Happy Mother’s Day to all the beautiful Mother’s out there (most especially my own)!
Mother’s Day has always been one of my favorite holidays because it usually involves my favorite meal… BRUNCH!
Loving brunch the way I do, any holiday that requires it instantly becomes one of my favorites.
So it only feels appropriate that today I share with you one of my favorite brunches in Chicago… a brunch to triumph over so many of the others.
A brunch at Maple & Ash.
Maple & Ash is located in the heart of the Gold Coast on Rush near several of my other Chicago favorites including Nico Osteria, Gibson’s, Freds at Barneys, and Velvet Taco.
So — in all honesty — I had a lot of expectations for this spot. It really needed to WOW me.
But once you step into the third floor dining room all you really can be is wowed.
All the beautiful details from the stunning chandeliers,
to the chandelabras,
to the plush velvet booths just takes your breath away.
I think most Chicagoans would agree, Maple & Ash has the sort of space you fall madly, madly in love with.
And never want to leave…
First off let’s start with the essentials — Maple & Ash has a bottomless bubbles package that I STRONGLY recommend.
Not only does the champagne come with fruit and fruit juices of all types to mix with,
But it really is bottomless (at least for the two hours you’re allotted). Our servers were constantly checking our bottle and refilling our glasses with a new bottle already popped and in our ice bucket.
It was a beautiful ballet of endless pours of bubbles…
But their brunch cocktails are also spectacular…
Like this “Ma’am I am Tonight” cocktail of ketel one, chareau, lilllet rose, and lemon.
Which is served with a beautiful flower garnish.
And which naturally I drank all of, in addition to my bubbles…
But let’s get onto the brunch food, shall we?
Because Maple & Ash does theirs a little bit differently to most. Their brunch is served as a gourmet buffet with stations for fresh-made pancakes, bacon, made-to-order eggs, hand-tossed salads, and LOTS of desserts.
But perhaps the VERY best part is that brunch also comes with a few extra perks…
like a massive wood-grilled seafood tower for the table to share. 
Or not share, if that’s how you roll…
You’re also served these house made agnolotti with winter truffle conserve at the table.
Which I can’t decide whether I loved eating or shooting more!
Because while this is one of the most beautifully unique pasta dishes I’ve seen in some time (at least since my first bites of real pasta in Italy),
it’s also hands-down one of the most delicious!
But really you can say that about every dish on the brunch menu, like these made-to-order Fire Roasted Eggs.
Which are baked to perfection in a zingy, spicy sauce that’s perfect for dipping!
My other favorites from my multiple trips to the buffet include their smoked salmon (served with caviar), their hand-tossed salads (get the champagne dressing and a soft-boiled egg on the side), and their perfectly crispy-fried breakfast potatoes which, quite frankly, almost managed to outshine everything else!
All the dishes made for a perfect brunch — even those of you who dislike buffets should give it a try, it’s unlike any buffet I’ve ever been too (and that includes the famous Caesar’s Palace buffet in Vegas!).
But I am biased…
Seeing as Maple & Ash’s buffet is the ONLY brunch buffet I’ve ever been to that serves real french macarons. 
Which I invariably ate stacks of for dessert…
I know of no other brunch quite like Maple & Ash’s. Let alone a brunch buffet that feels avant-guard and chic, as opposed to heavy and tasteless.
Needless to say I’ll be back (for the smoked salmon, breakfast potatoes, endless bubbles, baked eggs, macarons)… probably more times than I’ll ever care to admit!
Disclosure: I received a complimentary meal to facilitate this post. Review and all opinions are ALWAYS my own.
