The historic White House building at 2900 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. will soon again serve fine-dining fare in an all-new restaurant.
Mother’s will open its doors on June 26, offering a diverse menu of globally inspired fare, with dishes that blend comfort food with exotic flavors.
The restaurant comes from industry veteran Vanessa Rose, who was most recently a sous chef at Ardent, where she regularly hosted Mother’s pop-up dinners, including a monthlong residency in the space in January.
Mother’s will employ a European-style pricing structure, meaning tipping is not expected and no service charges will be added to the bill. Prices on the menu may look a bit higher, but they’ve been adjusted to ensure employees earn equal wages, from the front of house to the back of house.
“If the menu says $16, you can give me a 10, a five and a single and you are paid,” Rose told the Journal Sentinel in an April interview.
The debut menu includes 13 dishes with culinary influences from India, Japan, Spain, China and more.
Small dishes include burrata with huancaina sauce, chimichurri, sherry reduction and crostini ($21); tempura fried tofu with doenjang, scallion, cilantro, dandelion greens and black sesame ($18); saffron pickled egg with yolk mousse, herbs de Provence and salsa verde ($14); and liang fen, a Chinese dish featuring cold jelly noodles. At Mother’s, it will be served with cantaloupe, cilantro, mala, pork sung and scallion ($13).
Of course, Mother’s signature Maderia mushrooms, a fan-favorite dish that has traveled with Rose to numerous kitchens she’s worked in, will have its place on the menu. The dish includes Spanish sofrito, cream and chives, and is served with crostini ($19).
Larger dishes like Berbere spice hanger steak with celery root puree ($61); cumin and cinnamon braised pork shoulder with quinoa polenta ($37); and tikka masala gnocchi with roasted cauliflower, peas and pickled black mustard seed ($25) will appear on the menu, too.
Desserts include Madras curry carrot cake with curried frozen yogurt and brûléed banana ($18) and flourless chocolate cake with beetroot crémeur, sherry gastrique and créme fraiche Chantilly ($18).
Regular hours at Mother’s are 5 to 10 p.m. Thursday to Monday. Reservations are available now on OpenTable.
On June 30, Mother’s will host a special Pride Finale tasting menu, featuring dishes from Rose and pastry chef Nick Hoover, as well as Gregory Léon of Amilinda, Mary Kastman of newly opened Purslane and Dana Spandet of Flour Girl & Flame.
The seven-course Pride tasting menu is $100 per person. Reservations are available now on OpenTable.
Daytime hours with coffee and tea service to come
Mother’s plans to extend its bar hours until midnight by early July, and by mid-July, will expand to include coffee and tea service beginning at noon on open days.
Rose intends for Mother’s to be a welcome third space for the LGBTQ+ community, where guests can come in to spend time without the expectation to spend money.
“We’ll set space aside for people to camp on their laptop, play a board game, read a book or have their weekly meeting with friends,” Rose told the Journal Sentinel in April.
A second-story space will be available to rent for weddings, private dinners, celebrations of life or any other special events.
Rose said she hopes to hold events in the restaurant’s garden patio in the backyard as well as in the building’s 16-space parking lot.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Mother’s sets opening date for restaurant in Bay View’s White House building — and tipping won’t be expected
Reporting by Rachel Bernhard, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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