Montlake Ale House

Lots of places around Seattle tag themselves as "kid-friendly" when you do a web search or use an app like UrbanSpoon to find what's around you.  Montlake Ale House delivers on the kid friendly with a kid pit.

They don't bill themselves as a "sports bar", but they do have a lot of tv's.  We got there at 5:00, to meet up with Jeremy & Jenny, and their son (and Z's best buddy), Finley.  The restaurant area is on two levels, with tv's all around.  The upper area in the back has the kid pit, and a semi-circular balcony with seating surrounding the pit.  There's also a big alcove set of tables, and a few other tables in this area as well. 

Baby thunderdome. Two kids enter, one kid leaves.

The back alcove was completely overrun by what appeared to be a PEPS (peer early parenting support) group with around 2-3 month old babies.  Playoff game of some sort had gone into overtime, as evidenced by the dads in the PEPS group making halfhearted attempts at performing the 5 S's while watching the game on one of the tv's.  The dads were standing, swaying, and SHHHHHing, punctuated with cheers and groans in reaction to the game: "SHHHHHHHHHHHHH YEAH!!!!! SHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

We ended up a little scrunched at a table for 4, Finley took the booster seat in the middle of the bench seat, and we put Z in a high chair at the end of the table.  The first high chair the waitress brought us had a broken buckle, which she put back in rotation and then provided a working chair.

Here's an aside......

Dear Restaurant owners and staff:  If you have equipment that is broken or filthy, don't put it back for the next family to pick up and say "hey, this is broken or filthy".  Take it out of rotation, fix it/clean it and then put it back in rotation.  It's not going to fix itself.  Even if you don't have time to take care of it right that moment, or it's "not your job", make a note of it so it gets addressed.  Us people with babies look for your help in maintaining a safe environment.  And while I've got your attention?  Don't pour refills of hot coffee or pass scalding hot plates over top my child's head.  Sincerely yours, Mama with common sense.

OK. Back to Montlake Ale House. The children's menu has some nice options.  There are  fruits, veggies, and not everything is fried, which is more than I'd hope for on a standard pub fare menu.  The portions are also QUITE generous.  Z had the mac and cheese and a cup of milk.  He was absolutely OVERJOYED that the brought the milk in a short paper coffee cup, with the tented coffee cup lid you get at pretty much every coffee shop.  They shoved a straw in the drink hole (Which is not exactly water tight, as we discovered when Finley tipped his glass of water up to take a big drink).  For some reason Z is fascinated with that style of cup, and we do spend many a weekend morning playing "hide Daddy's coffee cup so Zachary won't grab it and spill coffee everywhere"

Kids menu

The kids menu had a nice picture and word puzzle that could be colored, however no crayons on the table.  Not a big deal for us, Z eats the crayons, and Finley was more interested in his Mama's iPad and "Rangee Birds".

 

Jenny & I both had spicy chicken salads, Mark had fish and chips and Jeremy had a quesadilla.  There was also an order of scrumptious sweet potato fries for the table.  As expected at a pub, they do have a good beer selection, both on tap and in bottles.  They also kindly arrange the beers from lightest to darkest on the menu for those of us (me) who don't really like/drink beer on a regular basis.

The food was prompt and the server brought extra napkins unprompted, which is a sign of a certain familiarity with a table with kids to me.  It never ceases to amaze me how many servers will plop a hot dish of food down in front of a 14 month old, and then give me a look when I immediately take it away from his reach.  I bogarted Z's bowl of mac and cheese to prep it, while he looked at me like I'd just kicked his favorite monkey, and possibly run over his cat.

Mac & Cheese!  Big portion!

As I started in on my typical cut-things-up-smaller-than-I-need-to routine, Jenny said "you know, he could probably handle a whole noodle."  Mark and I looked at each other, then looked at Z.  I couldn't bring myself to hand over a whole noodle for fear of catastrophic results, but I did concede the point to a more-experienced Mama and I cut a couple noodles in half, instead of into 6 pieces like I had started with.  Z picked up the half noodle, bit half of it off, and proceeded with no trouble.  I cut several more noodles in half for him, then gave him a pile to work on while I dug into my salad.  BONUS!  MY FOOD WAS STILL WARM!  Thank you, Jenny!

