It’s been ages since I’ve posted anything related to public food events, but since lots of good ones are coming up, here goes!

Wednesday, May 16 (that’s TODAY!): The nice folks at La La Ling, a kids’ boutique in our very own neighborhood, got in touch to share their cross-promo with What to Expect… event Wednesday from about 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you happen to be near North Vermont Ave., keep an eye out for the M.O.Eggrolls truck for free movie swag and food and discounts in the store. 1810 N. Vermont Ave., Los Feliz; (323) 664-4400

Saturday, May 19: The Santa Monica Fest is at Clover Park and involves a ton of activities and stuff that’s not worth reposting here. So check out the full listings, and note there’s a Food Salon hosted by “Deep End Dad” Eddie Lin! Participating chefs include Nyesha Arrington from The Wilshire and John-Carlos Kuramoto from Michael’s, along with reps from Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, and all the trucks and carts you’d expect at this kind of gathering. And how cute are those graphics? Clover Park, 2600 Ocean Park Blvd., Santa Monica

Saturday, May 19: Westfield Topanga is hosting an afternoon (from 2 to 6 p.m.) with entertainment, carnival attractions, animals, bouncy house, BBQ cooking demos, and everything but the kitchen sink. (Plus free BBQ toolset and be entered to win a BBQ grill when you spent at least $300 at 2 or more stores.) 6600 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Canoga Park; (818) 594-8740

Friday, May 18 – Sunday, May 20: Westfield Fashion Square is launching its new Dining Terrace will a weekend full of cooking demos and classes, close-up magic shows, movies, hands-on activities and things that will rival its mall sibling further west in the Valley. Tough to beat FREE classes by Piccolo Chef. 14006 Riverside Dr., Sherman Oaks; (818) 783-0550

Friday, May 25: Barnsdall Fridays summer season begins! The e-blast went out last week, and ticket sales are open for the first Memorial Day weekend tasting with pours by Silverlake Wine, KCRW DJs and all those crazy kids running around (literally). Pricing structure is again $25 for the full monty, $5 for “designated driver” admission and $5 for kids over 3. Or mooch off the good vibes and hang outside of the drinking pen where there’s still access to the food trucks. If a guilty conscience gets the best of you, make a donation to the park and Hollyhock House.

Thursdays and Saturday Mornings, Ongoing: L.A. City Farm Markets take place at intriguing locations: Yamashiro Hollywood, SouthBay Pavilion, and now at the Autry Museum! The Yamashiro market has definitely found its crowd and the scene is hopping. The Autry on Saturdays is just getting started, and it’s a sweet market with plenty of vendors and a terrific location in Griffith Park adjacent to major cultural attractions. Well-suited for multitasking, too. The sprawling lawn next to the museum and tables and chairs (with umbrellas!) is the most civilized market going experience I’ve ever had, and I think we’ve found our new Saturday morning routine. Check it out!

Kid Hit Menu Items: Unless your kid is one of those 100% dedicated, card-carrying members of the Mac N’ Cheese Only club, based on personal experience and conversations with friends, dim sum is a total slam dunk. Between the variety, textures and flavors at Elite in Monterey Park, both our kids were kept busy with sticky slick steamed rice noodle dishes, various dumplings, the artful steamed buns with stuffed with seafood and veggies cradled in mini foil tart pans, fried rice and whatever else we got that I lost track of. I ordered braised mushrooms with textured chewy bean curd thinking I’d have it all to myself, but this Mother’s Day selfishness didn’t go as planned.

Adult Perks: Having already had a Mom’s Day mimosa in bed and facing some rose drinking later on, we stuck with tea. Elite’s website does, however, show off some fancy bottles of wine. In terms of food, I saw folks chowing on chicken feet treats, while we played it relatively safe for our posse. During other meals Elite serves lots of traditional seafood delicacies (abalone, shark fin dishes — no thank you) that fill pages and pages of a lavishly illustrated menu. When it’s dim sum time and most items cost $3.38 each, if something sounds like it might be something you like, go for it!

Pros: Big dining room (as well as private party spaces) and rows of seats out front to accommodate waiting diners (see below) helps the Sunday crush, although not enough for everyone. It’s loud, and the food comes quickly, even without dim sum cart service. Dim sum made-to-order is better news for the food itself anyway.

