LA.foodblogging
Infant Dining
After a couple of weeks of nesting with our new son, we hit the gates running on dining out. I took a chunk of time off of work to do some bonding and help out as my wife recovered and did feedings at what seemed like every five minutes, little guy can eat!
As predicted, our first meal out was at Sushi Karen. My wife devoured the sushi, we kept Simon in the car seat and he slept the whole time. Sushi Karen is majorly kid friendly and we have already been back.
We had breakfast at John O’Groats where the owners carefully selected a table so that we could wedge the car seat onto a chair so that it wouldn’t get bumped or jostled. We went mid-week so we didn’t have to deal with the weekend wait. Tried their new menu item — poached eggs on bruschetta — very tasty.
Dinner at Rockenwagner’s 3 Square was very tasty, especially the carrot soup and tuna burger. The space is a bit tight though. Fortunately, Simon is a saint and our dining neighbors just wanted to look at him and comment on his hair. The indoor lighting at 3 Square is awful, a weird dull orange that does not make the food look as appetizing as it really is.
Brunch at Joe’s in Venice was delicious as always. Unfortunately we couldn’t get an outdoor table because of a private party, but Simon and I shared the bench seat and he slept through almost all of the meal. He popped up awake towards the end of the meal and we traded off holding him.
Joan’s on Third was a great stop while strolling in and out of the cool shops lining the street. We were a bit before the lunch rush and snagged an outdoor table. Simon was in the mood to be held and fortunately, the dishes were easy to eat one handed.
Simon’s first trip to Jinky’s was also our first stop into the Valley location. More open and roomy than the Santa Monica location, this was also a mid-week stop so there was no wait. I tried the turkey burger with curry spiced chili, a decadent delight. A messy chili burger is no meal to eat one handed, however, so Simon was in his seat on a chair.
La Bottega is the little casual cafe attached to Il Grano. In fact, I believe that they share a kitchen. We went with friends, sharing a four top. Simon’s car seat plopped down into an upside down high chair, a trick we learned having lunch in Napa. La Bottega is one of the best priced deals on the Westside; good, basic Italian food for a reasonable price. nice carafs of wine as well.
For a mellow weekend brunch Back on Broadway is a great choice. This place seems to be busier on weekdays, popular with the business crowd. Weekends are quieter, and we nabbed a huge table for my whole family, with Simon on the side. I can’t wait to go back for the breakfast quesadilla.
Burgers at The Counter was good, but our seat was next to the bus station and the servers were literally throwing the silverware and plates into the bus bins. Simon can sleep through noise no problem, as long as it isn’t big bangs. The crashing plates and silverware kept startling him, and annoyed us as well, so we had a quick dinner and split. The Counter does have this nice little hammock thing to put car seats into. It’s more stable than putting the car seat on top of a high chair and fit nicely next to the table.
At Marix in Santa Monica we met a bunch of friends for dinner. The restaurant was very accomodating to our party and gave us room for the car seat. That place can get really loud with the low ceilings, but Simon just slept and slept, loud talking doesn’t really bother him.
Cafe Brazil is casual and relaxed, with plenty of large tables and benches. A word of warning though. Their coffee is STRONG. I love it, but combined with my sleep deprivation, the high octane caffeine boost sent my mind spinning. I though that would be a good energy boost, but it made me edgy. Their spicy black bean soup is one of my favorite sides.
That’s a sampling of where we have been in the last couple of months. So far, dining with an infant has been great. We haven’t had any screaming fits, just a couple of diaper blowouts that have necessitated a trip to the car for a change. As he gets older, we’re pretty sure that things will get tougher, we will see!
By Jonah (see more of his posts). Jonah is the founder of la.foodblogging and also created Digesty, a food blog aggregator and Cheww.com, a spam free foodblog search engine.
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Marix is good for when they get older *because* it’s so loud–the occasional shrieks don’t send everyone’s heads turning around to look at you.
I noticed that the El Cholo in Santa Monica also seems to use the upstairs as a kind of children’s area–went there once when it was kind of busy and we had the whole area to ourselves!
Good point Evan. That place is so unbelievably loud that even the adults were complaining about ears hurting.
We haven’t been sequestered yet with child, but ours is still pretty quiet in his car seat.
Any other spots you like on the Westside?
I love this post because it shows that that there is life post-baby, and it involves dining out. I am sure it helps that your son doesn’t seem like a big crier. Still, I think it’s so great that you and your wife are able to keep having dates, and can raise your son into a gastronomic upbringing.
Jonah,
My wife and I are kind of creatures of habit, so there are a few spots–affordable and not very cutting-edge–we like to go to often. The Victorian on Main and Ocean Park in Santa Monica is nice and laid-back. On Sunday of course the farmer’s market is there, but you can still eat in the restaurant and avoid having to hunt around for a table after getting your food from one of the stands.
Gilbert’s El Indio, though it’s getting even more crowded–something I didn’t think was possible.
California Chicken Cafe.
We had good success eating in the bar/patio area at Beechwood on Washington, but that was when our little one would sleep in her car seat–now that she’s walking around, I don’t know if that would work (it’s not really a high-chair area, and we haven’t tried the dining room there).