The adults all enjoyed their food, Z enjoyed his noodles, Finley ate like he always does (which is to say 'not much', and punctuated with spells where he needs to move around or do something different before he's ready for the next bite) and the game ended while we were eating.  Most of the PEPS group cleared out, and we got to our real reason for picking Montlake Ale House in the first place.  THE KID PIT.

Zac, Finley, & Mark check out the goods

It's three small steps down, and the floor is covered with an all purpose green carpet that has pretty smushy padding underneath it.  The chair legs you see is a horseshoe shaped seating area, where parents can enjoy their food/beer while watching their kids play.  There's a pretty good variety of duplo blocks, books, car toys, and other random stuff.  I didn't notice any immediate choking hazards, although I did blanch when Z brought one of the blocks to his mouth for a gnaw.  Mark reassured me that they must sterilize the toys on a regular basis, after all, they have a dishwasher machine.  I tried not to shudder and tried hard to believe him.

There was one older boy in the pit who was being a bit of a snot about the duplo blocks.  It's not that he needed them all to build what he was making, he was just interested in no one else having any blocks.  His parents were not super attentive to the situation, so we kept directing Z and Fin to other toys to avoid a scene. 

Mama's little Shoe-dini lost a sock immediately

 Fin seemed to be possessed by an urge to feng shui the kid pit and kept rearranging toys in different piles.  Then he got the idea of "put Zackie in the bucket"  This brought the block hogger over to see what we were doing.

Baby in a bucket!

Fin was going to try and push Z around in the bucket, then the physics of  just 1 pound difference between the two boys sunk in, and I pushed Z in the bucket while Z and Fin made VROOM VROOM sounds and giggled.

The bathroom has two stalls, one good sized handicapped stall with changing station.  (no station in men's.  Do I have to start a petition?!?!?)  The bathroom was freezing cold, and not super clean - it wasn't filthy, it was just messy - stinky diapers in an open garbage can by the changing station, lots of paper on the floor and water on the counter top.

The place was really empty, so our server did not pressure us to pay up, or to clear our table.  She also didn't really seem to care that much that we were still there - there was no check back, how are things, etc.  Another thing that was a little strange around the service - they didn't have enough menus, even though the place was less than half full the entire time we were there.  It was odd to have to share.

Baby Rating: 4 out of 4 big boy penne noodles

Mama Rating: 4 out of 4 big boy penne noodles

Service: 2 out of 4 big boy penne noodles - we placed our order, we got our food.

Healthy/kid friendly: 3 out of 4 big boy penne noodles - for a pub, I should probably give it 4.  Maybe I'll just never find that elusive 4th noodle in this category.

Uh-Oh! Diaper!: 1 changing table in the ladies room, stashed in the handicap stall.  Decent sized space, but did not seem to be well maintained by staff.  Kinda dirty.

Overall: 81%

Likelihood of returning: Kid thunderdome and beer.  It makes for a fun hour!  The food is tasty, too.  High likelihood of returning, but might check the sports schedule first next time.

Patty's Eggnest

Patty's Eggnest is a staple for our family - close to home, always busy with lots for Z to look at, super fast food service, and, to quote their website, "delicious, hearty meals made to order and made from scratch with fresh, choice ingredients. In a comfortable, family-friendly atmosphere, we’ll be happy to fill your table with home-cooked breakfast favorites."

Patty's can get REALLY busy on weekends - one of their necessary, but annoying, rules is that they will not seat a party unless all members are there.  Not an issue for us on this trip, since it was just the three of us, but something to keep in mind if you're meeting up with friends.  The wonderful thing (HA!) about having a child that wakes up by 6:30 every day is that we're ready for breakfast before most Seattle-ites.  We hit Patty's around 8:30 Sunday morning and had no issues being seated immediately.