Cons: Our older kid was psyched for the whole cart service experience. What five-year-old wouldn’t be?! Turns out Elite doesn’t do carts. Waaaa. (Not really, he handled the disappointment well.) Like all popular Chinese restaurants that do dim sum on the weekends, however, there IS quite a wait. I don’t know if it was longer on Mother’s Day than on any old regular Sunday. But it thankfully wasn’t nearly as long as I feared and I just made it to my massage on time (thank you again, awesome family!), plus we came prepared with good reading material. No matter, get here AS EARLY AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN.

Changing Station: No

High Chairs: Yes

Parking and Access: Parking lot in front, street parking for overflow.

Other Tidbits: Unless it’s Shanghai XLB we’re talking about, it takes a lot to get my husband to get on board for big Chinese meals. So I totally played the Mother’s Day card, and on a traffic-free Sunday morning we got to Atlantic Avenue in no time. Once we got our number (#36 while they were just calling out the low teens) I realized we’d been here before, although it was years ago and it might have been a different restaurant back then. Anyway, good thing I flexed some holiday privilege muscle because the kids got busy creating their own rice-pocalypse with the special veg and seafood fried rice, along with other antics involving tacky rice noodles (all good except the unappealing gloppy viscous pare rib topping on one of the dishes), pot stickers, veggie dumplings, gorgeous plump har gow, dry scallop rolls and more. Because prices aren’t printed on the menu, I was panicking before the bill came, wondering what my profligate checks (you mark your choices on the menu and hand it to a server) hath wrought. Turns out the total was LESS than what most of those fancy prix fixe Mother’s Day brunches I posted about cost per person. And we had a big bag of leftovers to share with a friend. Dim sum slam dunk, indeed.

ELITE RESTAURANT

Even if they’re of the Hallmark variety, holidays still matter. So I asked Los Angeles area moms who are involved with food in various capacities — whether it be cooking, writing, blogging, or dealing with it professionally some way — a simple question. Read below to see what a dozen of these hard working women who give so much to their families and communities consider to be an ideal Mother’s Day.

Cheers to you, ladies, and Happy Mother’s Day to all!

Amanda Chantal Bacon, Chef/Owner, Moon Juice
My ideal Mother’s Day would be driving out to the desert with my man and my 8-month-old son Rohan in our VW Camper Bus with a chest full of Moon Juice on ice and avocados from the Santa Monica Farmers Market, then pick some dates from our friends at Flying Disc Ranch on the way down. We would stay at The Parker and sip on juice, munch on avocados and dates pool side all day. Then drink pink champagne and eat French fries at Mister Parker’s at night.  Lots of hugging and kissing, swimming and juice drinking in the sun!

Ellen Chen, Co-Owner, Mendocino Farms & Blue Cow
My ideal Mother’s Day actually includes a tradition we started when I was pregnant with our son years ago.  We go to Geoffrey’s in Malibu and have brunch on the deck with my family, then we head over to the beach and hang out.  This is a really special day for us as our lives are typically so hectic. It’s one of the days we spend together as a family with no interruptions from work, the kids’ sports games, or birthday parties.  It’s 100% family time and I love every minute of it!

Melissa Darpino, Director of Catering, The Patina Group
Sleeping late (8 am!), then fresh orange juice, strong coffee, French-scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast…then, my daughter and I hit the Studio City farmers’ market and hope that we haven’t missed Harry’s Berries.  Back home, we sit on the porch and clean our weekly fruits and vegetables, and make some fresh lemonade.  Lunch is usually bits of the vegetables we are cleaning, perhaps some leftovers from the night before.  If warm enough, we’ll take a dip in the pool, and just enjoy being outside. For dinner, we have a fantastic salad, pasta (mine with mushrooms, hers with broccoli and snap peas) and finish with strawberry shortcake, of course!  Since the little one has school the next day, our normal Sunday routine kicks in, so we finish our day reading books. Pretty much every Sunday is my ideal Mother’s Day!

