The Adult Child's Guide To Mother's Day In NYC

by BILLY GRAY · May 7, 2010

Most of you won't be able to bring mom breakfast in bed Sunday morning. Some of you might be incapable of getting out of bed yourselves. But just because the nature of the holiday evolves as sons and daughters get older (and mom stays the same age!), doesn't mean you should discount more mature celebration rituals.

As you can see from the picture above, Murray Hill's Rodeo Bar is cutting to the chase and admitting that after a certain age, time spent with family more or less requires an alcoholic IV drip. Bring your mom to the Tex-Mex honky tonk and you'll both get a free shot of tequila. Rodeo is also a killer place to take in live country and blues music. You might be singing the latter after your mom asks you, for the umpteenth time, why you're still single and haven't found a better job.

Here are some other mother-centric ideas:

Mama's Food Shop. 200 East 3rd Street, East Village. Mama's has been serving comfort food to homesick East Villagers since 1995. For the rock bottom price of $12, you get an entree (choices include fried chicken and bacon-wrapped meatloaf) and a side (mac & cheese and, for the communists who'd consider another option, potato and beet salads among others). Bring mom. Just don't tell her Mama's does the staples better than her.

Mama's Bar. 34 Avenue B, East Village. Like so many families, Mama's Bar is estranged from former parental unit Mama's Food Shop. And like even the most dysfunctional broods, they still can't get away from each other. The grungy and incredibly cheap bar is right next door to the restaurant and lets you order in its namesake's food despite any squabbles.

Mexicana Mama. 525 Hudson Street, West Village. A Village Mexican staple not far away from the rowdy Tequila Flats, Mexicana Mama features healthy-ish burritos and tacos in a serene setting. Convince your mom your diet isn't slowly killing you before relapsing on Monday.

Don't Tell Mama: 343 West 46th Street, Hell's Kitchen. Perfect for the people whose visiting mothers result in a missed therapy session. Do like the Piano Man did and drown your sorrows while belting out American standards. Or listen to stand-up comics work out their own mommy issues through laughter. After all, what mama don't know won't hurt her.

Speaking of people in need of a shrink, if you hurry you can catch Real Housewife of New York Jill Zarin hawking and signing her book Secrets of a Jewish Mother from noon to 2 pm today at the 21 Club. But as with all motherly advice, take it with a grain of (kosher) salt.