They swooped down on us with menus, a cup of water with lid and straw for Z, a page of a coloring book, high chair and a cup of crayons.  While I like the TYPE of high chairs they have there (The rubbermaid ones that have a solid piece between the legs post, not just a strap like most wooden restaurant chairs), I do tend to mutter "it's good for him to be exposed to things to build intestinal flora" when I turn my "this is the only baby I'm ever going to have" critical-mama eye on the cleanliness of the chair.  Say it with me.  It's fine, it's fine, it's fine.....

Patty's is know for generous serving sizes, to the point of being nearly obscene.  We always walk away with leftovers.  I will leave my love-hate relationship with their nutter butter french toast (which was the only craving I had during my pregnancy, and one that I jokingly blame the gestational diabetes on) for another blog.  I tend to stick to the Senior Citizens/Mini-menu for my own choices, and was glad to see they had a children's menu as well.  I ordered Z his own breakfast, but I could have just as easily shared my breakfast with him and added on some fruit.  We got burned with an add on at a previous visit ($6.00 for a sliced banana) so I tend to stick with the menu.

What kind of mother of a 14 month old has a

shiny new manicure?!?! Shellac manicures, my friends.

They are the future!

Z got the Mini-Breakfast with a scrambled egg, 2 sausage links, a slice of multi-grain toast and 1/2 order of hash browns, which we substituted for a bowl of fruit ($6.95) and a glass of milk.  I had a mini-3 cheese scramble with diced ham, 1/2 order of hash browns and a slice of toast ($6.95), and Mark had the Belltown Scramble (A robust, meaty scramble cooked with hearty ham, crispy bacon, pork sausages, fresh mushrooms, chopped onions, and melted cheddar cheese. $10.95)

We were served within 10 minutes of ordering, and I set upon cutting up Z's food while he grabbed at the plate for his eggs.  I put Daddy in charge of cutting up fruit while I went after the hot food.   It was early enough in the day that the restaurant was primarily Senior Citizens (They have a special price for Sr. Early Birds).  Z had a great time chatting and flirting with all the nice ladies within ear shot.  We heard lots of "he's just a little doll." and "He makes me miss my grandson." comments.  Z staved off his desperate hunger with 1/4 of a slice of toast while we got his food prepared.

Being hyper cautious, I not only over-cut his eggs, I pulled the casings off the sausages before cutting them.  My only complaint is that they go really heavy on the butter on the toast, but that's something to file away for future, ask for unbuttered toast with butter on the side.  I opted not to add the wonderful marionberry freezer jam to Z's toast, we're trying to keep sweets to the occasional treat, not a part of every meal.  The fruit was super-ripe, particularly the honeydew.  It seemed to be dancing on the edge of too ripe, but tasted good and Z enjoyed it.  We took leftovers home, we always do.

Mmmmmm, Eggs!

The bathrooms at Patty's are small, but kept very clean and it does have a changing station mounted to the wall in the ladies room. (Pet peeve - how about a changing station in the occasional men's room?  Real men change diapers, too!)

All in all, it was a typical Patty's visit, it's a great place to meet up with friends and enjoy a hearty and good breakfast.  The selection can be a bit overwhelming, if you're feeling it, stick with the specials board - that will always feature what's seasonal (The Oregon Mixed Berry pancakes with devonshire whipped cream is a treat, in-season!)

Doing a little back-research for this article, I discovered the children's menu prices are just $1 less than the mini-breakfast prices.  Next time I'll definately just order for myself, get Z the $2.95 bowl of fruit, and we'll come out ahead.

Baby Rating: 4 out of 4 eggs

Mama Rating: 3 out of 4 eggs - the portion size grosses me out sometimes.
Service: 4 out of 4 eggs - fast, friendly, you can't beat it.
Healthy/kid friendly: 3 out of 4 meatballs - standard diner fare, but I'd still like more fruit/veggie options!
Uh-Oh! Diaper!: 1 changing table in the ladies room, stashed in the handicap stall.  Bring just what you need, it's a small space.

Overall: 87.5%
Likelihood of returning: It's a neighborhood hangout.  We'll be back, we'll bring friends.

