If you’re reading this, chances are it’s been quite some time since your mother bandaged a scrape and carted you to music lessons or sports practice. But if you’re reading this, you likely love the heck out of her for the way she supported you then and now and want to treat her to something delicious. But where to take the person who deserves everything? The North Fork restaurant is chock-full of options.
Whether you’re honoring a biological, adoptive or foster mother, grandmother, dog mother or person who is thoroughly motherly, these North Fork Mother’s Day celebrations are worthy options.
The Ram’s Head Inn, 108 Ram Island Dr., Shelter Island, 631-749-0811
For a different kind of Mother’s Day option, head to the Ram’s Head for “In the Kitchen with Mother’s and Others,” for a nibble and sip of recipes from Les Dames d’Escoffier’s cookbook, Stirring the Pot, featuring the following Les Dames members live and in person: chef and “Chopped” champion Silvia Baldini, author, cocktail expert and editor-in-chief of this very magazine, Amy Zavatto, brilliant food scholar and professor Meryl Rosofsky and Saltbird Cellars winemaker Robin Epperson-McCarthy. For $50, plus tax and grat, Baldini, Zavatto and Rosofsky will do cooking and cocktail-making demos, and you’ll get to try them all, along with sips of Epperson-McCarthy’s lovely wines. For $80, get a signed copy of the book (great gift for mom!). Stirring the Pot will be available for pre-sale through Shelter Island’s own Finley’s Fiction. Get it while you can!
North Fork Table & Inn, 57225 Main Road, Southold, 631-765-0177
Treat the mother in your life to a farm-to-table brunch by a restaurant that did the “farm-to-table” thing way before it was a standard. North Fork Table & Inn’s Mother’s Day menu includes dishes made with ingredients from local stars. Think eggs Benedict with KK’s lettuces, fresh-as-they-come Montauk sea bream. A display will include pastries, a raw bar and seasonal fruits. It’s all served inside an upscale but unpretentious setting, with comfortably cushioned chairs and linen-free wooden tables.
Harbes Family Farm, 715 Sound Ave., Mattituck, 631-482-7641
For a meal of the picnic table variety, head on down to Harbes Family Farm, where the concessions stands will be selling sweet corn, tomato/mozzarella paninis, fresh-squeezed lemonade and apple cider donuts (because they aren’t reserved for fall) as part of the Annual Mother’s Day Festival. Raise a glass to mom with Harbes Vineyard wines, which are available through tastings, glasses or bottles. The event — especially perfect for moms and grandmothers of on-the-go-littles — includes live music, farm animals (four-legged moms and babies included), bounce pillows, and obstacle courses sure to prompt early bedtimes for kids later (a true Mother’s Day gift, indeed). Speaking of gifts, moms get in free for the festival, which will take place on Saturday, May 11 and Sunday, May 12, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Little Fish, 50 N. Sea Drive, Southold, 631-765-8756
In addition to a complimentary glass of wine for all moms, Little Fish’s Mother’s Day menu includes appetizers like ceviche, caesar salad with crispy croissant croutons, spicy tuna tartare taquitos, and entrees like blackened fish tacos, avocado toast, grilled chicken sandwich on a croissant, lobster Benedict, crispy french toast and more throughout the day.
Macari Vineyards, 150 Bergen Ave., Mattituck, 631-298-0100
Lobster rolls, rosé and dessert? Sounds like a party. Celebrate Mom with a feast that’ll also have you craving an early summer at Macari Vineyards. The North Fork institution has partnered with The Catered Fork and The Treater. Guests can toast to mom with a half-glass or Macari’s sparkling rosé and its new release, the 2023 rosé. They pair perfectly alongside The Catered Fork’s lobster roll (served with French fries). The Treatery will provide dessert. Tickets cost $65 for the event, which will run from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Reservations can be made online.
Long Island Aquarium, 431 E Main St., Riverhead, 631-208-9200
In honor of all the times Mom read you One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, opt for a nautical brunch at Long Island Aquarium. The aquarium will host its annual Mother’s Day brunch with seatings at 10 a.m., noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Bagels, a carving station with ham, and made-to-order omelets get the meal started. But save room for dessert, as there’s an entire station with puddings, cookies, brownies, cakes and Jell-O. While there are no baby seals this year, you can still visit with mama Daisy, who gave birth to a little one a few years ago, to the delight of guests.
