Three choices come Mother’s Day

Greer Wylder

Considering taking mom out on her special day? Here are three

excellent local restaurants providing sit-down brunches, dinners and

prix fixe value menus to help make moms feel special.

Bayside Restaurant, an award-winning contemporary American

restaurant, serves a wonderful Mother’s Day brunch and dinner. The

brunch includes free-flowing champagne with a three-course meal

($42.75) or a three-course dinner ($52.75). It also provides a

children’s menu at $16 per person.

Bayside is one of the few restaurants to join the Confrerie du

Sabre d’Or, an international group promoting the art of sabrage, or

opening a bottle with a sword.

The brunch’s first-course choices include a puree of wild and

exotic mushroom soup with chives; a salad of mixed field greens with

balsamic vinaigrette, pear and Roquefort cheese; and tartare of

yellowfin tuna lightly spiced with soy, chile, ginger and avocado.

The second-course choices are: Bayside Benedict with smoked

salmon, poached egg and citrus hollandaise; a soy-glazed Scottish

salmon with Asian vegetables and ginger vinaigrette; and a grilled

Black Angus petit filet mignon with potato trio, seasoned vegetables

and Madagascan pepper sauce.

Dessert includes chocolate praline feuilletine (crushed pastry)

with chocolate and hazelnut sauce.

At dinner, the first-course choices include a tiger prawn

“Martini” with cucumber, tomatoes, avocado and peppers in soy citrus

vinaigrette; a carpaccio of Spanish lomo embuchado (wine and spice

dry cured ham) with green asparagus, manchego cheese and petit

greens; and a griddle crab cake with marinated roasted red and yellow

pepper with a chipotle aioli.

The main-course selections are: wild mushroom-crusted oven-roasted

Alaskan halibut on potato puree and asparagus spears, with a Riesling

sauce; a pan-roasted filet of John Dory with roasted peppers, baby

artichoke, white balsamic vinaigrette and wilted spinach; venison

loin medallions with Granny Smith apples, potato gnocchi and a spiced

red wine reduction.

The delicious dessert choices include warm chocolate souffle cake

with hazelnut ice cream, or panna cotta ice cream with chocolate

sauce and Chambord raspberries.

Bayside Restaurant is at 900 Bayside Drive in Newport Beach. (949)

721-1222. www.baysiderestaurant.com.

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Another option is Chat Noir French Bistro and Jazz Lounge. Guests

can enjoy a complimentary mimosa or kir, an appetizer sampler and a

main course. The holiday meal ends with treats from its decadent

dessert station.

Brunch is served from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The three-course

brunch is $48 per person, with the children’s menu at $15 per person.

The regular dinner menu is offered from 4:30 to 8 p.m.

Executive Chef Joseph Youkhan will also create some culinary

specialties for dinner. Complimentary photos will be taken.

Chat Noir’s Mother’s Day brunch guests can enjoy assorted

croissants and mini brioche; fresh melon and berries; a caramelized

assorted fruit salad with vanilla bean cream; and a butter lettuce

salad with Roquefort, tomatoes and toasted almonds. An additional

sampling from the menu includes mushroom bisque with truffled

cappuccino cream; a crab and shrimp cocktail; lobster bisque with

sherry cream; and smoked salmon and red onion tarte flambee.

Entree choices include trois oeufs with filet mignon sauce

bearnaise; crab cakes with spinach and spicy mustard sauce; or

classic Black Forest ham with hollandaise. There’s also creme brulee

French toast with smoked bacon, caramelized bananas and maple syrup;

or an open-faced omelet with asparagus, goat cheese and wild

mushrooms, served with country potatoes.

Dessert choices include a hot Callebaut chocolate souffle with

Cointreau cream; creme brulee with white chocolate and strawberry; or

warm mixed berry nage fromage blanc ice cream.

Chat Noir is located at 655 Anton Blvd. in Costa Mesa. (714)

557-6647. www.culinaryadventures.com.

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Mom’s special day can include a little paradise at Roy’s Newport

Beach. Roy’s will open early at 10:30 a.m. for a special brunch

featuring a three-course prix fixe menu for $30. Guests can also

order from Roy’s Hawaiian-fusion dinner menu.

First-course choices include a choice of lobster, clam and corn

chowder; seasonal fruit and garden vegetable salad with raspberry

vinaigrette; crispy crab and lobster rangoons in spicy lemon-lime

butter; or curry-braised short rib on shrimp and sweet potato hash.

The second-course choices are: Roy’s original crab cakes Benedict

with a hollandaise and spicy sesame chive sauce; oven roasted and

chevre crusted salmon steak in sun-dried tomato basil sauce; Hawaiian

style “Loco Mocco” -- Yamma’s Mamma meatloaf with mushroom gravy

served with two eggs over easy; or the King Street omelet with

Portuguese sausage, bacon, grilled onion and poke tomatoes, served

with kim chee fried rice.

The dessert course includes a choice of luscious lilikoi poundcake

or coconut-chocolate creme pie.

Roy’s Newport Beach is at 453 Newport Center Drive in Newport

Beach. (949) 640-7697. www.roysrestaurant.com.

* BEST BITES runs every Friday. Greer Wylder can be reached at

greerwylder@yahoo.com; at 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626;

or by fax at (714) 966-4679.