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    The Best Mother's Day Brunches

    Procrastinator's Guide to Mother's Day brunch: Top dining-out options mom will love

    Marcy de Luna
    Marcy de Luna
    May 10, 2013 | 10:30 am

    Taking mom out for Mother's Day? According to the National Restaurant Association, over 80 million American adults are expected to do just that. However, just like mom, not all Mother's Day menus are created equal. Here are some of our favorites:

    AMERICAN

    BISTRO ALEX
    Highlights: Bistro Alex at CityCentre will feature a three-course, prix-fixe menu this Mother's Day — plus live jazz by Henry Darragh. Hum along to the music as you dine on items like strawberry salad, cornflakes-crusted chicken and waffles, shrimp and grits, grilled steak migas, and strawberry shortcake. Bloody Mary’s and mimosas are just $3 each.
    Available: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
    Cost per person: Prix-fixe menu is$32
    Reservations: 713-827-3545

    CULLEN'S AMERICAN GRILL
    Highlights: If a raw seafood bar, breakfast station and an array of desserts aren't enough to make mom swoon, there's also a carving station. For that extra special touch, chocolates and fresh flowers can be delivered to your table by special arrangement.
    Available: The brunch buffet is from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with last seating at 4 p.m. Dinner service starts at 5 p.m. with the full menu available.
    Cost per person: Brunch is$49.95 per adult, and children under 12 are $14.95.
    Reservations: 281-991-2000

    LINE & LARIAT
    Highlights: You had me at free mimosas, and also buttermilk fried chicken and gruyere mac n cheese, poached Scottish salmon, and roast beef sirloin. But Hotel Icon’s Line & Lariat isn't stopping there, brunch also features waffle and omelet stations, assorted pastries and desserts, and a cold station with items like a raw oyster bar and gulf shrimp remoulade.
    Available: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
    Cost per person: $58 for adults, $25 for children ages 6 to 11, free for children ages 5 and under
    Reservations: 832-667-4470

    TRINITI RESTAURANT + BAR
    Highlights: This hot spot's Mother's Day brunch menu, four-course and prix-fixe, offers delectable items such as corn and lobster bisque, monkey bread french toast, frittatas (an Italian dish made with fried beaten eggs), Guinea hen, and pistachio Genoise (a rich and delicate Italian sponge cake).
    Available: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
    Cost per person: Brunch menu is $65
    Reservations: 713-527-9090

    LUCILLE'S
    Highlights: Lucille's a la carte brunch includes such Southern favorites as chili biscuits, pork belly and waffles, fried green tomatoes, oxtail skillet, shrimp and grits. Enjoy Bottomless mimosas or sangria for $15 per person.
    Available: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
    Cost per person: Varies
    Reservations: 713-568-2505

    RDG + BAR ANNIE
    Highlights: So many choices on the a la carte menu, including bacon-wrapped quail, bbq gulf crab meat, scrambled egg crepes with house smoked salmon and creamy avocado salsa, and, for dessert, chocolate bread pudding, pecan pie and fresh berry cobbler.
    Available: Brunch is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dinner from 5 p.m. - 9 p.m.
    Cost per person: Varies
    Reservations: 713-840-1111

    TREVISIO
    Highlights: This Texas Medical Center favorite features gigantic cold and hot buffet tables featuring smoked salmon, antipasti, cinnamon raisin French toast, Romano-crusted chicken and butternut squash risotto as well as an omelet station, roast tenderloin carving station and huge dessert table.
    Available: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
    Cost per person: $45 for adults; $16 per child 7 and above
    Reservations: 713-749-0400

    CAJUN/CREOLE

    BRENNAN'S OF HOUSTON
    Highlights: Show mom some southern hospitality at Brennan’s. Turtle soup au sherry, Gulf Coast seafood cakes & eggs, pecan-crusted mahi mahi, Breaux Bridge crawfish omelette, and Brennan's white chocolate bread pudding are all options on the Texas Creole, three-course, prix-fixe menu.
    Available: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
    Cost per person: $55 per adult and $15.95 per child
    Reservations: 713-522-9711

