“I am so happy. I am the happiest Mom”
We are sitting around a light flooded table at The Westin Nova Scotian. It is Mothers Day, and we’re celebrating with just the girls – me, my sister, and my mom.
My mom loves The Westin Brunch. Growing up, we celebrated some important milestones at these tables. Somewhere along the way memories of food blended with memories of good times with family, and the two became inextricably linked. So when The Westin invited us to their Mothers Day Brunch, it took about 5 seconds for us to agree.
Before tackling the food, we take our time over coffee (me) and orange juice (mom & sis) reliving memories of brunches past – Our grandparents 50th wedding anniversary, my moms graduation from her Masters degree.
“I remember being in 9th grade and only eating desserts,” my sister laughs.
And while I, too, remember family moments, I also remember the food. This is where I had my first experience with smoked salmon. I remember digging into plates piled high with it, and pairing it with what seemed like 50 kinds of cheese.
We snap back to the moment. We have new memories to make today, and piles of new and delicious foods to try. We set out as a group but get separated during our hunt for food.
And it is a hunt. For Mothers Day, The Westin has expanded their traditional Sunday brunch, and filled the halls and lobby with dish after dish of cold, hot, smoked, and melted delights. There’s even a brunch table half the height of the rest, stocked with mac and cheese, hot dogs, and other kid-favourites at kid height.
Splitting up ends up being part of the fun. Once back at the table, we dig in, sharing our finds between mouthfuls.
“Did you see they had chowder?”
“You’ve GOT to try the scallops!”
A musician takes the stage and starts to play.
My sister says he sounds like Johnny Cash just moments before the guitarist and singer launches into a rendition of I Walk The Line.
“…he must have heard me”
By round three, my mother is on the phone telling her sisters how great our brunch is. While she chats (she’s allowed, it’s her day after all) my sister tells me funny stories from the waffle station – of a little girl slathering her waffle with a whole bowl of whipped cream, and the poor omelet chef at the same table who was getting no love in the shadow of the waffles.
Mom gets off the phone and we make one final loop to grab dessert. The desserts have a room of their own, complete with an archway of strawberries and pineapple with a chocolate fountain in the middle. My sister and I take turns holding each others plates so we can pick our fruit and coat it in chocolate.
We also pick out a few other things…
Once back at our table, mom insists that no one touch dessert until we get a group photo.
And, because she’s our mom, and because she always puts everyone else before herself, her biggest complaint is that we didn’t bring my Dad and Drew. But she has a solution…
“We’ll just have to do this again and bring them along next time!”
Location:
1181 Hollis Street
Halifax, NS
Dates and Times:
Sunday 12 pm – 2 pm
Price: $24.99/person
The Market Brunch was a larger version of their traditional Sunday Brunch and came with a higher pricetag of $55/person. This was the first time The Westin has done an extra special occasion brunch, but they plan to try it again for special dates like Christmas Day.
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