Honor Thy Mother

Pick up Mother's Day brunch and dinner from these San Antonio restaurants

Surprise Mom with breakfast in bed from Central Market.

Photo courtesy of Central Market

Big family gatherings might still be ill-advised, but that doesn't give you a pass on honoring Mom this year. San Antonio-area restaurants have put together special menus for Mother's Day, which falls on Sunday, May 10, and many are available to-go.

Bakery Lorraine
Surprise Mom with a box of six macarons (flavors are almond joy, pistachio, and grapefruit, no substitutions) and flowers by Vintage Bouquet for $35. A desser box includes a Japonaise, a chocolate caramel tart, a red tart, and a heart moonpie, all for $25. The Mother's Day meal is $45, and includes a cassoulet of braised chicken in a pork shoulder ragu with white beans and breadcrumbs, a large house salad, and a large strawberry shortcake. Items are available on a first come, first served basis, with pick-up available Saturday, May 9, and Sunday, May 10, only.

Central Market
The gourmet grocer is offering Mom everything from breakfast in bed to easy-to-prep dinner kits. Surprise her with cheese quiche, mixed berries, mini scones, and orange juice ($15.99, serves one to two). Or go with a bigger brunch option, featuring French toast casserole, sausage and arugula quiche, spinach and strawberry salad, fruit, croissants, and juice ($59.99, feeds four to six). Meal kits include surf and turf ($59.99 serves two); chipotle-lime fajitas ($49.99; feeds four to six); and pepperoni and sausage pizza with Caesar salad and chocolate chunk cookies ($29.99, serves four). The Mother’s Day menu also includes cakes, chocolates, and floral arrangements to-go. Order online and pick up May 7-10.

Eddie V's Prime Seafood
This restaurant's got moms who crave seafood covered. The special four-course menu ($195 for four to six servings, $115 for two servings) starts with chilled Gulf shrimp cocktail. Entrees include choice of herb-roasted tenderloin or Chilean sea bass; accompaniments are truffled mac and cheese, grilled asparagus, and three-cheese au gratin potatoes. For dessert, there's bananas Foster butter cake served with butter pecan ice cream. Add chocolate-dipped strawberries and a long-stem rose, wine pairings, and more. Preorder for curbside pickup on May 8 or 9, then heat at home on Mother's Day.

The Esquire
San Antonio classic The Esquire is serving up four family-style meals for Mother's Day: a meatloaf dinner for four, plus salad and two sides ($48); roasted whole chicken serving two to four, plus salad and two sides ($38); a roast half chicken for two, plus salad and two sides ($28); and a cheeseburger special for two with an order of chili salt fries ($25). Or order a favorite from the restaurant's to-go offerings. And don't forget the beer and wine options. Call 210-222-2521 to order.

Supper at Hotel Emma
Treat mom to a special brunch for four ($95) starting with a gem lettuce salad with Parmesan and tarragon vinaigrette, ricotta beignets with strawberry jam, pimento cheese dip with brioche toasts. Then, dive into a lemon and herb roasted chicken with sides of salsa verde, duck fat potatoes and broccolini and lemon cupcakes with blueberries and basil frosting for dessert. Order online or call 210-267-9040 and swing by the Pearl Thursday, May 7 through Saturday, May 9 from 2 - 6 pm, or Sunday, May 10 from 11 am to 3 pm for pickup.

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Serving up local beer news

What’s brewing in San Antonio: Back Unturned honors closed brewery memberships

Back Unturned Brewing Co./Facebook

Back Unturned Brewing Co. is offering a free monthly beer to anyone who has an old or canceled club membership at a closed San Antonio brewery.

Editor's note: The bustling San Antonio beer scene is always changing — usually with openings and closures, but there are other twists along the way. Let's discuss it over a cold one.

Back Unturned helps craft beer fans

The folks at Back Unturned Brewing Co. in downtown San Antonio are serving up some incentives for patrons of some recently closed breweries.

They are urging people to bring in their old membership mug or other proof of membership from a closed brewery, and their first beer will be free. According to Back Unturned’s owners, customers of shuttered breweries such as Weathered Souls and Second Pitch may take advantage of this offer once a month.

Back Unturned’s leaders said this way, customers of closed breweries can still use their old membership mug or discount, and show support for a locally owned and operated brewery amid hard times for the craft beer industry.

Back Unturned will promote the canceled and old membership offer during its inaugural free beer event, which will take place all day long October 16 as part of its San Antonio Beer Week activities.

Busted Sandal closes its taps

Speaking of hard times, Busted Sandal Brewing Co. is closing its doors for good, ending 11 years of service. The owners announced the sad news in an October 2 social media post, citing inflation as a major factor affecting their decision.

Busted Sandal was among the first in a new surge of breweries that opened in San Antonio in the early 2010s. With a main taproom located near the Medical Center area, Busted Sandal served up yearly anniversary parties, pie and beer pairings, bad holiday sweater contests, and Porterpalooza, a celebration of their porters.

The main San Antonio taproom hosted its final Portepalooza October 12 before permanently closing the next day. Busted Sandal’s taprooms in Helotes and Kerrville are still open through early November, with farewell bashes scheduled at those Hill Country locations.

Former brewer teases post-closure plans

Marcus Baskerville, co-founder of the recently shuttered Weathered Souls Brewing Co., has been keeping social media followers and fans updated on his professional plans and ideas.

The James Beard Award semifinalist just published a book, Wood Barrel and Time: The Art of Barrel Aging, as part of his efforts to share some of his experiences as a beer brewer. He also opened Fresh Consulting Co., a locally based beer consulting company.

Additionally, Baskerville has been teasing the creation of a new bar concept called Fresh. According to Baskerville, he hopes to launch Fresh in a renovated downtown space where patrons may enjoy a hidden speakeasy and a short bar food menu featuring soul food.

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