    FRENCH

    L’OLIVIER RESTAURANT + BAR
    Highlights: Pamper Mom this Mother’s Day with brunch at L’Olivier. On the four-course, prix-fixe menu: Butternut squash panzoti, crab cake Benedict, chicken crepes, and chocolate mousse.
    Available: 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
    Cost per person: $55
    Reservations: 713-360-6313

    PHILIPPE RESTAURANT + LOUNGE
    Highlights: You can't go wrong taking mom to Philippe where savory brunch menu highlights include chorizo scrambled eggs for $15 and eggs Benedict with bacon or smoked salmon plus hollandaise for $16. A second menu of Chef Specials offers a roasted half lobster with crab bisque, crab meat, asparagus and arugula salad for $25 and surf and turf with braised beef short ribs, prawns a la plancha and soft potato pancakes for $36. The $9 Fraisier tart is one of several dessert options.
    Available: The brunch special is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the Chef Special is from 3 p.m to 8 p.m. The regular dinner menu is available all day.
    Cost per person: Varies
    Reservations: 713-439-1000

    INTERNATIONAL

    ROYAL SONESTA HOTEL
    Highlights: Mother’s Day at the Royal Sonesta Hotel is triple the fun with complimentary mimosas, live music and a special brunch menu. Enjoy fare like chilled melon gazpacho, Peruvian ceviche copa, tuna tartar on wasabi seaweed, cinnamon raisin pecan brioche French toast with blueberry compote, lobster ravioli with cognac butter sauce, tomato-crusted barramundi fillet, and crème brulee to order.
    Available: 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
    Cost per person: $55 for adults, $45 for seniors (65+), $25 for children ages 5 to 12, and free for children under 5.
    Reservations: 713-627-7600

    KIRAN'S
    Highlights: The Indian-Latin brunch includes a migas and waffle station, an eclectic mix of entrees ranging from free-range chili tamales to chicken tika masala and desserts including tres leches, mango mousse and brioche bread pudding. The brunch also includes bottomless mimosas.
    Available: 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
    Cost per person: $55 per person; $25 under 12
    Reservations: 713-960-8472

    PESCA WORLD SEAFOOD
    Highlights: Two prix-fixe menus include shrimp bisque, paella and flourless chocolate cake (brunch) and empandas de carne, crab cakes Benedict and Venezuela-style flan (breakfast). There is also an a la carte menu.
    Available: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
    Cost per person: $25 per person prix-fixe breakfast, $35 per person prix-fixe brunch. A la carte varies.
    Reservations: 713-522-1330

    JAPANESE/ASIAN

    RA SUSHI
    Highlights: Keep mom happy all day with a happy hour that goes from morning till close and offers a selection of more than 35 sushi, appetizer, and tapas items ranging from $2.25 to $7.25. For $3 to $7, choose from a variety of beer, wine, sake, and signature cocktails like Sake Sangria.
    Available: 11 a.m. to close at both Houston locations
    Cost per person: Varies
    Reservations: RA Sushi does not accept reservations. For more information, call 713-621-5800 (Highland Village) or 713-331-2792 (CityCentre).

    STRAITS ASIAN BISTRO
    Highlights: It's hard to pass on the Mother's Day specials at this upscale Singaporean restaurant at CityCentre. Divine dishes ranging from $10 to $28 include ahi tuna ceviche, blue crabmeat and mango spring roll and Asian pesto-seared sea scallops with Chinese pork belly sticky rice and spicy red jalapeno curry sauce.
    Available: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
    Cost per person: Varies
    Reservations: 713-365-9922

    LATIN

    LATIN BITES
    Highlights: Start your brunch off right with a Rocoto Porton Bloody Mary, then try items like Venezuelan cachapas (a traditional Venezuelan dish made from corn) and arepas (bread made of corn). Your mom and your wallet will enjoy the complimentary dessert of mil hojas (meaning “a thousand layers”) pastry.
    Available: Brunch is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The regular menu is available from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
    Cost per person: Varies
    Reservations: 713-229-8369

    STEAKHOUSE

    DEL FRISCO’S DOUBLE EAGLE STEAK HOUSE
    Highlights: Banana and mascarpone stuffed French toast for $18 and steak & eggs for $26 are two of the items on Del Frisco’s festive Mother's Day brunch menu. There's also a choice of $10 kid-friendly plates like crispy chicken fingers, French toast and mini cheeseburgers.
    Available: Brunch is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The regular dinner menu is available from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
    Cost per person: Varies
    Reservations: 713-355-2600

    Find Southern comfort with the shrimp and grits at Lucille's.

