18 Restaurants In Petaluma, SoCo To Take Mom On Mexican Mother’s Day

PETALUMA, CA — Mother’s Day is an important holiday in Mexico, but unlike in the United States, where the celebration consistently falls on the second Sunday in May, Mexican Mother’s Day, or “El Dia de la Madre,” always takes place on May 10. That’s on a Wednesday this year, and there are plenty of Mexican restaurants in Petaluma and Sonoma County to have lunch with Mom.

El Día de la Madre is a celebration first of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a powerful symbol of Mexican identity and faith, and second, a celebration of mothers and motherhood.

“Mexicans are very attached to family, not like in the United States, where they throw the kids out of the house at age 18,” radio host Maxine Woodside said in a 2012 interview with The Washington Post. “Here we see men in their 40s who still live with their mothers, and why not? Their moms still do their laundry.”

Feasts featuring signature cuisines such as mole, pozole, enchiladas, sopes, quesadillas, beef barbacoa and other traditional recipes are a big part of Mexican Mother’s Day. Here are some highly rated places in Petaluma and Sonoma County to treat your mother:

Tortilla Real Mexican Kitchen, 5 Petaluma Blvd South, Petaluma

El Roy's, 210 Edith St., Petaluma

Don Panchos, 285 N. McDowell Blvd., Petaluma

Mi Pueblo, 800 Petaluma Blvd. North, Petaluma

Plaza Tequila, 600 E. Washington St., Petaluma

La Azteca, 1420 S. McDowell Blvd., Petaluma

El Fogon Taqueria, 6650 Commerce Blvd., Rohnert Park

Mi Ranchito Cotati, 7600 Commerce Blvd., Cotati

Don Julio's Latin Grill, 217 Southwest Blvd., Rohnert Park (closed Wednesdays)

Mi Pueblo, 7394 Commerce Blvd., Cotati

Cascabel, 909 Village Court, Santa Rosa

Los Tres Chiles, 2765 Yulupa Ave., Santa Rosa

Taqueria Molcajetes, 1195 W. College Ave., Santa Rosa

La Casa Restaurant and Bar, 121 E. Spain St., Sonoma

El Molino Central, 11 Central Ave., Sonoma

Agave, 1063 Vine St., Healdsburg

El Farolito, 128 Plaza St., Healdsburg

Taqueria Guadalajara, 125 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg

Or venture across the bay to either of these San Francisco Mexican restaurants that made it onto Thrillist's list of "The 43 Best Mexican Restaurants in America":

Californio's, 355 11th St., SF

Tommy's Mexican Restaurant, 5929 Geary Blvd., SF

Giving Mom the short shrift on El Dia de la Madre is unheard of in Mexico, where lunches can easily last five hours, according to The Washington Post. Mothers in Mexico are traditionally the ones who do the cooking and other housework, and Mexican Mother’s Day is set aside to let others do the cooking for them.

Even though Mother’s Day in Mexico has only been a holiday for a little more than a century, in pre-Columbian times Mexican society was built around powerful matriarchs, according to the travel website Pin and Travel.

Parade reported that, according to tradition, children in Mexico often gather outside the house on the morning of El Dia de la Madre to serenade Mom with traditional songs such as “Las Mañanitas,” whose lyrics translate to “Because today is your day, we’ve come to sing for you.” Sometimes, the song is accompanied by a full mariachi band.