms
Bistro 110 will offer a complimentary aperitif for Mom on her day: All mothers will receive a miniature version of Bistro 110's best-selling martini, the "Bellini Martini," featuring Absolut Mandarin, white peach puree and served over champagne tableside. They will also have a non-alcoholic option, the "Bistro 110 Peach Fizz," with French white peach puree, orange juice and a splash of Sprite. Bistro 110 will offer its regular brunch menu.
Aria
Best for: Worldly moms
Mother's Day registers at a more global holiday than most, and is celebrated in 40 countries around the world. This Mother's Day, aria celebrates moms everywhere with two culturally inspired menu items: lobster napoleon with mango, avocado and roasted baby beets; and roasted Alaskan halibut with fiddlehead ferns, asparagus, wild mushrooms, spring pea sauce.
McCormick & Schmick's
Best for: Moms who brunch
McCormick & Schmick's does its only buffet of the year on Motheršs Day, so pile a heap on your plate. Running from 11:30 a.m.-4 p.m. (last seating at 2:30 p.m.) the $23.95 buffet ($12.95 for kids 11 and under) includes pastries, a selection of smoked seafood, scrambled eggs, country style ham, homemade waffles with Vermont maple syrup, tropical fruit, imported and domestic cheeses, Caesar salad, fettucine alfredo with fresh Alaskan crab, peel & eat shrimp and more. Since nothing says "I love you" like vodka, lay down another $5.95 for a hand-shaken bloody Mary from the Scratch Bar.
Monsoon
Best for: Mamas who like tea and tandoori
Take a journey to India (by way of British colonial days and present-day traditions) with a brunch that features beverages like masala tea, mango lassi and exotic cocktails (lychee martini, anyone?), along with a buffet reflecting Punjabi, Kashmiri and coastal regional cuisine. The buffet will be stacked with Indian-style scrambled eggs served with an assortment of Indian breads; tandoori grilled chicken; saffron-flavored basmati rice with nuts, fruits and spices; goan fish curry; sweet desserts and more. All this for $19.95, which includes a choice of the aforementioned drinks ($7.95 per child under 12).
Adobo Grill (Old Town)
Best for: Flan-tastic moms
A reasonable $19.95 ($9.95 for kids under 10) gets you a tasty entree of your choice, plus endless trips around the buffet: What could be better? Running from 11 a.m.-3 p.m., you'll enjoy antojitos (appetizers) and postres (desserts) served buffet style. Load your plate with the famed guacamole, sopes, quesadillas, tamales with braised shredded chicken, salmon curado Veracruzano and more. Entree-wise, you can select from a roster that includes French toast stuffed with plantains; Epazote-flavored crepes stuffed with scrambled eggs, asadero cheese and huitlacoche; Pueblan-style "eggs Benedictine;" pan-seared chipotle marinated Ahi tuna; and more. Desserts include exotic fruit salad, tres leche cake, flan and chocolate tamal. The Wicker Park location offers the same set-up with slightly different dishes for $17.95.
10pin Bowling Lounge
Best for: Bowling her over
Who needs roses when you can have...bowling shoes? Show Mom just how much the fam loves to hang with her via a trip to 10pin. Starting at 11 a.m., $15 per guest is good for up to three hours of unlimited bowling and a shoe rental (after 8 p.m., guests must be 21+). And because she's bound to get hungry while throwing those strikes, you can take your pick of mom-esque tea sandwiches (like cucumber and mint on pumpernickel), scones (with lemon curd, natch) and specialty martinis like the $9 10pin tea, a lethal blend of vodka, gin, rum, tequila, triple sec, amaretto, sweet & sour and a splash of soda, garnished with a sugared lemon wheel. You may want to let Dad drive after that one...
Harry Caray's
Best for: Cubs-crazed Mothers
Because nothing says "I love you" like a sports-themed Mother's Day, Harry Caray's is offering mom nothing but the best. From 4-10 p.m., the restaurant will feature a prix-fixe menu (appetizer, salad, salmon or filet entree and chocolate hazelnut cake) in addition to its regular Italian Steakhouse fare. The $65 version includes wine pairings with each course, while tee-totalers can lay down just $45. Each mother will receive a complimentary chocolate dipped strawberry following dinner. Reservations recommended.
Tizi Melloul
Best for: Moms who like to shimmy shimmy
Forget a pinkie-in-the-air, eggs Benedict brunch. Spice things up with a dinner trip to Tizi Melloul, where mom will enjoy a complimentary sparkling toast, belly dancing and tasty fare like a seared scallop and foie gras appetizer ($12), Ras el Hanout poached Maine lobster ($28) and roast veal loin stuffed with Prosciutto and Cabrales blue bheese ($24). From 5-10 p.m.
Salpicon
Best for: Moms who deserve spicy specialties
One of Chicago's upscale Mexican greats, Salpicon will offer an a la carte menu from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. A sampling of the goods? How about tostaditas de tinga, crispy small tortillas mounded with shredded pork and chorizo in a roasted tomato-chipotle sauce, for an appetizer? If Mom is more of a seafood lover, start with tortita de jaiba, fresh Maryland jumbo blue crabcake seasoned with serrano chiles and cilantro. Entrees include charcoal-grilled tilapia served with salsa fresca ($19), huevos rancheros ($10), garlic-marinated and grilled quail served in a sauce of ancho chiles, garlic, caramelized onions and honey ($22) and rack of Australian baby lamb encrusted with pumpkinseeds ($26).
Zealous
Best for: Week-long appreciators of Mom
Show Mom you love her...on a Thursday. Chef Michael Taus of Zealous restaurant offers all mothers a complimentary four-piece dim sum course for the entire week leading up to Mother's Day. That's right: From May 3-7, mothers receive the chef's choice of four pieces, which can include Mandarin prawn dumplings, spicy tuna maki with roasted beet-wasabi, barbecued oxtail bun and grilled Hudson Valley foie gras with spicy lobster toast and caramelized pineapple vinaigrette.
Kinzie Chophouse
Best for: Moms who like the bubbly Happy Mother's Day Celebrate Mother's Day at Kinzie Chophouse, with Mom in tow, of course, and receive a complimentary bottle of champagne with the purchase of two entrees. Now that's something to toast to. Mom will also receive a complimentary dessert. Available between noon and 9 p.m.
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