Chocolate Box of Chocolates from Charles Chocolates

Mother's Day- - the day of the mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, or generally special woman who has made a difference in your life. It is right around the corner, and chances are you've probably procrastinated until now to even attempt finding the perfect gift for the woman who reared you from childbirth, helped you grow, and made you much of the person you are today. Don't worry, we've got you covered.

Going out for Sunday brunch is a pain as it is, and while waiting in line might offer some quality bonding time, there are certainly better options out there. So this Mothers Day, why not try one of these five foodie alternatives for a treat she will never forget.

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Class Alert! How To Cook For Your Mother and More

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Boozy Seder Options at Perbacco

For eight days every spring, Passover recalls the exodus of Jews from Egypt to freedom, while royally screwing over food choices of modern-day Jews and relegating their diets to flattened pieces of cardboard-tasting matzoh. Given the bevy of pastries, hipster-toasts and other tempting leavened goodies, it can be a challenging week in the Bay Area. Luckily, here are four answers (though not to those four questions) to make the weeklong plague to a bit easier to stomach with enticing, Passover-friendly menus.

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Everything But the Haggadah: Three Passover Takeout Options

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Chile Pies

Rejoice, for it's everyone's favorite sweet, nerdy holiday, Pi Day (3/14, 3.14, get it?). We aren't usually in the business of celebrating estoteric food holidays like National Fettucini Alfredo Day or National Lucky Charms With All The Marshmallows Picked Out Day, but Pi Day is something else: It was invented right here in San Francisco at the Exploratorium, and its origins are geeky and earnest at heart.

The best way to celebrate the day is, of course, with a slice of pie. We've rounded up a few places offering special deals. (Know more? Leave 'em in the comments.)

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Tamara Palmer

The haft-sin at Zaré at Fly Trap.

If you've ever had an interest in dining at the Mediterranean-Persian restaurant Zaré at Fly Trap, March 19 would be a great night to consider. That's when chef/owner Hoss Zaré is attempting what he calls the biggest meal he's ever done in his life in honor of Norooz, the Persian New Year and start of spring. He's offered a single seating with communal tables and family-style offerings to mark the 13-day holiday over the past four years, but this year he's changing it up to allow diners to book their own tables at their chosen hour for a special seven-course meal inspired by the seven elements of the haft-sin, a ceremonial table adorned with symbols of positive wishes for the new year.

See also: Galieh Mahi Gets Shellfish Remix at Zaré at Fly Trap
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See's Candies

Your particular brand of chocolate-flavored nostalgia probably has a lot to do with where you grew up -- kids from Chicago have their allegiance to Fanny May and so on -- but my parents are from California and so holidays were always about See's Candies. And I looked forward to Easter almost as much as Christmas because it meant a See's "Chocolate Butter With Walnuts" egg in my basket.

The egg-shaped sugar bombs are about the size your fist, filled with chocolate buttercream and a smattering of California walnuts, and coated in dark chocolate. They're so rich you can't take one down in one sitting without going into near-diabetic shock -- when I was a kid I used to torture myself by slicing off a little at a time to make the deliciousness last longer, and judging from the comments on the See's website, many others had the same hoarding tendency.

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Littlejohn's Candies: Like Great-Great-Grandma Made

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This guide is for people who want to avoid the usual clichés.

If you've managed to tunnel your way through the growing thicket of Valentine's Day misery (you know what we mean: glittering greeting cards with babies on rose beds in soft focus, waxy milk chocolate roses, contrived puns about love, and "aphrodisiac dinners"), we're proud of you. Valentine's Day is hard. It's ripe with opportunities for cliché. We're supposed to drink velvety wines, eat sexy cuts of fish, stare deeply into each other's eyes over candlelit dinners, then toss our hair in the sunset and trade spoonfuls of freshly Instagrammed truffle cake.

Granted, if you're single, these scenarios may play out awkwardly. But you can always do them with friends. Whatever your status, we're taking it upon ourselves here to arm you against the pitfall of triteness on Valentine's Day. We've gathered some promising, less conventional options for you and yours, and there is not a white tablecloth in sight. Cheers.

See also: Your Boozy Valentine's: Guide to the Best Drinking Events
These Aphrodisiac Lollipops Might Not Get You Laid, But They Will Make You Laugh
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Celebrate with a 49ers cupcake at Baker & Banker.

Even the most football-adverse people we known plan to cheer on the 49ers this Sunday for the Super Bowl, and if you don't want to go out to root for the home team, plenty of local restaurants are getting in on the catering game. Whether you're throwing your own party or want to show up at someone else's with the best food, S.F. restaurants have plenty of takeout options to ensure that you'll score a touchdown at the snack table.

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Meave Gallagher

Kimchi radish by Sinto Gourmet.

Kimchi Dumplings for Lunar New Year

Where: Sinto Gourmet, 1226 Folsom (at Eighth St.)
When: Sat., Jan. 19, 5-8 p.m.
Cost: $25 (purchase in advance via Eventbrite)

The rundown: A local purveyor of kimchi products is opening up its HQ to the public for one evening only in order to celebrate the Lunar New Year with an informal class and family-style meal.

See Also:
- HRD Coffee Shop's Kimchi Burrito
- Tofu-Kimchi Tacos from TaKorea

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Flickr/arvindgrover

Eat black-eyed peas on Jan. 1 for good luck throughout the year.

The Atlantic published a fun rant today: The Worst Holiday: New Year's Eve Is Over-hyped and Anti-Climactic. We tend to agree. While other countries have long lists of traditions, feasts, and prescribed foods, Americans don't have much besides drinking and watching the ball drop while Kathy Griffin awkwardly fondles Anderson Cooper in Times Square. Still, if there's one tradition that exists in this country, it's the good old New Year's Day brunch, where we soak up all the bad humors from the night before and hopefully gobble up some good luck while we're at it. Here are a few spots offering special menus to kick off 2013 in style.

See also:
- Eight New Year's Food Customs from Around the World
- Rice Paper Scissors Hijacks Whiz Burgers on New Year's Day
- Our Favorite Sparkling Wines (That Aren't Champagne)

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SōW Juices

SōW's "The Prescription" should fix you right up.

Yesterday we told you that a food hangover is a real thing and gave you our tried-and-true tips for curing one -- today brings the news that S.F.-based juicery SōW is offering a curative juice on Saturday to help ease the pain of overindulgence before New Years. "The Prescription" features a cleansing blend of apple, orange, celery, kale, mint, and parsley, a blend that, according to SōW co-founder Louisa Alberto, has a lot of nutrients from vegetables but is also rich in vitamin-C, to be both thirst-quenching and restorative.

See also:
- Recovering From a Holiday Food Hangover
- Thrive Cleanse Presses Juices Inside a Wine Bar
- Juicey Lucy's Will Cure What Ails You

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