Karen Hatfield, Chef/Owner, Hatfield’s, forthcoming Sycamore Kitchen
I’m looking forward to a relaxing Mother’s Day and having Quinn and the kids make breakfast for me. My daughter loves to mix eggs! Some extra sleep and breakfast made by Quinn and the kids is an ideal morning.

Heather John, Writer/Editor/Blogger, The Foodinista
My ideal Mother’s Day would involve a morning mani/pedi in a cabana poolside at the Beverly Hills Hotel, followed by a MacCarthy chopped salad and a glass of Sancerre on the patio of the Polo Lounge. But given that I have a newborn and a toddler, that’s not really in the cards. In reality, the most romantic and decadent gift I could receive would be sleep. So this year, I’m fantasizing about breakfast in bed—a batch of my grandmother’s sticky buns and a cup of Ristretto Roasters Nicaraguan Prodecoop Dipilto coffee, followed by a leisurely walk with our boys over to Larchmont Farmers Market to pick up a couple bouquets of tomato red ranunculus.

Erika Kerekes, Blogger, In Erika’s Kitchen
My ideal Mother’s Day may be a bit unusual compared with other moms. It goes like this:
* Have my kids bring me tea or coffee in bed
* Go out to Din Tai Fung in Arcadia for xiao long bao (soup dumplings) and Shanghai rice cakes
* Stop at Lollicup for boba milk tea
* Do a little exotic grocery shopping at 99 Ranch Market
* Come home, snuggle on the couch with my boys while watching a good movie
* Leave them to fend for themselves for the late afternoon and dinner while I head to the spa for a scrub and a massage!

Karen Klemens, Ice Cream Maker/Food Preserver/Owner, Mother Moo Creamery
Mother’s Day is expected to be a very busy one for the store so I’ll try to sleep as late as I can and then head over to the Hollywood Farmers
Market with my husband and 7-year-old son. I’ll head back to the store afterward but not before I spend a few moments remembering my own mom, who died much too young. This day is about her, too. I miss her every day.

Lucy Lean, Author/Writer/Blogger, Made in America and Ladles & Jellyspoons
Best Mother’s Day would involve lots of vintage champagne with my husband, breakfast in bed cooked by the kids (asparagus frittata with coffee, toast with my fave French apricot jam) and lunch cooked by Chef Ludo Lefebvre and super mom @FrenchChefWife Krissy and their 1 year old twins — two families relaxing and enjoying family time and celebrating mummies everywhere.

Cheryl Lee, Chef/Blogger, Black Girl Chef’s Whites
My ideal Mother’s Day is any Mother’s Day where I do not have to do the cooking! Since I am the trained chef in the family, I often am responsible for holiday meals, including Mother’s Day. Being a single mother, I don’t have a spouse to take me out, and my daughter is only 5, so she can’t drive me anywhere yet. One day…

Krissy Lefebvre, LudoBites
A repeat of last year. My first mother’s day was perfect at home with Ludo, his mom, the babies and a few friends. Ludo cooked, we drank Dom Perignon and just celebrated the magic and miracles of our twins. Ok, he doesn’t have to get me another Louis Vuitton bag for it to be perfect. I will just take the food and the champagne.

Catherine McCord, Weelicious
My ideal Mother’s Day would be to wakeup and have the kids jump in bed with us and make me giggle until I can’t see straight. We would spend the morning at the Hollywood Farmers Market gathering tons of food and flowers for a casual lunch at home. After lounging around reading the paper, we would go on a bike ride around Silver Lake and then head home to cook a great big dinner. If someone decided to rub my feet at some point during the day, that would make me endlessly happy as well.

Christine Moore, Owner/Candy Maker, Little Flower Candy Company
My favorite Mother’s Day is an invitation! No, just kidding. Really as a single mom with three kids I love to sweep them out of town and get a cheap hotel room at the beach (up the coast) and ride bikes, eat In-N-Out burgers and get away from the daily grind.

Kid Hit Menu Items: Earlez Grille is especially known for its hot dogs, along with chili (or so we learned), fries, burgers, lemonade from the dispenser. Whole wheat bun options. A standing list of grilled foods, plus some other items such as tamales and Jamaican patties, and daily specials displayed on eye catching fluorescent sheets above the counter. There are a few pies for dessert, and a vegan cupcake. If you don’t like awesome attitudes and warmth served with your food, then don’t come to Earlez.

