Have Kids, Will Eat

Dining Out with Kids

Last Thursday my husband was forced to enjoy cocktails and a swishy dinner in NYC with fellow workfolk. Again. Normally he declines the dinner invitation so he can have a late dinner with his wife. Which would be so sweet if it weren’t for the fact that his wife has to make and clean up after said late dinner. So… yeah. Fun.

But this night he accepted the dinner invitation, creating a free evening for me and my three angelic offspring.

As luck would have it, all three were wearing outfits that neither embarrassed nor confused me. So I dolled myself up a bit in preparation of a nice meal at a kid-friendly restaurant like Rizutto’s or Bertucci’s.

Now, if you don’t currently have kids I should explain: dirty and snot-smeared is the new black, and taking children to dinner is the new nightclubbing. When you have kids, your old life doesn’t “change” so much as it ceases to exist. Kids become your life, and you learn to appreciate small things such as sitting on a dry toilet seat or having someone else wash your dishes.

Anyhoo, back to dinner with the kids. We settled into a booth and placed our order without incident. We all had reasonably tasteful outfits, adequate table manners, and the kids weren’t screaming fart jokes. And–-I swear I’m not lying—my oldest son shared something about his day at school!

The older couple next to us complimented me on my well-behaved children, which made me smug and generously sympathetic of parents with less tame charges.

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Barcelona Wine Bar & Restaurant

18 West Putnam Avenue, Greenwich
222 Summer Street, Stamford
4180 Black Rock Turnpike, Fairfield
63.65 North Main Street, South Norwalk

Well, that was skeevy.

Before I dive into details, two things:

  1.  Barcelona is a delicious and delightful wine bar/tapas joint with a fun, noisy vibe.
  2. After reading this write-up, the new (and very kind) general manager of Barcelona SoNo, who was not aware of a certain employee’s behavior, contacted me to apologize. He was very concerned and expressed intolerance of such behavior. As of this writing, I’m confident that certain Barcelona employees will never hit on a patron—or, perhaps, anyone—again.

Robin’s note: One of the managers hit on me. Not in a flattering or coy way, but in a “God, it’s getting late and I haven’t picked up a chick yet” way. So here’s the story: I and 5 of my girlfriends go for drinks at Barcelona SoNo. We meet at 9:00 and there are several tables of women having birthday parties, drinks, whatever. When I ask a manager for the location of the restroom, he holds out his arm to escort me to a set of two doors in a narrow corridor across from the large glass wine refrigerator. I half-heartedly take his arm, then slide my arm back because it’s so queer.

An hour later I’m up again to use the facilities (I drink a lot of water when I tipple) and find both bathroom doors locked.

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Le Pain Quotidien

382 Greenwich Avenue, Greenwich
81 Elm Street, New Canaan

“The Daily Bread” or, if pronounced incorrectly, “The Daily Rabbit,” is a delightful organic café (perfect for lunch) with a European flair that, thankfully, doesn’t extend to its service.

Robin’s note: Le Pain was my home-away-from-home in Manhattan. Wonderful coffee, delicious fare and now – a liquor license!

Who you’ll see eating here: Moms with kids at breakfast and lunch, groups of couples 30-55 years old in the evening, and French ex-pats. No kidding.

Their specialty: Artisan bread and tartines (elegant open-faced sandwiches).

What you should order: Bread and tartines.

What you may not know but should:
  1. Each table has an assortment of their delicious signature jams and chocolate/hazelnut spreads to eat with their bread.
  2. Cafés include one or two large communal tables for those of you who enjoy sitting next to strangers or “meeting new friends.”
  3. It’s an environmentally-conscience eatery, with wood flooring from defunct railway cars and efficiently bio-degradable cups and spoons.
http://www.lepainquotidien.com

Tavern on Main

146 Main Street, Westport

This 18th century girls’ school/grocery store is now a charming (some say drafty) restaurant with one of the few decent bars in town.

Robin’s note: The porch is great for people-watching, despite the fact you’re in downtown Westport and not a lot happens after stores close.

