Mother’s Ruin

There’s a small list of special drinks on a board behind the bar, including an ever-changing frozen concoction dispensed from what looks like a converted Icee machine. The food menu, which includes things like ginger-glazed duck wings, smoked trout toast, and a Gruyère grilled-cheese sandwich with onions and jus, is built to soak up alcohol if you happen to overimbibe. Blond-wood tables, flower vases on the bar, wood-sill windows, and homey lamps sprouting from the exposed-brick wall all suggest you could enjoy some time here with Mom (earlier in the day, when she won’t get jostled when the crowds kick in). But if you order the Tecate splashed with lime and hot sauce, be careful: It will make you sneeze, and she might wipe your nose in public.