Adult Perks: Closest the drinks menu gets to anything boozey is ginger beer. Lots of vegetarian dishes.

Pros: Big mid-century fast food spot with great signage. As of this past weekend, Expo Line proximity. No hand dryers or electric paper towel dispensers in the bathroom (always a big concern for one of our kids). They’ve got a food truck, too.

Cons: Bathroom reminds me of some roadside gas station restrooms. They’ll be moving from this location in a few months as the Expo Line expansion impacts parcels surrounding the stations.


Changing Station: No

High Chairs: Yes

Parking and Access: Lot south of the restaurant, or take the Expo Line.

Other Tidbits: Sunday was the big event. It was our day to check out the brand new Expo Line, a hotly anticipated event in our household. We were woken up by a beyond excited five-year-old asking, “ARE WE GOING TO RIDE ON THE EXPO LINE NOW?” After our usual Proof Bakery and Atwater Village farmers’ market routine, we finally got to Union Station, botched plans with friends (note to self: clarify which Red Line station we prefer because the “back of Union Station” does NOT mean the same location to everyone), and hopped in a 1989 Blue Line car that had been repurposed for use on the Expo Line tracks. In that sense the Expo Line is bit disappointing, but the kids could not have noticed or cared less.

I was very, very aware of the date. No April 29th goes by without me thinking about Los Angeles on that day in 1992. All this past week I’ve been listening to stories and reading analyses of the state of L.A. twenty years later, reflecting on what’s been accomplished (police reform, cross-ethnic coalition building, lower crime rates etc.) and what remains to be done (adequately addressing educational inequities, reversing decades of racial oppression and economic injustice, improving infrastructure, pretty much everything else).

Once we were cruising along Exposition Boulevard past the slightly decayed City Beautiful splendor of Exposition Park I suddenly felt whopped by the weight of history. Then on the above-grade tracks, we passed over Earlez Grill tucked into a mid-century fast food spot just south of Exposition across from West Angeles church. It’d been on the to-do list for years, so I suggested to my husband we go there for lunch.

But the urge was more powerful than just a let’s-get-the-kids-hot-dogs-and-fries matter of convenience. With the memories of April 29, 1992 looping through my mind, there was a stronger emotional pull that needed to be reconciled. After I caught a glimpse of the Target which was the Fedco that was hit back in ’92, I suddenly HAD to get off the train and walk through the intersection of Crenshaw and Exposition, a few miles south of where we watched the events unfold and hear the chaos ensue while friends in Santa Monica invited us over to swim. Needless to say, we didn’t make it to that party.

Folks love to talk about the geographic and social gulfs that in part define life in Los Angeles — some justified, others exaggerated. Yet as our world was turned inside out and upside down that evening twenty years ago, and as we freaked the eff out and packed our bags to hunker down with family friends a bit farther west where we thought the heat would be lighter (not such a wise move), it was absolutely true that ten miles meant not hearing the helicopters and the sirens or have a sense of what was unfolding. Although that unawareness was fleeting as the unrest spread and the citywide curfew was issued.

Because I couldn’t make it to any of the official commemorations, I could not miss the opportunity to be with my family there West Adams on this date, having a great conversation with the off-the-charts friendly co-owner and Brooklyn native Duane Earle — check out Brian Watt’s story on KPCC about the Earle brothers’ entrepreneurial journey in the context of 1992 — who treated our children with remarkable kindness, as he does every customer who comes through the doors at Earlez. He was even willing to talk geeky train specifics!

Feel free to dismiss this POV as selfish liberal sentimentality, but that sense of peace made clear again how for better or for worse, Los Angeles is always a city of surprises. I didn’t actively start my day craving a salve to the uneasiness that comes around during these anniversaries. I’m loathe to use the word “closure” because doing so would suggest that we’ve found a panacea for getting along and demolishing social inequities. It also implies that I was directly victimized by the ’92 uprising, which based on my privileges in this society is not true.