The Ram’s Head Inn, 108 Ram Island Dr., Shelter Island, 631-749-0811
For a different kind of Mother’s Day option, head to the Ram’s Head for “In the Kitchen with Mother’s and Others,” for a nibble and sip of recipes from Les Dames d’Escoffier’s cookbook, Stirring the Pot, featuring the following Les Dames members live and in person: chef and “Chopped” champion Silvia Baldini, author, cocktail expert and editor-in-chief of this very magazine, Amy Zavatto, brilliant food scholar and professor Meryl Rosofsky and Saltbird Cellars winemaker Robin Epperson-McCarthy. For $50, plus tax and grat, Baldini, Zavatto and Rosofsky will do cooking and cocktail-making demos and you’ll get to try them all, along with sips of Epperson-McCarthy’s lovely wines. For $80, get a signed copy of the book (great gift for mom!). Stirring the Pot will be available for pre-sale through Shelter Island’s own Finley’s Fiction. Get it while you can!
Bistro 72, 1830 W Main St., Riverhead, 631-369-3325
Moms get a complimentary bloody Mary or mimosa as part of the a la carte Mother’s Day brunch menu at this stylish eatery in Hotel Indigo. The food offerings provide something for every taste, from steak and eggs to pancakes with fresh berries or chocolate chips. Mothers in the trenches with little ones can rest easy — a children’s menu with pancakes, French toast, and scrambled eggs should appeal to even the most opinionated tiny tykes.
The Chequit, 23 Grand Ave., Shelter Island Heights, 631-749-0018
Head over to Shelter Island for Mother’s Day brunch on the pretty hydrangea-rimmed patio overlooking Dering Harbor. Newly installed chef Joe Smith is making a lovely $48 prix fix menu (with a special $20 menu for kids under 12) that includes happy warm-weather dishes like a watermelon, watercress, peach and ricotta salata salad, mushroom-spinach-gruyere quiche, and savory shrimp and grits dotted with smoked ham. Reservations recommended.
The Suffolk, 118 E Main St., Riverhead, 631-727-4343
Mama Mia! That’s not us trying to get cute with words — The Suffolk in Riverhead’s Mother’s Day event features a brunch beginning at 11 a.m. with a screening of the 2008 flick Mamma Mia starring Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried. The movie starts rolling at noon. But first, treat the leading lady in your life to a buffet-style continental breakfast that includes scrambled eggs, quiche, pancakes, fruit salad, and croissants.
A Mano, 13550 Main Road, Mattituck, 631-298-4800
Between noon and 6 p.m., celebrate Mom’s Day Italian style, with an abbondanza-inspired three-course prix fixe: think traditional faves like citrusy, Calabrian chili-spiked seafood salad, velvety burrata, eggplant parm (our fave!), tomato-basil crusted swordfish and creamy seafood-laden tagliatelle. Lemon ricotta cheesecake to finish will have mom saying “grazie mille!” all the way home.
The Birchwood of Polish Town, 512 Pulaski St., Riverhead, 631-727-449
This cozy, tavern-style restaurant will have a relaxed yet decadent brunch and dinner. Fresh0made sushi, the fluffiest scrambled eggs, The Birchwood’s fan-favorite penne a la vodka are among the brunch offerings. But the to-die-for dessert table is simply out of this world. A giant chocolate fountain will be the crown jewel, and bread pudding, cheesecakes, fruit, cookies, and marshmallows are just some of the made-for-sweet-tooth options.Seatings are 90 minutes from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Also, it’s BYOB — bring your (child’s) own booster seat and high chair.
Vine Street Café, 41 South Ferry Road, Shelter Island, 631-749-3210
Chilled lobster and Maryland crab cakes with so-seasonal asparagus are just the start at this idyllic Shelter Island establishment. Vine Street Café’s Mother’s Day brunch menu will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mains include biscuits and eggs Benedict with country ham (and more asparagus), a grass-fed beef burger with bacon and tangy sauce (a rollercoaster for tastebuds) and miso-glazed salmon. A children’s menu with chicken fingers and pasta (if you know, you know) is also available.
Windamere, 2255 Wickham Avenue, Mattituck, 631-315-5252
Give mom that serene seaside experience with Mother’s Day brunch at lovely Windamere. From 10:45 a.m. (hey, mom might need that extra 15 minutes of sleep — she doe a lot for you) to 2:30 p.m., dine on red, white and blue brioche French toast, N.Y. strip steak ‘n’ eggs and their spicy, chorizo-studded huevos rancheros. Grown-ups are $39.95 and kids under 12 are $15.95, plus tax and grat; wee ones under four dine for free. Reserve your seat here.