    Lucille's, Mother's Day brunch, shrimp and grits
      
    Photo by © Henry V. Thiel Lucille's Houston/Flickr
    Find Southern comfort with the shrimp and grits at Lucille's.
    unspecified
    news/restaurants-bars

    a love letter to Brennan's

    Chris Shepherd salutes his favorite Houston restaurant — and its new hot dog tower

    Chris Shepherd
    Jun 26, 2025 | 12:56 pm
    Brennan's of Houston new bar
    Courtesy of Brennan's of Houston
    The zinc bar tops are an ode to Parisian restaurants.

    those that don’t know, it’s a place where I had the opportunity to hone my skills as a young cook and is absolutely a place that I still call home.

    It was the restaurant that I wanted to work at so badly after graduating culinary school. I had applied once before, but did not get the job. I was disappointed, but now that I look back I am really happy I didn’t get the job. I wasn’t ready and I know that now. I took a job at a country club at the time and thought that I was going in the right direction in my career. I worked hard at that job, was promoted to sous chef and made some really amazing friends but something was missing.

    Becoming a Chef at Brennan’s

    My friend Randy Evans was working at Brennan’s, which is why I wanted to work there. I wanted to continue the push for knowledge and skills. Randy stopped by my apartment on his way home after work to have a drink and a chat, and I asked him how his night was. He told me that they did 400+ covers for service and it was exhilarating. He then asked how my night was, my answer was that I put out the taco buffet and was home early.

    That moment is when my head started to spin. I questioned a lot of the things I was doing. Please don’t get me wrong, the job I had was a really great one, and I know it’s the right fit for a lot of people. It just wasn’t for me, and that night changed a lot for me.

    Randy and his wife Melanie invited me to dinner at Brennan’s for my birthday. That night I met Mark Holley, Jose Arévalo, and chef Carl Walker. Mark asked me what I was doing and where I wanted my career to go. I started working at Brennan’s two weeks later.

    I worked there for nine years, because I was given the ability to learn as much as I could. I was able to work my way through the kitchen, while Randy and I pushed each other as hard as we could to learn as much as our brains could hold, and we had great mentors that helped us with that. I learned how to cook like a good cook, practiced technique, repetition, creativity, and leadership — I was being trained to be a chef and not just a cook.

    I was questioned about every new dish I would create by Alex Brennan-Martin, chef Carl, chef Jose, chef Mark, and my friend Randy about the thought process, the flavors, the techniques, and, most importantly, “the whys” behind the dish. They believed in me and taught me to believe in myself. Randy and I studied everything that had to do with food and wine. I mean, there is literally a magazine named Food & Wine and years later, I now get to work for that publication. How cool is that????

    I had the opportunity to take that passion into the dining room and become “The Wine Guy” aka the sommelier because I wanted to know how the dining room worked as well. At the same time Randy was promoted to executive chef, and it was a great feeling for both of us. We will be out in Sonoma next month as we celebrate 30 years of working in this industry together, and we owe a lot of this to this restaurant and the people that work there. So when I say it’s a special place to me, now you have some context to why. But enough about me — let’s talk about what’s really exciting me at Brennan’s right now.

    Brennan’s New Bar

    I have seen the bar at Brennan’s remodeled a couple of times over the years but nothing like what was unveiled recently. They nailed it. With this remodel they made the bar bigger and more exciting. The restaurant has always been a fine dining restaurant — a special occasion restaurant where you celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, and other momentous life occasions. This restaurant has more regulars (people that are there literally all the time) than any other place I’ve worked — multiple generations of those regulars!

    When they looked at the bar, they knew they wanted a fine casual bar. But what does that mean, exactly? They built basically a restaurant inside a restaurant that gives you a place to go watch an Astros game while having a delicious cocktail, an amazing bottle of wine, and shrimp po boy or a hot dog and slider tower. Yeah, you read that right. I’ll talk more about that in a bit.