The emotional wounds, however, are fresh in a startling way all over again. The scars will collectively remain, so as long as sorting through issues of power/race/class will forever be incredibly complicated. (I was surprised and annoyed that the Clippers, for instance, were trending locally on Twitter and not the 20th anniversary, which I understand is expecting way too much from social media.) As some of my friends have rightly pointed out, it’s easier to talk about the personal and political dynamics of say, 9/11 than the Los Angeles riots.

Anyway, you know all the rah-rah stuff people say about CicLAvia’s good happy civic booster vibes? Same goes for the Expo Line opening, without as much exercise and the crazy outfits. That it took place over the course of April 28 – 29, 2012 is something this city should be DAMN proud of.

Today proved to be a potent mix of optimistic and unsettling feelings. I thought about how we might talk about the chapter in Los Angeles history that remains current on just about every level when our kids are older. But at least for an hour, a spontaneous lunch at Earlez was exactly what we all needed, for entirely different reasons. We left the bright tiled dining room, full after having scarfed down sauerkraut-topped hot dogs, chunky fries and lemonade, waved goodbye to Duane who was busy cooking for a new rush of customers, and got back on the train.

EARLEZ GRILLE

Hoping your kids are secretly perfecting their French toast, omelet and home barista techniques during the two weeks leading up to Mother’s Day on Sunday, May 13th? Or just hoping they can at least accurately land the milk in the cereal bowl? If that’s not in the cards for your family, here’s a rundown of some local spots offering special Mother’s Day meals. I’ll add to the list as new info becomes available. Meanwhile, we’ll be figuring out where to eat around the Expo Line this weekend and for subsequent inevitable rides. Check back in a few days for another installment of Mother’s Day-themed posting around here.

Brunch at A.O.C. has been on the to-do list ever since the West 3rd Street restaurant that does small plates best added the meal, oh, over a YEAR ago.  The regular Sunday daytime menu will be available, plus a $40 prix fixe Market Mother’s Day dinner from 6 p.m. on. Check out the full list here.  8022 W. 3rd St., Mid-City, (323) 653-6359.

Mother’s Day brunch at Border Grill locations costs $34 for all the unlimited small plate dishes your party can eat. Choices include huevos rancheros, Yucatan eggs Benedict, Peruvian shrimp and grits, dulce de leche-infused churro tots. 1445 4th St., Santa Monica; (310) 451-1655. 445 S Figueroa St. #2950, Downtown; (213) 542-1100.

A civilized patio, a splash of Euro glam décor, great lighting, terrific people watching, talented chef. Cecconi’s on Robertson has got it going on. Just add brunch dishes with a special holiday flourish such as eggs benedict with squash blossoms ($14) and lavender panna cotta and you’ve got a happy mom. 8764 Melrose Ave., WeHo; (310) 432-2000.

Chado at JANM teams up with food tour company Sixth Taste for a pre-Mother’s Day tea party on Saturday, May 12 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tea demos and tastings, noshes and other treats (jewelry sale, skin care samples) are part of the $50 ticket price. 369 E. 1st St., Little Tokyo; (213) 258-2531.

Here’s the deal with Chaya‘s brunch package, available at all three locations (West Hollywood, Downtown, Venice): three courses, prix fixe, served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Unlimited champagne and mimosas. $42 for adults, $18 for 12 and under. Sample dishes: wild arugula Fuji apple salad with forme d’ambert cheese, 10 oz cheeseburger, lobster shrimp ravioli, warm asparagus salad with crispy egg and pancetta. A “young adult” (so respectful!) menu features organic creamy corn soup plus choices of mini cheeseburgers, French toast, or mac n’ cheese. 8741 Alden Dr., WeHo/Bev Hills; (310) 859-8833. 110 Navy St., Venice; (310) 396-1179. 525 S. Flower, Downtown; (213) 236-9577.

Little Dom’s and it’s sibling restaurant Dominick’s (or to those of us “Happy Endings” fans, “Big Dom’s” — which was actually Micelli’s) is one of our fave brunch spots. I highly recommend the eggs funghi with fennel pollen hollandaise. Dominick’s also offers those $12 bottles of sparkling wine and $5 carafes of O.J. Go big, people. 8715 Beverly Blvd., WeHo; (310) 652-2335. 2128 Hillhurst Ave., Los Feliz; (323) 661-0055.

