The plight of the reservation-less on Mother’s Day

Weeks ago, I blogged about Mother’s Day brunch. I read others’ posts on Mother’s Day brunch. Everyone knows you have to make reservations eons in advance for this day that brings in crowds akin to Wednesday-before-Thanksgiving at LAX. But what did I do? I waited until last Thursday to try to book a table.

So I shouldn’t have been surprised when the host at Las Brisas in Laguna Beach, California, said to me over the phone, “Sorry, ma’am, we’ve been completely booked up for three weeks.”

“Completely?” I asked, feeling like a complete dork.

“Yes, but you could come that morning and wait for a table.”

Mom and I would spend the weekend in Laguna, relaxing and gallery-hopping. And looking for a lovely, yet casual, top-off to such a trip, I had my heart set on the Las Brisas brunch menu: spicy seafood-stuffed crepes, roasted lamb atop papas de la casa drizzled with a rosemary garlic sauce, lobster salad — all glazed with a stunning ocean view.

So if we wanted Las Brisas, we’d have to wait for Las Brisas. But what better to do on a Sunday morn anyway than stare at the sea in the restaurant’s backyard, while our stomachs growled?

We arrived at the restaurant at 10 a.m. and waited almost 90 minutes for a table (those strolling in sans reservation at 11:30 a.m. were told the wait would be two hours). Thankfully this part of the world is not a bad place to wile away time. We strolled the beach, smelled the roses, watched mothers with their families and babies and dogs.

Our buzzer finally buzzed. Being among the reservation-less class, we were relegated to one of the rooms without a view. Good thing we were just about tired of the spectacular, soul-stirringly sweeping views anyway. You know when you just need to stare at a blank wall for a while, clear that visual palette? That we did, while enjoying each others’ company and filling our bellies with Mexican pastries, salmon soup, seafood crepes, pollo milanesa, chocolate cake and champagne.

Every bite was delicious (though my inner critic had passed out sometime during my morning fast), and my mother, of course, was delightful company on a very enjoyable morning. I wouldn’t have changed a thing. Next year, however, you can bet I’ll be practicing what I preach and making reservations at least six weeks ahead of time.

How was your Mother’s Day brunch?

— Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times

[Photos: Susan Derby]

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This entry was posted on Monday, May 12, 2008 at 4:00 pm by Susan Derby and is filed under Gourmet, Islands & Beaches, Orange County. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.