This year more than ever, Mom deserves a really good gift. (Can someone remind my 7-year-old about this?). While you can’t jet off with her on a much-needed getaway right now, we’ve come up with a few gifts that will at least transport her taste buds.
Cafe du Monde
New Orleans
I took my mom to New Orleans for her birthday one year, and we ate our way across the city, from fried shrimp po’ boys at Guy’s to creole bread pudding souffle at Commander’s Palace. But the bite that we—and everybody else—always remembers most fondly is a hot, powder-sugar-dusted beignet at Cafe du Monde. Surprise your mom with a gift pack including beignet mix, a can of that tasty chicory coffee, and a mug.
McLoons Lobster Shack
Spruce Head Island, Maine
One bite of an award-winning lobster roll from McLoons Lobster Shack will make Mom feel like she’s sitting harborside, wind blowing her hair as she watches the fishermen haul in the day’s catch. This kit includes 1 lb. of meat, four split-top rolls, Casco Bay Creamery sea salt butter, and mayo. Be sure to pick up a bag of Cape Cod potato chips to complete the package.
Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit
Charleston, South Carolina
Carrie Morey has been delighting diners with Southern biscuits just the way her mom made ’em since 2005, in flavors ranging from cinnamon to cheese and chive (and many more). Treat your mom to a Breakfast in Bed Bundle: buttermilk biscuits and sharp cheddar biscuits, pimento cheese, and a quiche from Southern Bake Pie Company. She’ll be stuffed—and happy.
Lou Malnati’s
Chicago
Instagram may be crowded with pics of homemade pizzas and no-knead crusts, but sometimes Mom just wants delivery—specifically delivery that sends her to Chicago, where she can remember chowing down on a deep-dish pepperoni before a Cubs game. Let her relive that memory with these two just-reheat-and-eat beauties.
Salt Lick
Driftwood, Texas
The best food gifts are generally items you’re not going to cook yourself. I don’t know many moms who’d want to spend all day in the backyard smoking brisket, but I do know plenty who’d want to pretend they were in Texas, sitting at a picnic table licking barbecue sauce off their fingers. This Family-Style Dinner comes with smoked beef brisket, pork ribs, country sausage, and a bottle of sauce. It feeds eight to 10, so you should have plenty of leftovers for dinner the next day. (Two days of not cooking! Woo hoo!)
La Maison du Chocolat
Paris
The next place I want to take my mother? Paris. We’ll wander through the Louvre, pay respects to the grave of her college crush Jim Morrison at Père Lachaise, drink Bordeaux and eat brie de meaux at a sidewalk café, and pop into the storied La Maison du Chocolat to pick out a selection of ganaches and pralinés to enjoy in our hotel room overlooking the Seine. Until then, the sweets in this Rose Garden Gift Box will make her feel like we’re there, enjoying some mère-fille time.
AXR Winery
St. Helena, California
Have you ever taken your mom wine tasting? Do it again with a Signature Virtual Tasting Kit from Napa Valley’s AXR Winery, which includes a sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, and two cabernets. Once it arrives, simply set up a time for her to do a guided tasting with one of AXR’s owners or brand ambassadors. Of course, Mom would rather do the tasting with you, so you might as well order a kit for yourself, too. Happy Mother’s Day to everyone!
