Zest 817 COMING SOON // Mother's Day Brunch Roundup

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Mother’s Day Brunch Roundup

Give your mom the only thing she wants on her day: brunch.

BY ROBERT PHILPOT

Mother’s Day is the busiest brunch day of the year –– busy enough that some restaurants that are usually closed on Sundays open for that lovely meal after breakfast but before lunch. Here are our picks for some of the best ways to treat your mother –– yes, even a brunch served in a gas station.

By the way, if you haven’t made reservations, make them now. Seatings tend to fill up fast, and Mom warned you what would happen if you dilly-dally.

B&B Butchers,

5212 Marathon Av, 817-737-5212 The steakhouse and more at the Shops at Clearfork will open early for Mother’s Day (10am-3pm), offering its full brunch menu. The a la carte lineup is pretty extensive, with breakfast dishes ranging from a simple $11 pancake stack with mixed berries to a show-Mom-howmuch you love her Lux & Lox (lox with Assetra caviar, truffle cream cheese, and more) for $46. The lunch side of the brunch menu offers such simple items as a BLT ($13) as well as more extravagant choices, including a Club Cut ribeye ($38) or wasabi-crusted tuna ($36). For the full brunch menu, visit Bbbutchers.com/ fortworth. There will be live music on the patio, along with a balloon artist and a B&B Texas longhorn for photo ops. Customers can also pre-order a flower arrangement ($85-$215) for the table from Cityview Florists and Gifts when making their reservations –– 48-hour notice is required for the flower arrangements.

Bird Café

155 E 4th St, 817-332-2473 The Sundance Square Plaza restaurant will serve its usual brunch (10am-3pm), with a few special offerings. The most attention-getting one is the churro waffle (a cinnamon-sugar waffle with mixed berries, spiced chocolate, and whipped cream). Others include a loaded BLT (with bacon, arugula, fried green tomato, and an over-easy egg) and, on the relatively healthy side, grilled asparagus with poached eggs, crispy ham, and hollandaise. For dinner, Bird will offer a three-course prix-fixe menu, including your choice of rosemary chicken fettuccine and Texas chicken-fried steak as main-course options and a choice of honey-poached pear or lemon chess pie for dessert. Dinner is $45. An optional wine pairing is an additional $25.

Blue Mesa Grill,

612 Carroll St, 817-332-6372 One of the most popular weekend brunches will extend its hours for Mother’s Day, with brunch available from 8am to 8pm on May 12. If you’d rather do Mother’s Day Eve, brunch will also be available from 10am to 3pm on May 11. The buffet will include a huevos rancheros/omelet bar, smoked chicken enchiladas, Blue Mesa’s signature Adobe Pie, a street taco bar, waffles, chicken, salads, and more. Dessert stations will offer double chocolate fudge brownies, buildyour-own ice cream sundaes, churros, and cookies. The $24 cost includes champagne, mimosas, coffee, and soft drinks. For children 6-11, the brunch is $7, and it’s free for kids 5 and under. Blue Mesa will not accept reservations for the brunches but will offer call-ahead seating.

Chef Point Modern Bar & Restaurant,

5901 Watauga Rd, Watauga, 817-656-0080 Long known as Chef Point Cafe, the “gourmet restaurant in a gas station” quietly underwent a recent name change that better reflects the fare it offers. For Mother’s Day (10am-8pm), the a la carte menu ranges from a $20 Monte Cristo to a $32 smoked blackened ribeye, with such attention-getting options as New Zealand lamb chops smothered in brown mint sauce ($28) and grilled swordfish stuffed with fresh crabmeat, bell peppers, onions, and pepperjack ($30). A Colleyville location is due to open soon, but at press time, it didn’t look like it would make it for Mother’s Day.

Ellerbe Fine Foods,

1501 W Magnolia Av, 817-926-3663 The West Magnolia Avenue fine-dining spot is one of those places that opens on Sunday only for Mom –– well, the website says “mother, grandmother, aunts, sisters, and friends.” Even then, it does it only for a few hours (10am-2:30pm). This year’s three-course prix-fixe menu includes three entree choices: mojo de ajo wild Texas Gulf shrimp, Vital Farms eggs Florentine tartine, or herb-scented grilled chicken breast with sweet corn pudding, sauteed peas, Shines Farms carrots, and more. The dessert course is P.S. I Love You cake, a poppyseed cake with vanilla-scented whipped mascarpone and a strawberry citrus coulis. The cost is $45, with a children’s menu available for $22.

The Pain Perdu at GRACE (777 Main St, 817-877-3388) is topped with marinated Texas berries and Vermont maple syrup.

Photo Courtesy of GRACE

GRACE,

777 Main St, 817-877-3388 Another restaurant that doesn’t usually offer Sunday brunch, Grace makes an exception for Mom (11am- 2pm), serving up most of its regular menu (priced a la carte) as well as a few brunch items, including a $49 Eggs Benedict with petite filet, lump crab, and Béarnaise sauce, in case you want to show your mother how extravagantly you love her. On the other end of the scale, there’s pain perdu with Texas berries and Vermont maple syrup for $14. They’re also open for dinner from 5 to 9pm.

Next Bistro,

5003 Colleyville Blvd, 682-325-4046 The Colleyville restaurant will serve a three-course prix-fixe brunch for Mother’s Day (11am-3pm). Entree choices include New Orleans-style shrimp with fresh stone-ground grits, veal-stuffed quail with squash risotto, boeuf en croute with merlot sauce, lobster mac ’n’ cheese, or fresh fish of the day. Vegetarian options are available on request. There’s a choice of desserts as well, but we’re not sure we could pass up something called Chef Ying’s “Hiccough” Rum Cake. For the full menu, visit Next Bistro’s Facebook page. The cost is $44.95 per person, with a children’s menu available for $12.95.

Omni Hotel Fort Worth,

1300 Houston St, second floor, 817-350-4106 The Omni is known for big blowout special-event brunches, and that’s what Mother’s Day will bring –– a buffet centered on two entrees (coq au vin and smoked portobello-stuffed pork loin), with a carving station for both prime rib and banana-leaf-wrapped salmon. There’s also a cold display (fruits, berries, and assorted salads); shrimp, crab claws, salmon pastrami, and smoked salmon on ice; cheese and charcuterie; various breads; eggs to order; a “pasta action” station; and multiple desserts. Seating is every half-hour from 11am to 3pm on May 12. The cost will be $68 for adults, $40 children 6-12, and free for children 5 and under.

Queenie’s Steakhouse,

115 E Hickory St, Denton, 940-442-6834 Have Mother’s Day brunch (11am- 3pm) at the Denton restaurant named for Chef Tim Love’s mother. The three-course prix-fixe dinner includes such entree options as pan-seared chicken Milanese, pork-belly Eggs Benedict, and a four-ounce tenderloin with asparagus and baked lobster mac. The cost is $49.

Taste Community Restaurant,

1200 S Main St, 817-759-9045 The pay-what-you-can restaurant will serve a Mother’s Day brunch (11am-2pm) with entree choices that include lamb and egg flatbread, a brie-topped omelet, and cinnamon-raisin French toast. On the lunch side, choose from grilled chicken salad, chicken picatta, or a vegan Beyond Burger. Small-plate options include campechana (Mexican seafood soup) and a vegan cauliflower soup. Taste’s mission is to help people who are “food insecure” and might not know where their next meal is coming from, but everyone is welcome. And because this is Mom’s day, if you can afford it, it might be a good idea to pay a little more than you’d usually pay.

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