Love is in the Air at The Empress

Going out to eat on Mother's Day is like going out on Valentine's Day or St. Patrick's Day. You've got to carefully pick your spot.

So we carefully picked The Empress and timed brunch for almost 2:00, figuring the worst of the hordes would be finishing up and we were right.

It was a beautiful day for brunching on Broad Street and the open door allowed the warm-smelling air into the bustling dining room.

Our little two-top was the oddball in a room full of large groups. We saw some very sweet grandmotherly types, one in the kind of pale pink knit pants that only grandmothers can pull off.

Settled in with rose hibiscus iced tea, we opted for both breakfast and lunch, ordering the challah French toast with peanut butter sauce and fresh whipped cream and the arugula salad with chickpeas, sunflower seeds, chicken and Edam cheese in a red wine vinaigrette, thus satisfying both cravings.

We finished with chocolate/strawberry crepes placed on a plate of chocolate sauce poured to look like a daisy, making for a very groovy and rich ending to a lovely meal.

Owner Melissa was waiting tables and when I inquired as to why, she explained that she was allowing each of her employees to leave for a few hours to celebrate with their mothers, a very sweet gesture for a boss, we thought.

But then, The Empress is the only place I know where the menu clearly states (as do the servers if you ask why something is so good) that they offer love-infused social cuisine, so apparently there's a lot of love floating around the place.

Hell, I'm all about the love, wherever I may find it.