You should be nice to your mom (and call her) every day, but Mother’s Day is that much-needed opportunity for catching up and getting her a card with adorable kittens on it. There’s standard fare everywhere it’s celebrated, but in Miami we have our own traditions. We went looking for the most Miami Mother’s Days ever.
What’d we miss? Let us know below.
5. “Mom Eats Free” brunch
Most of the times you eat with mom, you’re secretly hoping she’ll pull the check to her side of the table. But not on Mother’s Day. This one’s on you, which means there are no free meals—only a terrifying list of brunch offerings from every trendy restaurant in Miami. Your intrepid reporter was sent no fewer than 43 different press releases announcing brunch cocktails just for mom (the “Mother Little Helper” is a strawberry-citrus Riesling cocktail, natch) and prix-fixe specials from $25 to $250.
They might not be great deals for you, but many are a great deal for mom— Monty’s gives mom unlimited mimosas and free cheesecake. Nikki Beach gives her free brunch the next time she comes in.
The New Tropic member Victoria Fear suggested Virginia Key’s Rusty Pelican, which pairs a bit of classy ambiance with skyline views.
We’re hoping for the Mac’s Club Deuce’s brunch special, which is a bottle of Maker’s Mark, two glasses, and a stranger seated uncomfortably close to you for the duration of your stay.
4. Beach picnic visible from space
You could take mom to the beach in low-impact fashion, but then there’s no room for the family, the dogs, the grill, the food, the kids, or everyone’s portable Bluetooth speakers (or phones echoing inside Solo cups, if you’re crafty). If you’re going to make it memorable, you need the whole operation: a 10×20′ pop-up tent, portable cooking, coolers, and comfortable chairs. It’s a lot to bring, but it’s the perfect way to bring the family gathering somewhere new.
Some of your top suggestions for enormous beach picnics: Haulover, North Beach, and Crandon Park on Key Biscayne.
3. Finding music in unlikely places
Most weekends you might find Miami’s spaces packed with dance, house, and lounge music. But we turn on the class for Mother’s Day with jazz, classical, and other refined sounds.
South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center is hosting Jazz in the Bay with Bobby Watson All-Star Quartet and the Richmond Heights Middle School Jazz Band (guaranteed adorableness here). The Miami Beach Botanical Garden will get an infusion of classical from the South Beach Chamber Ensemble.
2. Going on an adventure
We’re explorers here at The New Tropic, and we know many of you are, too. Which is why our ideal Miami Mother’s Day isn’t a special event or a brunch or a cocktail. It’s just the joy of going somewhere new with someone you love. Our suggestions:
- Vizcaya hosts a special Mother’s Day behind-the-scenes tour of its orchid collection, plus a tea service. It’s packed with secrets to uncover.
- A day trip to the Upper Keys can take you to feed tarpon, taste locally brewed beer, go swimming beneath a hundred-year-old train bridge, and party under the moonlight.
- The Redlands is home to an endless list of adventures, from sampling lychee wine at Schnebly’s Winery (where’s they’ve got a full-blown Mother’s Day brunch) to fresh fish.
- Spend a day in Little Havana, Little Haiti, Downtown, Brickell, or Coral Gables with our neighborhood guides.
1. Going to your mom’s house to pick her up for brunch and never leaving because someone brings wine and croquetas and then there’s a dance party.
You make plans for an adventure. You’ll pick your mom up at her house, so you pop in to say hello. Maybe there’s lunch or coffee or a “short” get-together. That’s when your uncle arrives with a plate of 300 croquetas from Publix, or someone opens a bottle of wine, or someone puts on the baseball game. Then Benny Moré / the Rat Pack / Prince / Bonnie Tyler is playing (best playlist ever), and there’s a dance party, and 18 hours later you emerge disheveled, stuffed, and totally unprepared to go to work on Monday.
Sounds like Mother’s Day in Miami to us.