Chorney-Booth: Brunch restaurants offer refined takeout options for Mother’s Day

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No meal is as closely tied to Mother’s Day as a fancy mimosa-laden brunch. The phenomenon most likely started because breakfast is a meal that kids can make for their moms as they sleep in and try not to think about the racket going on in the kitchen, but it’s long since become a restaurant tradition as well, giving mothers and their families a chance to gather over plates of eggs or quiche. While brunch is always a popular weekend event (in normal times at least), breakfast restaurants have come to rely on Mother’s Day in the same way that sports bars bank on championship events.

“Mother’s Day is the Super Bowl of brunch,” says Gil Carlos, who co-owns the local chain of Bro’Kin Yolk restaurants with his brother Jeff. “It’s the largest event for every brunch place in North America. It’s huge.”

Obviously, things look a little different for Mother’s Day 2021. While Calgarians have been rallying around local lunch and dinner takeout over the course of the pandemic, many of us have been hesitant to order out for breakfast or brunch. Brunch has always been as much about the social aspect as it is the food and traditionally brunchy foods like eggs and hollandaise are best eaten immediately after they’re prepared, not a half-hour later out of a cardboard box. But just like their mid-day and evening counterparts, brunch-specific restaurants have had to start doing takeout to survive and most have taken measures to ensure that their food travels well, on Mother’s Day or any other morning of the year.

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Bro’Kin Yolk, which has locations in Creekside, Mahogany, and Signal Hill, didn’t even start doing takeout until November because the brothers weren’t convinced that people would want to do breakfast takeout. It’s been a real success, so much so that the pair are extending their brand to open a “Bro’s To Go” takeout shop later this spring. Carlos says that their menu is designed so that customers can have confidence in any item that they order for takeout. The brothers’ Filipino heritage has been worked into the menu, which means there are plenty of rice dishes that stand up well to being boxed, as well as hardy fare like chicken and waffles, frittatas, and a couple of hash dishes.

Measures like cooking the potatoes so that they’re a little crispier than normal or adding instructions on how to reheat waffles have also helped to ensure perfect meals to go. Bro’Kin Yolk also solved the “why would I order scrambled eggs when I can just cook them at home?” problem by offering creative and labour-intensive dishes that go beyond your typical breakfast classics.

“When we designed our menu, we purposely filled it with things that we knew people wouldn’t be making at home,” Carlos says. “Everything we serve takes a lot of hard work and effort and it would be a real struggle for a typical person to replicate them at home.”

It’s a fair assumption that most renowned breakfast restaurants do the same in terms of transportability and quality of dishes, but with the Super Bowl of brunches ahead of us, neither Bro’Kin Yolk nor most other brunch places in town are leaving anything to chance. This is why, in addition to day-of a la carte brunch takeout and patio service, there are also plenty of pre-order Mother’s Day brunch packages up for grabs. Bro’Kin Yolk itself is offering a basket filled with pre-cooked waffles (that can be heated at home), uncooked bacon and eggs, waffle toppings, sparkling wine, orange juice, fruit and chocolate.

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Naturally, this is just one of many Mother’s Day options: restaurants as diverse as Charcut, Vin Room, Cassis Bistro, Great Events Catering, and many others are all offering special pick-up brunch options — most of which will need to be ordered within the next couple days and picked up later this week (check with individual restaurants for full details). There are also plenty of creative options. Calgary Opera is presenting a special Mother’s Day concert with the option of a brunch delivery from Devour Catering (visit calgaryopera.com to buy tickets). If the weather is nice and you don’t want the busyness of a patio, River Café’s spring picnic baskets can be custom ordered and enjoyed at home in Prince’s Island Park. Donna Mac is continuing its specialty bagel collaboration with the Eighty-Eight Brewing Company on Mother’s Day, offering special bagel sandwiches for families looking for a handheld option.

Like last year’s Mother’s Day, this one won’t be exactly like those seen before, but now that restaurants have had a full year to come up with COVID-friendly brunch ideas, there’s no excuse to not treat your favourite mom. Mother’s Day, by the way, is next Sunday (May 9), so prepare to celebrate accordingly. Like everyone else, moms have been through a lot this year and could use some extra love.

Elizabeth Chorney-Booth can be reached at elizabooth@gmail.com. Follow her on Twitter at @elizaboothy or Instagram at @elizabooth.