One of my favorite Pixar films is Ratatouille. Maybe this is because one of my favorite restaurants is Can Can Brasserie in Carytown. Their kitchen is also set up brigade style, the traditionally French method of professional kitchen organization. After viewing Wall-E, Up and Finding Nemo 8+ times a day, Ewan has finally come around to Ratatouille. I’ve often wondered, is his recent fascination with the film due to his growing expertise in the kitchen? Is it becoming something familiar and relateable? Or is it just a super cute, talking rat? I’m hoping it’s more of the former. At 2 1/2 he’s becoming quite efficient at scrambled eggs, spreading jam and eating with a fork. But one thing I must note is his wonderful behavior when we go out to eat. He’s a delight which seems rather counter intuitive to most terrible two stories we’ve heard.

Why is this? Well, aside from good food, I have to contribute it to the restaurant staff. You don’t have to have kids to have fun with them. I’m sure many waiters and waitresses grudgingly serve families knowing they will be cleaning up a hefty mess. We have ourselves a cleaner. I do pick up the few tiny specks of food that may have inadvertantly fallen on the floor but I suspect I drop more food than my son does. The main issue we have is that if it doesn’t get picked up, when we get ready to leave he thinks he can pick them off the floor and eat them like a surprise treat. Think Buddy the Elf finding gum in New York City.

One of the main points we’ll start addressing when we review restuarants is how the staff interacts not only with Bill and I, but how they intereact with Ewan. I find that the more they interact with him, the more fun he has. It makes him feel special, like a big boy. Not only is it great for his self esteem but it makes him more confortable and hence puts him in a great mood making the dining experience more enjoyable by everyone.

Example, Bandito’s Burrito Lounge. Ewan loves to go there and not so much for the food. He will eat some nachos and guac but what he really loves is the wait staff. The tattoo laden ladies of Bandito’s just make him grin ear to ear. He flirts with them, they flirt back. It’s entertaining to watch. We’re able to take more time because he’s eying what the ladies are doing and strategizing when he should toss a crayon on the floor. (I have NO IDEA where he learned this but I suspect it’s some on Bill’s middle-aged sleezy single friends – which I say affectionately)

There’s no easier way to get a fat tip than to have fun with the kid.

We never go into a place with expectations of our waiter/waitress having some fun with the little man, but when it happens, we see it, we tip better than usual, we go back and we tell EVERYONE.

Appetite is coming and he’s going have a big Ego.
~Alfredo Linguini

We’ll be jumping back into things with a new site design and a new rating system.

Why? What was wrong with the old one?

Well, Our little man isn’t so little. At two and a half years of age and thirty-nine inches in height, he’s a machine–a machine that likes good food.

We definitely have our playground and dining favorites but we realized something about menus. The “kid’s menu” is the menu for the kids that won’t eat anything but french fries and chicken tenders. Fortunately, we do not have that issue.

We have a lot to catch up on. A LOT. We’ll be chronicling our coming of age journey as we discover the true art of kid-restaurant pairing that serves up truly tasty options and budgetary delights.

It’s nice to be back!

(Sorry for the lag in posts – we’ll have several up this week!)

I parked the stroller next to a vacant yard and lifted a half-dazed little boy onto the brick. We just had some hard-core partying at Lombardy Park. We unlatched the gate and walked in. Wow. A big green grassy area with nothing to do but run! The low fencing is lined with flowering plants. Everywhere you look you see green foliage. We had some water and some pita and then Murray run up to say hello. A very nice couple walked up with their dogs. As the two dogs ran up and down the path chasing the ball, Ewan sat mesmerized.

Since it was dinner time, we didn’t stay long. We said good-bye and heading back home. After a nice bath, a warm meal and a bottle, Ewan was hitting his second wind. It took about an hour of bouncing in his crib to finally wind him down. It was a good day.

There may not be any jungle gyms but sometimes a nice open patch of grass is all you really need. The fencing allows for the kids to run around and the parents to sit back and relax. For our little man, he doesn’t always want or need the chaotic activity of a park like Lombardy. Occasionally we all need some quiet playtime.

I know where we’re having a picnic this week!

THE RATING

Customer Service: Not Applicable
Atmosphere: 4 Stars (You really are in the backyard. It’s relaxing and quiet)
Cost: 4 Stars (FREE)

Total: 4 Stars
Pack a lunch or early dinner. Go and enjoy!

Surrounded by row houses, a small jungle gym sits amidst an astro turf lawn and an adjacent sitting area. It’s relatively quite. Well, except for a conversation by a group of college students in one of the adjacent buildings. How do I know they were college students? The first point is that I could hear every word of their conversation as could everyone else living in the area. Secondly, the abundant use of ‘colorful metaphors’ and the subject of their story brought back far too many clouded memories.

