Dinner recommendation - simpler food, baby in tow

toadette

Can anyone recommend a place to take a group of four or so for dinner? Preferably south slope but we'll trek farther if need be. We will have a (quiet, at least last I saw him) baby in tow, one vegetarian, and one picky meat eater (i.e., no Thai, Indian, or anything overly fussy or using uncommon ingredients).

What came to mind for me was Sidecar, but I don't want to be that person encouraging bringing a baby to a bar. Though maybe it is different when you're not there at like 11pm when I usually go...?

flynn

imo a baby in a bar at 11am, 5pm, or 11pm are all one in the same. they have no place being there.

opossumqueen

Some places that might please a crowd and somewhat south:

Red Hot II chinese on 7th (lots of space I think), and tasty

Rachels mexican on 5th, might be crowded but they have a large menu, meaty and veg options

Get Fresh on 5th, haven't eaten there but the space looks nice from outside at night and I'd love to hear a review, plus they just recently starting doing dinner and I don't think it gets crowded. Their menu is online.

Eurotrip on 5th, haven't been but based on the menu and comments on brooklynian it's high on my list

MOD

You might want to try La Villa (sp?) on 5th.
Alchemy in the N.Slope has been open to strollers, but they might be packed. Also Melt on 5th ave and Bergen have been fine with my friends with kids from out of town. Plus they have an awesome wagu burger and tuna tartar!

How about Primo Atto? Solid italian food.

scarlett

South Slope--- Anthony's on 7th avenue! Yummy pizza.

Ellis just got a new chef and they have a cute eating room but it is basically a bar. (5th and 17th)

Johnny Rocket's!! (12th and 8th)

How about that restaurant on 7th and 11th that no one ever goes to? Then the baby could be as loud as she wants!

vidro3

scarlett wrote: South Slope--- Anthony's on 7th avenue! Yummy pizza.

Ellis just got a new chef and they have a cute eating room but it is basically a bar. (5th and 17th)

Johnny Rocket's!! (12th and 8th)

How about that restaurant on 7th and 11th that no one ever goes to? Then the baby could be as loud as she wants!

don't you mean johnny mack's? or am i slow?

scarlett

Oh man. Yes, Totally meant Mack's. Alcohol level still lacking in blood.

But yes, you are slow.

longtimesloper

We tried to go to Johnny mack's on Easter and they were closed, we have never tried them before,.

And, I am with the others here, a baby never, ever belongs in a bar, no matter what time of day! I have managed to live to be in my mid 40s and I do drink and do go to bars, yet, somehow, none of my kids have ever been to one (well, not that I know of, LOL)

veets

Toadette... All the suggestions you got are great. Flynn''s.. never a baby in a bar comment may seem over the top but frankly, I agree with that. For instance, Dram is a block a way from me and I have never eaten there. I hear the burgers are great (and would be great toddler food with those supreme fried) but I can't see clear to dine there with the little ones I often have in tow.

Coco Roco is kid friendly and though some dishes won't please a plain palate there are mild choices and high chairs and a great place to take kids (high chairs provided ) if it is not a prime time hour.

raw

What are "uncommon" ingredients? As a group of diverse people living in a huge melting pot, how am I to know what is uncommon in the OP's kitchen? Are we to assume that the OP is from Tibet and thinks that cheddar cheese is uncommon?

And by the way, Brooklynites with Thai and Indian parents find Thai and Indian food very common.

MOD

I think a "Bar and Grill" "restaurant and bar" are different than a plain 'ol bar.

So where did you go?? I forgot to mention Two Boots, which is very family friendly.

j0518

The chef at Get Fresh is Marc, the New Zealander from last season's top Chef. He was a blast on the show, which would make at least one visit there essential for everyone.

Don't know much South Slope, but why not Applewood?

brooklynjack

Another vote for Anthony's, very kid friendly

stevespaeth

J0518 wrote: The chef at Get Fresh is Marc, the New Zealander from last season's top Chef. He was a blast on the show, which would make at least one visit there essential for everyone.

Don't know much South Slope, but why not Applewood?