The surrounding blocks will be a ghost town, but Drago Centro will be a bright spot during a Sunday afternoon at Fifth and Flower. Take in a view of the Downtown Central Library and pick from Celestino Drago’s always amazing a la carte menu, or three courses with dishes such as zucchini agnolotti with ricotta and brown butter and chocolate and olive oil terrine for $39 from 11:30 to 2:30. Further west, Enoteca Drago in Bev Hills’ prix fixe brunch is $48 and served until 4. 525 S. Flower St., Downtown; (213) 228-8998. 401 N. Canon Dr., Beverly Hills; (310) 786-8236.

Fonuts is helping a mother out by giving free LAMill coffee with fonut purchase, and debuting its new limited edition carmel apple variety. 8104 w. 3rd St.; (323) 592-3075.

Brunch at Jar is always a slam dunk. Suzanne Tracht’s pot roast hash, lobster Benedict with poached eggs, corn pancakes, char siu pork with pea tendrils and lobster béarnaise? Um, won’t say no to ANY of those. Dinner service starts at 5:00 and features new spring dishes including stuffed squash blossoms with lobster, shitake and spicy ponzu. 8225 Beverly Blvd.; (323) 655-6566.

Mezze on La Cienega has the standing Sunday date with Jewish food that’s yet another thing I’ve been meaning to check out. On Mother’s Day Chef Micah Wexler is also making a $65 per dinner tasting menu that sounds delish, with specialties like smoked sturgeon, lebne, pickled shallots and capers with flatbread, and tabouli with fava beans, peas, almond and um, bacon. 401 N. La Cienega Blvd., West Hollywood; (310) 657-4103.

You like beach proximity? An incredible museum-worthy art collection? Civilized patio, originators of market-oriented California cuisine and classic restaurant creds? Then all signs point to Michael’s in Santa Monica. Mother’s Day brunch is served from 11:30 to 2:00 for $65 adults, $35 children under 10 with a special menu available. Selections among the three courses include oysters, white corn soup, Australian barramundi with sunchoke puree and petit prime filet. 1147 3rd St.,  Santa Monica; (310) 451-0843.

Petrossian Boutique & Restaurant will offer a $50 prix fixe brunch menu with various caviar add-on options, or a la carte. Love this place, and chef Giselle Wellman has been getting well-deserved props. How about a beautiful hibiscus champagne cocktail? Hells to the YEAH. Now that’s special treatment for Mom. Oh, and they have fancy food for kids, too. 321 N. Robertson Blvd., WeHo; (310) 271-0576.

Mother’s Day brunch at Public Kitchen & Bar at the Roosevelt Hotel isn’t your typical hotel buffet. There’ll definitely be a carving station alright, but add that to bars and areas dedicated to oysters, mashed potatoes, bloody marys, charcuterie, waffles and more for $38 adults, $14 kids 8 and under. 7000 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood; (323) 769-8888.

RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen in Century City will have a five-course Mother’s Day menu for $52 per person, but the more interesting event takes place the following week during the “Mohan & Mum” cooking class. Singapore-raised Executive Chef Mohan Ismail will be joined by his mother, Asiah, a native of Malaysia and Singapore, on Saturday, May 19 from 10 a.m. to noon, and together they will share their technique for Southeast Asian dishes including kaya toast, congee and plenty more ($75 per). I met Chef Mohan briefly at the James Beard Awards last year and can vouch for his down-to-earth charm and friendliness. 10250 Santa Monica Blvd., Century City; 310-552-9988.

I’m not precisely sure what an “an interactive brunch experience” means, but I take it Scarpetta at the Montage will have lots of awesome Italian food stations concocted by Scott Conant (or rather, his well-trained staff) set up for $88 per adult, $35 kids, and $17 for bottomless mimosas and bloody marys from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. As I’ve said about its neighbor Bouchon, that park out front is a major plus. 225 N. Canon Dr., Beverly Hills; (310) 860-7970.

