James R.
Yelp
I cannot believe we get to have another chance with Mother.
The rebirth of Mother is in the location previously occupied by Skool, Anatoli Table, and Hina's Tea shop. Personally, I think the location is better than the previous place downtown. I remember when this was a pop up concept and I've liked all of the iterations, but this new location is making me very happy.
What I really appreciate is that they moved from an order at the counter model to a table service model. When you're drinking and getting small plates, it's just so much nicer. The waiter was very nice and Michael even came to the table to greet us.
We went pretty hard in the paint with the small plates. We got the winter soup, Marinated Baby Beets, Coconut Lime Collard Greens, Grass Valley Grits, Turmeric Hummus, Charred Savoy Cabbage, and the Winter Squash Agnolotti. What can I say? I missed this place and they had so many great offerings. I wanted to order more. But how were the items I did order?
First let me say how generous the small plates are. I wasn't sure how much we were getting per small plate, but it's much more substantial than I anticipated. For example, the hummus comes with a side salad not even mentioned in the description. It was almost an entree in and of itself. So how was the food? It was exciting. Mother has always found a way to make you excited about vegetarian and vegan food. The hummus was not only well seasoned, but the texture was very smooth and the apricot chutney was a great garnish. The lime coconut collard greens were amazing and was like a cross between classic southern greens and callaloo. The grits were wonderfully creamy and the molasses butter was a great touch. The soup, albeit grey in appearance, was so fully of flavor and fully of wonderful unexpected notes (roasted pepitas?). Last, but not least was the agnolotti. The pasta was well made, the filling was very generous but, for me, the salsify really took that dish to the next level.
Overall, this is still a great place to eat. I'll argue this new location improves upon an already winning formula. This place shouldn't be considered just for vegetarians and vegans. I'm an omnivore and I love this place. I will definitely return here to see what new things they dream up next.