Who you’ll see eating here: Couples, with or without their grandchildren.

Their specialty: Salmon brown rice salad.

What you should eat: Grilled Atlantic salmon filet over sweet corn ragout.

What you may not know but should: They’re great for parties, events, and off-site catering. http://www.tavernonmain.com

The Sugar Bowl

1033 Boston Post Road, Darien

My husband and I were so excited to discover this wonderful breakfast spot in Darien. Turns out it’s one of the most popular cafés in FC. Who knew? I mean, besides us.

To the handful of you who haven’t been here: the first thing you notice is the Bowl’s festooned with so much holiday gewgaw you may confuse it with a souvenir shop at Mystic Seaport. For each of the past 7 years they’ve decorated for 8 occasions: Memorial Day/July 4, Beach, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s, St. Patrick’s Day, and Mother’s Day/Spring. Halloween is their biggest undertaking, usurping the time and talent of 4 grown men for sixteen hours. Impressive.

The second thing you notice is friendly staff, swift service, and satisfying food. They make wonderful homemade lemon, apricot, or plum cake and animal-shaped pancakes for the kids (the chocolate chip ones of which contain so many chips, it’s like eating a candy bar with a fork.)

Robin’s note: The third thing you notice, or we noticed, is the large glass candy shelf is not enclosed on the sides, affording certain small children easy access to fistfuls of Nerd Ropes and the like.

Who you’ll see eating here: Young families and loyal locals of all ages.

Their specialty: Bacon, egg, and cheese on a roll, eggs benedict without the hollandaise sauce, and “…we make lots of pancakes.”

What you should order: Chocolate chip pancakes and eggs with grilled tomatoes.

What you may not know but should:
  1. The Bowl has been owned by the same family for 52 years, Bob being the latest in a small string of familial proprietors.
  2. The man who bakes the cakes works at the Bowl on weekends. During the week he’s a sommelier at the River Café in Brooklyn.

Graze

http://www.grazedelivered.com

Graze(Click to enlarge)

So this goat farmer walks into my house…

That could be the beginning of a great joke or a bad porn flick. But it’s neither. It’s actually true. He comes to my home on Monday mornings and delivers fresh milk, eggs, chef-prepared meals, and other organic treats directly from artisanal farms in Vermont. And the price? No more than what you’d pay at Whole Foods.

Graze, the brainchild of Christy Colasurdo, a Westport mom and former New York magazine editor along with husband, Doug, and Vermont friends Julianna and Steve (a former CFO of Heineken Americas. Yes, male readers: beer) allows Westporters, and soon Fairfielders, to enjoy delicious farm-to-table foods to which they would otherwise have little or no access (farmers aren’t necessarily great marketers and, to be fair, vice-versa).

Chef Neil whips up a weekly menu of prepared foods, including a soup, adult dinner, kids dinner, grain salad, vegetarian alternative, tea bread, cheese, and much more. His meals and soups are beautifully prepared from local ingredients (Misty Knoll chicken, grass-fed angus beef, freshly picked vegetables) and are surprisingly, and refreshingly, well-seasoned (whoever decided that organic meals must be low-sodium should be locked into a room of hungry pre-schoolers. And their moms.)

Christy tells me, “We have taken great pains to make sure every ingredient we use and every product we sell is not only delicious and nutritious and wholesome, but also sustainably and humanely produced. (We) work with small farmers who know and love their animals and treat them with respect.

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4 Brothers Pizza

Darien – (203) 662-9373
Westport - (203) 341-0505

Sure, we all adore the “wood-fired broccoli rabe/salumi assortito pie with a hint of pesto cream sauce,” but if you want to fire up the margarita machine and gluttonize until your arteries are begging for mercy and your brain cells are about to top the endangered species list, then this is your pizza.

Robin’s note: Pepperoni. It looks like plain but, ooh baby, it’s not.

Who you’ll see eating here: No one. It’s all about delivery.

Their specialty: Pizza.