Fortunately, the little man is oblivious and has one focus. The staircase going up.

I’m already looking forward to going back. Ewan was quite delighted with himself. It seems fairly new and has lots of components.

However, a word of caution: This is NOT for small unsupervised children.
There is a fire pole and a small rock climbing wall which equals to: OPEN SPACE.
The landing is higher up than the one at Lombardy Park and a small child could fall.

Now, with that said, since this equipment is geared towards older kids, my 5’3″ frame easily navigated the jungle gym. I went up with him and we were able to go down the slide together. I was also able to stand outside on the ground and place him high enough up on the slide that he could enjoy coming down by himself.

Ewan and a little static electricity

Don’t let the expression fool you. He loved it. He just didn’t know what to make of the static. I think it’s a good look. What do you think?

There weren’t any other kids there on a Saturday morning. So we had the run of the place. The nice thing about this park as compared to Paradise Park, is that it doesn’t sit right on the alley. There’s a small sitting area of park benches that you walk through and on the other side is a dead end alley consisting of residential parking.

One small item I did happen to notice – leave the candy box where it is.

I’m the grumbling neighbor picking up trash along the sidewalk. I quickly snatched this up in a huff and then realized why it was there. It serves a purpose. It covers up the stub of a sign post. So it’s metal and sharp. I emailed the city but who knows how long it will take to be removed. Just be careful.

All in all, I love this little park. I can’t wait to go back. It’s one I get to climb on too, which is way cool.

Just remember if you have a small child, stay very close or climb up with them. They will have fun even with you glued to them. If you have an older child, they will love the fire pole, who doesn’t?

THE RATING

Customer Service: Not Applicable
Atmosphere: 4 Stars (You really are in the backyard. The tree, the color and clean lines of the equipment is awesome)
Cost: 4 Stars (FREE)

Total: 4 Stars
Go and enjoy!

On the way, she asked “Do you need a high chair?”

“Yes, thank you.”

We were shown our table and as we settled in the waitress brought over the high chair. She then asked, “Does the little guy need some water?” Thinking I had water, I politely declined.

For me, the ordering process was easy because I was there for $1 tacos and a $3 margarita (available 3-7 pm, Monday through Friday). Much to my surprise, on the back page of the coloring foldout, which includes several mazes and connect-the-dots, I found the children’s menu. With a huge smile, I began to review the available options. With choices like quesadillas, mini burgers and even sliced grilled chicken breast I was excited. I soon became ecstatic when I discovered that each entrée came with a side of which I could choose french fries, potato salad, black beans, refried beans or Mexican rice. Add to that, every order comes with your choice of fruit or apple sauce cup. With the final surprise, each of these entrées were $4.95 or less. Very few ‘pesos’ indeed considering I paid $4 for a pb&j on white and tube of yogurt at Panera.

Our food arrived and ‘Cisco’ enjoyed his tacos and margarita while ‘Carlos’ proceeded to scarf down sliced grilled chicken breast and french fries. It was at this point that I realized the ‘agua’ was a phantom. So I asked our waitress to bring ‘my little burro’ some water. Another surprise. She returns with a children’s cup (decorated with space aliens, legal I assume), lidded with bendy straw.

Upon finishing my tacos I was forced to wait on ‘the kid’ as he continued to stuff his face with sliced grilled chicken breast, french fries and drink from his legal space alien cup. We then packed our mule, Rupert, and headed for the border to pick up Mommy. The entire way, Daddy was smiling at discovering a new destination that truly is (astonishingly) ‘niño’ friendly.

So for any of you Fan ‘gringos’ out there, Bandito’s Burrito Lounge is highly recommending before 7pm.

THE RATING

Customer Service: 3 Star (she did everything she needed to do)
Atmosphere: 2 Stars (it’s a bar, lots of tv’s, etc.)
Cost: 4 Stars (I got a margarita, four tacos and a kid’s meal for $15.89, includes tax but not tip)
Kid Options: 4 Stars (outstanding)
Allergy/Nutrition/Restriction: 3 Stars (I wasn’t left guessing)
Quality of the Food: 3 Stars

Total: 3.1 Stars

A very pleasant gentleman named Patrick gave me a ring to see what he could help me with. He was ecpecting that we had an older child and might have wanted to plan some sort of gathering. Maybe in a few more years. Nevertheless, he offered up their services, advised of the kids games and referenced the kids menu.Afterwards he sent an email with his contact info so I would have it for future reference.

Just a heads up, they have a specific kids menu that boasts green beans, broccoli AND collards. The holy trinity for this veggie crazed mommy. Not to mention they have rockin’ burgers.

We haven’t made it over yet with the little man, but as Tuesday is 1/2 off burger night, we might have to move them to the top of our list.