A meal at Street is guaranteed to be intriguing and definitely not boring as far as the crowd and food go, whether you pick from the regular broad menu or opt for a $35 per person shared plate situation with items including Danish chestnut popovers, crispy soft shell crab, and Marcona almond and goat cheese fritters. Plus a kid’s pizza ($12) and special platter with Hong Kong sticky bun, berries, and avocado with choice of scrambled eggs, teriyaki chicken or grilled cheese ($10 for children 8 and under). 742 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood; (323) 203-0500.

Wanna go classic L.A.? Two words: The Tam! OK, more like three if you count the “O’Shanter” part. Check out The Tam’s May 13th brunch offerings that skew towards the beefy and creamy. How else would you want it there? 2980 Los Feliz Blvd., Atwater Village; (323) 664-0228.

In addition to bottomless mimosas, bellinis and bloody Marys, Wilshire Restaurant will feature an array of chef Nyesha Arrington’s market-driven entrees as well as an insane salad and app buffet. Oh, AND a dessert buffet. Stretchy pants time! $65 adults, $25 kids 12 and under. 2454 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica; (310) 586-1707.

The three-course special at Wolfgang Puck at Hotel Bel-Air definitely means shelling out the most coin: $120 per adult, $60 children under 9. It also requires being on absolute best behavior. When lunch is over, just leave mom there to enjoy the swans in silence for a few hours. For that she will most definitely be grateful. 701 Stone Canyon Rd., Bel Air; (310) 472-1211.

At Valentino, they’re talking my language. Festa della mamma dishes will be inspired by Nadia Santini and and our household icon, Marcella Hazan for a $55 per person Mother’s Day dinner. Duck breast with balsamic and Cremona (hometown of Mina!) fruit chutney… Cassata for dessert…And then Italian mothers will get saluted throughout the month at Valentino with nightly menus that pay homage to great women of Italian cuisine. Prosecco for all moms will be handed out on Sunday, too. 3115 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica; (310) 829-4313.

And this kinda goes without saying — but restaurants aren’t the only places to have a special meal for your mom/grandmother/guardian/etc. Sunday means farmers’ markets around town! Lots of them! Or go old school deli, like we always did. Don’t mind a bit of a wait? How about dim sum in Chinatown or SGV?

Maybe the most exciting treat of all? One of my favorite Angelenos is doing a special performance that night! After all that eating, go see Charles Phoenix’s Big Retro Slide Show at MOCA, 7 p.m. Better yet, let her go out on her own, or with friends. What mom doesn’t love Charles?!

We hit the 101 North last week with a To Do wish list that well exceeded what we were realistically able to accomplish. Is there any other way when traveling as a family? So it goes. Because this was the longest road trip we’d done with both kids, we broke up the drive with overnight stops on the way up and the return trip home. After visiting the goats and chickens Alma Rosa winery and an as-always terrific dinner at the Hitching Post II, we finally cruised into the city by the Bay after constant “is this San Francisco yet?” inquiries coming from the back seat as we made our way up the Peninsula. This trip would be very different from our last San Francisco vacation several years ago, when just the two of us spent a weekend stumbling our way from one drinking and eating place to another.

What followed were a few days of intense public transit riding — hallelujah for that three-day MUNI pass deal — and much fantastic eating, both as a family and without the boys (Quince, Bar Agricole; thanks for coming with us, Mom!). We could have spent weeks hitting all the spots our Bay Area savvy friends recommended; places such as Yank Sing, Burma Superstar, A16, Sandbox Bakery, Molinari’s, Farmer Brown, Bi-Rite and Just for You will have to wait for future visits. Same goes for Central Coasts treasures like Giovanni’s Fish Market, Doc Burnstein’s, Ruddell’s Smokehouse and Sea Harvest in Monterey.

Here’s a recap of how we all stayed well fed and very happy as we put NoCal vs. SoCal rivalries aside and submitted to the endless charms of San Francisco. Hint: a lot has to do with the glorious Ferry Building.

The best travel planning decision we made was to stay at the Embarcadero. Other neighborhoods might be more quaint, but I cannot overstate how useful the logistical perk of Ferry Building proximity is for families. Only downside? A labor protest at the J. Portman-designed atrium Hyatt hotel (I’m a wee bit obsessed with this era and style of architecture, and those elevators were a constant source of amusement), yikes!! So from now on, no more Hyatts, and I’ll check with my cousin the SEIU economist before booking future stays. Lesson learned.