Kathy's Pizza Grill and Sports Bar

My car spent the day in the shop, and my wallet spent the evening considerably lighter after picking up my car. We decided to meet up for dinner at Kathy's Pizza Grill and Sports Bar, which is very near our auto mechanic. The place has had a variety of names, and seems it started life as a Farrell's Ice Cream. Everywhere you look, there's a tv and tonights entertainment was the Orange Bowl. It IS a sports bar, so I have no problem with the sports. They also do karaoke a few nights a week, which I think would be a hoot with that many tvs - but I digress.

Half is restaurant and half is bar - the whole thing was lit like a surgical theater, but it was clean and inviting once we got inside. There was only one high chair to be found, and I did not spot any booster seats. The menu is straight up home cooking plus pizza and burgers. The kids menu was a disappointment, 4 items, 3 of them fried.

Kids Menu

We ended up ordering a la carte for Z - meatballs with marinara from the appetizer menu ($5.99 for 8 meatballs, all with toothpicks skewered in them - probably great for an older child but an immediate "DON'T TOUCH THAT, I KNOW IT'S PRETTY AND GREEN BUT IT'S POINTY!" for me) and grilled veggies from the sides menu ($2.99).

Our waitress seemed a little old-school crusty, in a "kiss my grits" sort of way when it was just me, but she really perked up when Mark got there with Z. Apparently, she's a grandmother of two, and even though she mistook Z for a girl (it's the eyelashes), she was very helpful and responsive on getting our order out to us, bringing a special small spoon for Z and checking on us frequently. There was a mix-up and his meatballs did not make it out with our food, but the grilled veggies arrived right on time.

The veggie plate contained carrots, snap peas, zucchini, cauliflower and red peppers roasted in a little olive oil. Z has been on a total fruit and veggie kick and he was quick to sign "eat! eat!" and to reach for them. We did a quick chop up, as only a first time, over-protective set of parents can, and let him dig in. Sips of milk from his Lightning McQueen sippy cup helped wash down the handfuls of veggies, and he was a happy boy. Then the meatballs arrived and all thoughts of veggies flew out of his mind with the desire for protein. He was not a fan of the parmesan cheese on top, but he ate 4.5 of the little meatballs before he started dropping them on the floor and laughing.


Meatball tested, Meatball approved
Our dinners were similar to each other, and quite honestly, not so great. Mark had the open-faced hot roast beef and I had an open-faced hot turkey sandwich, both with more roasted veggies and mashed potatoes with respective meat gravies. My meal was so salty I had a hard time eating it. I gave Z a bite of mashed potatoes before taking my own bite and he made a really scrunched up, "not sure about this, Mama" face. Once I tried them I could see why.

With a couple beers, dinner for three and a healthy tip because of the food on the floor, it was $43. Not a deal, not a deal breaker. I think Z got the best meal of the three of us.

Baby Rating: 4 out of 4 meatballs
Mama Rating: 2 out of 4 meatballs
Service: 3 out of 4 meatballs
Healthy/kid friendly: 1 out of 4 meatballs - fried foods and not a lot amenities for kids, even though they bill themselves as family friendly
Uh-Oh! Diaper!: forgot to check the bathroom for a changing station. I'm new at this blogging thing!  

Overall: 63%
Likelihood of returning: Grandma waitress not-withstanding, not very likely. Adult meals just weren't that great, and there are places with better, healthier variety nearby.

Welcome to Toddler Dining!

One of the things my husband (Mark) and I promised each other before we even got pregnant is that some parts of our life would not change.  We like to eat out, we like to spend time with friends, we like to play video games, have wine-fueled conversations, and laugh raucously.  We are determined to raise a well-behaved little boy who likes eating out as much as we do.

Since his birth, we've taken Zachary (Z, going forward) to restaurants at least once a week.  Sometimes we cut things short if it's not going well, but he seems to enjoy it as much as we do.  However, it is trial and error.  We've been to places that look at us like we're dog shit on their floor because we walked in the door with a baby, and we've been to places that you think would not roll with the bean and they bend over backwards to make it a great experience.  I'm hoping this blog might help other parents in the Seattle area find the restaurants that welcome us as a family.

(Note, this was his first birthday party, he's actually a very neat eater!)