    As part of the renovation, Alex Brennan-Martin installed black and white tile floors and zinc bar and table tops, just like you’d find in any cafe in Paris. The light fixtures are made of whiskey decanters. If you spend some time looking around, you will notice there are nods to the almost 60 years of history of Brennan’s of Houston. It’s beautiful and relaxing at the same time as you either look into the bar or out into the beautiful and iconic courtyard that is just so reminiscent of New Orleans.

    Now let’s talk about the important stuff: cocktails, food, and wine! The cocktail program has really taken a shift to fun, thoughtful but still tipping a hat to the classics. Let’s start with two styles of the Old Fashioned. There is the “Old” Old Fashioned which is the classic bourbon, bitters, muddled brandy, cherry, orange and a sugar cube — classic, right? Then we have the “New” Old Fashioned which is bourbon run through a Yama Still, a still that is traditionally used to make the best cold brew coffee where water slowly drips through coffee beans extracting the the best flavor of the beans. In this case instead of the beans, the middle infusion chamber is filled with the oranges and cherries. The bourbon slowly drips through the chamber infusing all of those delicious flavors and ends up on the other side. It’s outstanding.

    The Parisian Gas Lamp is a cocktail that pays tribute to the iconic glass lamps in the restaurant and is made from Cognac, Cointreau Noir, and flambéed orange peel. They have also added some frozen cocktails like the Bananas Faster (not Foster but Faster), which made from rum, banana purée and vanilla soft serve, perfect if you are too full for the classic dessert.

    I also want to remind you that you can get those infamous 25 cent martinis at lunch Monday through Friday with the purchase of an entree. The wines by the glass are fantastic, but the whole wine list is deep and one of the best around. It is filled with true gems from all over the world, don’t sleep on it because it’s a well put together novel!

    This is not just your regular food menu. As I said before, they have literally developed a restaurant inside of a restaurant for you to enjoy. When I first sat down, I was really surprised to see the menu. Traditionally a bar menu has four or five items on it but not this one — this one has more than 25 items, and most are designed specifically for the bar.

    Yes, you can get the famous snapping turtle soup, the seafood gumbo, and a Jill Jackson Salad, but that’s just the beginning. Raw and roasted oysters, seafood towers, flatbreads, and snacks like pimento cheese and deviled ham with fire’crackers, muffuletta sliders, and even New Orleans-style po’ boys. That’s just where the madness begins! The team has added some really amazing items like some over-the-top seafood nachos with fried oysters, shrimp, crabmeat — if you’d like to add caviar, they sure as hell will let you!

    Then we get to the piece de resistance, the tower of power, the all-gas-no-brakes kind of dish that I am in love with: The Hot Dog and Slider Tower. Full Tilt Hot Dogs, prime brisket sliders, all fries (house made fries, sweet potato fries, tater tots) with Creole chow chow, comeback sauce, and Andouille sausage queso for dipping! Even writing this I’m overwhelmed with joy.

    Full Tilt Foods is a company that my wife and I started, and we now make the official hot dog of the Houston Texans and The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Brennan’s is the first place outside of NRG stadium to carry them, and they are meaty hot dog heaven. The sliders are rich and delicious from that prime brisket, and this is one of the best shareable, show stopping dishes out there and absolutely worth a try.

    It's nice to see a bar that is open all day, not just to have a fantastic beverage but to enjoy some delicious food with friends and loved ones in a fine casual atmosphere. I have been in love with this restaurant for most of my life, and I think what they have done gives folks an option to either come in and have an amazing dinner or relax with friends, have a hot dog tower with some great cocktails, and watch a game on the TV.

    Thanks team for reading along on my love story to a restaurant. We all have our special places that hold those memories to us. What’s yours? Let me know your story.

    -----

    Share your favorite Houston restaurants with Chris via email at chris@chrisshepherd.is.

    Chris Shepherd won a James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest in 2014. The Southern Smoke Foundation, a nonprofit he co-founded with his wife Lindsey Brown, has distributed more than $12 million to hospitality workers in crisis through its Emergency Relief Fund. Catch his TV show, Eat Like a Local, every Saturday at 10 am on KPRC Channel 2 or on YouTube.

    Brennan's of Houston new bar
      

    Photo by Andrew Hemingway

    The zinc bar tops are an ode to Parisian restaurants.

    chris shepherdcocktailsnews-you-can-eatopenings
    news/restaurants-bars
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