Applewood is not cheap....I don't know if they are looking for cheap food, but when *I* am paying a lot for food, I'm generally not in the mood for kids (go ahead, start the flame wars.... )

longtimesloper

i am going to follow you around Flexi (not like I don't already....) and next time I see you go into a pricey restaurant , I am going to come in there with my kids and sit right next to you

raw

LongTimeSloper wrote: i am going to follow you around Flexi (not like I don't already....) and next time I see you go into a pricey restaurant , I am going to come in there with my kids and sit right next to you

Don't worry, Flexi, while LongTimeSloper and those kids follow you, I am going to follow LongTimeSloper and slap Italian Basket Dog Muzzles on those kids!

http://www.morrco.com/itpoldogmuz.html

ego

LongTimeSloper wrote: i am going to follow you around Flexi (not like I don't already....) and next time I see you go into a pricey restaurant , I am going to come in there with my kids and sit right next to you

ha! bring it

opossumqueen

The bf and I went to Eurotrip last night (we stopped by Sidecar first but there was a long wait for a table so we decided to keep walking).

We'll definitely go back, but only when really hungry. Large portions of tasty food, much of it fried. And their creme brulee was amazing. Perfect, in my (non-foodie) opinion. The space was really nice.

I had the chicken dish with a great chutney and sweet potato fries and the bf had the surf and turf. We also tried a fried bread app that was wonderfully garlic-laden and huge. Everything was great.

Vegetarians would probably not like this place--I think almost every dish had meat in it.

toadette

Thanks for the recommendations, all. The picky eater/baby mama showed up and said she was in the mood for Mexican so we just wound up going to Piramide. It actually worked out well as the place was less than half full on Friday night at 8pm so we were able to get a big table in the corner with room for the baby seat and paraphernalia. There were other tables with kids in there so we blended in. And we learned that the baby likes mariachi music.

The food was better than I expected, granted my expectations are pretty low for Mexican in the area. The sangria was meh but I might go back to try some of their creative-sounding margaritas.

I'll definitely be trying some of the other places you all mentioned, though. I totally forgot about Get Fresh - I've been curious about that place and I almost always see families with kids in there. Ditto for Coco Roco. I want to go to Applewood but their menu whenever I see it posted outside seems not too veggie-friendly. I think their food also would have been a bit much for picky eater friend, and I can't imagine a baby would blend in too well in there. OQ: thanks for the heads up re vegetarians at Eurotrip... that had been my planned place to go

fortecondosales

I wanted to try piramide when they opened, but never got around to it. What did you get to eat?

and I love mariachis

scarlett

Ugh. I cannot believe that place is still open. Every time I walk by it's empty. Went in once for a Friday night snack and drink but the barstools were too close to the bar so it was uncomfortable. We got some nachos and were inpressed they were not expensive until they came out and it was literally four chips. Each one was smothered in beans and chease and salse and stuff, but four chips? Next! Give me Rancho Allegro or whatever that cheap plentiful mexican place with big tasty margs!

toadette

I had cheese enchiladas with tomatillo sauce. It came with a side of rice and black beans. It was filling but not in that "I just plowed through a whole week's calorie requirement in one sitting" kind of way. It was actually plated with some thought to aesthetics (oversized square white plate, sauce drizzled atop, beans and rice on a separate colored plate), which is somewhat unique for your average Mexican joints, imo, and was a nice touch. The tomatillo sauce had a bit of spice to it which made picky eater like it a bit less, but I was happy with it.

Someone else had chicken enchiladas with mole and he said the mole was almost under-flavored and the chicken might have been a bit dry. Another person had something like chicken/shrimp/beef enchiladas covered in three different sauces (mole, tomatillo, and a red sauce) - he seemed to enjoy that.

The mariachi band was pretty good and managed to tone down the volume nicely for the small space without making the whole thing subdued, if that makes sense.

longtimesloper

We went to Piramide once for brunch and it was one of my worst brunch experiences ever! and, the people at the other tables in the restaurant at the time were also having a hard time (one table was complaining about their food taking 45 minutes, another table was complaining that their order was wrong, etc.). never went back and don't intend to.

toadette

Ack, both of those experiences sound bad. I guess we got lucky. The only service glitch we experienced was that the waiter disappeared for like 10 mins between bringing our drinks and taking our food order. But the food was brought out in a timely manner and they weren't stingy with the chips despite us asking for multiple refills.

kikintina

FYI: Ellis is child-friendly (at least during daylight hours). The owner has her kid in there pretty often.