What kind of a name is Mother Other for a restaurant? An ingenious one, if you ask us, juxtaposing intimacy and intrigue, comfort and nonconformity. Turns out that’s just what executive chef Alexi Mandolini and beverage director Taylor Herbert—the pair behind The Easy Vegan who will open the vegan venture in the Baker neighborhood on June 27—aimed to convey when they came up with it.
On the one hand, said Mandolini during our recent interview, “We’re trying to honor the women that we learned hospitality from,” including her own mother: “I grew up with three siblings, and our house was pretty busy. But my mom is an incredible cook, and [at dinnertime] we’d all sit down at the table and connect. That’s so important these days, the more and more we get glued to our phones and the QR codes of the world.”
On the other hand, added Herbert, “Women are still not centered in the way that we want in professional kitchen spaces, [and] there is this otherness to vegan food in general. It’s a reference to queerness as well: Lex and I are partners in business and in life. So we want to [boost] the familiarity of the other—everybody has a seat at the table here. Come as you are.”
Building Mother Other, the Team’s First Brick and Mortar
The couple’s commitment to that mission will be palpable from the moment guests set foot in the space, which they designed themselves.
“We bootstrapped all the work,” noted Herbert. “Lex and I have watched a lot of YouTube videos and learned how to do light plumbing and some fixture installation. [But] we have also had so many people, friends and regulars, show up and say, ‘What do you need? How can we help?’ We drink some beers, and they help us throw up beadboard and paint. That’s what you’re going to see when you come in, and hopefully it doesn’t look too DIY.”
A little DIY character, however, is very much in keeping with their vision. It should “feel just like you’re coming over for dinner,” said Mandolini of the light, bright dining room, whose walls are hung with “a bunch of handwritten recipes to honor the women [who influenced us]” as well as homespun paintings of vegetables and fruits.
Local, Seasonal, and Delicious Vegan Food
Those decorative touches also serve as clues to Mother Other’s seasonal menu—not that it will come as any surprise to anyone who follows The Easy Vegan, the mobile business that Mandolini and Herbert launched in 2020. They rode it to fame as the season 16 winners of Food Network’s The Great Food Truck Race a couple of years later, but, as Herbert pointed out, farmers’ markets started it all and local produce is what the owners will continue to champion.
Take a dish like the Garden Grits, which might showcase carrots from Switch Gears Farm one week, blistered tomatoes, Swiss chard ,or radishes the next, along with “beautiful spice in the [form of] Calabrian chili ‘butter’ and crunch with popped sorghum,” in Mandolini’s words. Or take the Arancini with celery root puree, chive aioli, and giardiniera, a nod to her Italian roots, just as the Herbed Potato Pierogi with ruby sauerkraut, braised apples, and caramelized onions pays homage to her Polish heritage. And then there’s the Japanese sweet potato.
“I think it hits all the marks,” said Mandolini. “There’s a super-umami component in the miso and black garlic that we whip into the potato. And then I’m like, ‘OK, what’s next? Crunchy.’ So our tempura-fried onion is really beautiful as well. The sesame-chili oil that we make in house gives you that spicy, savory, MSG flavor, and the freshness of the scallion and cilantro is just the perfect touch. I’m excited for non-vegans and vegans alike to try that dish, because I think it’s an all-star.”
Sip Your Veggies at the New Bar
Naturally, the bar is closely following the kitchen’s lead. It’s a tight squeeze back there, admitted Herbert, so the selection of craft beers and natural wines will be concise to ensure she and her team have all the room they need to focus on cocktails, both full-strength and virgin.
“We’re going to put a lot of vegetables into these drinks,” she promised. The strawberry and red pepper lemonade they introduced at The Easy Vegan, for instance, “is really popular—it took us probably a whole year to convince people to drink it, and now we can’t make enough of it.” But unlike the farmers’ market version, this one can come with tequila.
For another example, they’ll pour a seasonal highball featuring housemade soda in rotating flavors, starting with carrot. “We basically make a carrot tea, and then we force-carbonate and keg it,” Herbert explained. “So we’re able to serve that with vodka or gin or as a nonalcoholic option.”
Building Community in the Restaurant and Beyond
The guarantee that one and all will feel welcome at Mother Other—no matter who they are, where they come from, whom they love, and what they do or don’t eat or drink. This ethos reflects the couple’s belief in what they call “radical hospitality,” which logically extends to the staff.
“That’s something that’s really important to us: We’ve chosen to have a small team, and we’re really interested in supporting them . . . so that [this] can be less of a job and more like a career,” said Herbert. “If somebody who works in the kitchen wants to learn how to bartend, I’m going to train anybody who wants to learn new skills.”
Meanwhile, they made the decision to operate just four nights a week, Thursday through Sunday, “so people can have a life outside of this grind,” added Herberg. “And if we do choose to open up other days, that’s going to be because they want more hours and [are helping us] make these decisions about how to move forward with the business.”
Granted, Herbert acknowledged, “It shouldn’t be radical to open a business and really want to take care of the people who show up every day to help you live out your dream. And this is the dream, you know?” She paused. “We have so much gratitude for everyone who’s come and supported Lex and me over the years, and I am just so excited that they can finally come and sit in our dining room. I’m smiling right now.”
Visit Mother Other starting June 27, Thursday through Sunday from 4 to 10 p.m. 675 S. Broadway, Suite 300, motherother.com