Anyway, with the exception of one morning, we foraged for breakfast at the uber-historic former transit terminal daily, and inevitably wound up back there at least once, if not twice more, throughout the course of the day. Plus there’s the thrice-weekly farmers’ market.

Vendors there seem to be deeply into playing with the template of the morning egg sandwich. I loved the oozey gooeyness of Cane Rosso’s fried egg combo with sweet onion butter, pancetta from Ferry Building neighbor Boccalone, and provolone. Also big thumbs up to Cowgirl Creamery’s kick ass earthy and intense baked egg sandwich on baguette with a load of fragrant mushrooms crammed in. A fresh waffle with a tautly caramelized exterior served straight up in a coffee filter comprised the boys’ daily breakfast as we had our Blue Bottle coffees from the same stand.

I was nervous about an upscale Vietnamese dinner at the famed Slanted Door. Better to go here in a more civilized context, no? Actually, based on a survey of the scene on a Sunday night, they smartly corralled us into a de facto family section. Solid cocktails and a Bee’s Knees (Miller’s Westbourne gin, wildflower honey, lemon) took the road trip edge off, and the noise level and loose family style service made it a fun, if not inexpensive, option. The glossy room’s prime view of the ferries coming in on the bay and the bridge certainly helped.

And the reward for eating enough soft savory rice cakes, clay pot chicken, oysters (we have a five-year-old oyster FIEND on our hands), braised pork chop, and cellophane noodles with Dungeness crab: what else but that lychee cotton candy! Between Out the Door take out and the Academy Café at the Academy of Sciences, we had plenty of other opportunities to experience Charles Phan’s imprint on San Francisco.
1 Ferry Building, #3; (415) 861-8032

Thankfully Gott’s Roadside has imported its classic American menu and sustainable ethics down from St. Helena to the Ferry Buidling. Morning means breakfast sandwiches and tacos and incredible hash browns (think an unprocessed version of McDonald’s), while the evening I could hook the kids and their babysitter (AKA Grandma) up with burgers, fries, and a lovely Cobb salad before we headed out on our own.
1 Ferry Bldg., #6; (866) 328-3663

Wanna make an overwhelming decision? Pick where your ONE pizza meal in San Fran will come from. In a town with an already distinguished Italian heritage, the current artisanal pizza craze means there are an awful lot of wood-burning ovens cranking out all kinds of beautifully carbonized, tender crusts. Because most of them are in the Mission, and most are ONLY open for dinner, the decision became a bit easier when my friend Trisha sent me this article about Tony’s Pizza Napoletana in North Beach. With the insanely comprehensive, in-depth menu with pies all true to authentic baking style and daytime hours, it seemed like the place for us to try. And glad we sampled the perfect Spacca Napoli (roasted tomato, bufula, sauce-free) and classic Margherita pies, we were. The Pistola cocktail with rye, Aperol, blackberry syrup, Galliano and egg white? Not so much. Maybe that’s karmic payback for boozing it up during an otherwise wholesome family pizza lunch.

I’m usually not a fan of outdoor seating but, but proximity to Washington Square park across the street was essential, and the interior tables were cramped anyway. Just a two-block walk and we could hop on a cable car for yet another visit to the fascinating Cable Car Museum. And then it was back on the vintage F-line streetcars to the SF Railway Museum. Again.
1570 Stockton St., North Beach; (415) 835-9888

Our kids are used to our coffee geekery and getting dragged around to cafés where their presence kind of baffles other disaffected customers, especially in say, the Mission. The open space and crazy mechanics of the Sightglass roaster in SOMA will be an experience that’s hard to match, as will the stunningly rich pistachio-paste crusted, blackberry jam-filled croissant. Out of all the coffee joints who are into the exposed wood truss, repurposed materials, aged metals and such, the new Sightglass shop by far outdoes them all. And with the upstairs mezzanine and mechanical activity below, this place is the Metropolis II of coffee spots. Way to make an impression.
270 7th St., SOMA; (415) 861-1313