Mother’s Day at Millennium

Who: VN Publisher Joseph Connelly, VN Associate Publisher Colleen Holland, and VN Assistant to the Publisher Frankie McGee
What: Mother’s Day Brunch
Where: San Francisco's renown Millennium Restaurant
When: May 11, 2008
Why: To express our appreciation for our dear friend and VN volunteer, Frankie McGee

The Scoop: Frankie McGee is a San Francisco institution. A long-time vegetarian and super-supporter of local veg organizations, she's an amazing asset to the VN team—giving, wise, and gracious. Frankie assists us with everything from mailers and filing to kitchen maintenance (if we need a garlic press, one miraculously appears the next day) and organizational systems. Since opening our offices four years ago, Frankie’s been with us every step of the way.

To show our gratitude, we remind Frankie frequently how thankful we are. From time to time, we throw a “Frankie Appreciation Day” with gifts and her favorite lunch. For the past two years, we’ve treated her to Mother’s Day brunch at Millennium, since, in many ways, she is the matriarch of VegNews.

A warm, sunny day in San Francisco set the tone for a delightful midday brunch. As soon as we were seated, Frankie was served a bellini (peach nectar and Champagne—see the May+June issue for our favorite recipe), an on-the-house treat for all "moms." We then shared a plate of freshly baked breads: walnut chocolate-chip banana bread, almond-huckleberry streusel coffee cake, and cornmeal black-pepper muffins with spiced pecan butter. Salads arrived next, featuring mixed greens, shaved fennel, and organic strawberries in a sherry-hazelnut vinaigrette. We enjoyed every bite of our sumptuous entrées—Joseph and Colleen tucked into The Benedict (grilled, smoked tempeh, sweet onions, and sautéed spinach atop house-made focaccia drizzled with a Champagne béarnaise sauce), while Frankie savored walnut waffles with coconut-vanilla bean crème and strawberry-mango compote alongside rosemary roasted potatoes. Oh, and there’s more. Yes, that would be dessert. We had a choice of strawberry-rhubarb cobbler with orange blossom ice cream (absolute perfection) or a mocha-chocolate torte with a fig compote and hazelnut-butterscotch sauce (see photo below). As always, service was impeccable and the ambiance just right.

And VN has scoop! We’ve learned that Millennium will soon be bringing back its monthly brunch. Now we can relax over meals like the aforementioned each and every month. The restaurant’s other popular events include Aphrodisiac Nights and the upcoming Southern Comfort Dinner (where the VN staff will be celebrating VegNews' 8th Anniversary).