What you should order: Pizza and grinders.

What you may not know but should: Check the website for coupons. They never verify them, so you can use them as often as you wish.
http://www.fourbrotherspizza.com

Bedford Street Diner

935 Bedford Street, Stamford

Stamford is studded with retro diners, some better than others. Such as this one. Owned by three sibling offshoots of a diner dynasty, they serve delicious and relatively health-conscience fare. I say “relatively” because no amount of non-hydrogenated oil is going to make a donut healthier. But, damn, it sure tastes good. More on that later.  The menu is a creative mix of Classic Diner and, inexplicably, Mexican dishes. The staff is friendly and helpful, probably because they all have kids and and/or are currently expecting. Oh, and a shout out to their dad who rolls in at 4 AM to scrub the place until it sparkles. For free.

Robin’s note: Our homemade donuts were served amid the chaos that is Phase 2 of the Saturday Morning Pre-Breakfast Meltdown (SMPBM).  After one bite, all three of our screaming offspring became silent and forgot what they were fighting about. The owners’ dad makes them every morning, for free, simply because he loves his kids. And given how melt-in-your-mouth fabulous they are, I suspect he loves us all.

Who you’ll see eating here: Locals of all ages.

Their specialty: Eggs with corned beef hash, Eggs Benedict.

What you should order: Homemade cinnamon-sugar donuts, croissant french toast with chocolate chips and bananas.

What you may not know but should:
  1. Arrive before 8:30 to avoid the breakfast rush.
  2. If possible, park on the street and enter through the front door. There’s a parking lot in back, but seeing it on Trash Day won’t whet your appetite.
http://www.bedfordstreetdiner.com

Caffeine

133 Washington Street, Norwalk

A kick-back coffee shop/tea house with intimate seating “zones” (Moroccan zone, rickety outdoor furniture zone, grandma’s sofa zone, etc.) and a fabulous cake selection.

Robin’s note: Their coffee cup sizes are “Pepped,” “Buzzed,” and “Wired.” That pretty much makes me love this place. That, and the chocolate cherry biscotti.

Who you’ll see drinking here: SoNo shoppers, art gallery owners, and people who listen to open mic poetry.

Their specialty: Select teas and local pastries.

What you should order: A good, reliable cup of coffee and Junior’s cheesecake.

What you may not know buy should: Coffee refills cost $1.

Isabelle et Vincent French Bakery

1903 Post Road, Fairfield

Mmm… located conveniently across from Dairy Queen (kill two birds with one stone and all that), this patisserie is a welcome dose of culture to a stretch of thoroughfare crowded with podiatrists and sandwich shops named after bugs (Roly Poly). The chocolate fountain at the entrance is enchanting and an appropriate harbinger of things to come; namely luscious pastries perfectly ensconced in chocolat (that’s not a typo – that’s French) and thickly layered with cream and butter.

The bread is magnifique, with flavorful baguettes such as Bacon & Onion, Parmesan & Thyme, and Olive. Each pastry is generously portioned and the triple-layer mousse with colorful macaroons atop is simply gorgeous. Everything—from the tiniest pink macaroon to the largest baguette—is made completely from scratch in the shop.

Martha Stewart loves this place, along with most newsworthy folks in the Western Hemisphere.

Robin’s note: There are three seating zones in the bakery: a lovely dining table area, tall stools, and a small window counter (through which to watch the Dairy Queen). All are quaint, but none terribly appropriate for a toddler who had to stretch out his neck and put his chin on the table to see his pastry. Fortunately, he was fine because toddlers are too young to know that’s not a great way to eat.

Who you’ll see eating/shopping here: Mothers buying pastries for their families and friends or seated with a child.

Their specialty: Almond and chocolate croissants, Napoleons.

What you should eat: Almond croissants: we watched the cooks make them, then we had one.

What you may not know but should:
  1. They’ve won a bunch of awards in the 3 years they’ve been in Fairfield.
  2. They should take the creepy dolls out of the chocolate case.
http://www.isabelleetvincent.com