Day 3: Eating Out With Toddlers. And Living to Tell About It.

Every so often I see an article pop up in my social media news feeds about a certain restaurant taking a stand and banning kids from eating at their establishment.

As someone who loves to eat out, who also owns a kid, I find this really hard to accept. Banning kids from restaurants? What's next? Telling the elderly they can only eat at your establishment between certain hours?

I LOVE going to restaurants. Since Mr. KK and I got together, discovering new places to eat and drink has always been our thing. 

And then we had a baby.

And you know what happened?

We still went out to eat.

How? Because we raised a restaurant baby.

Our Little Mister (LM for short) made his first sojourn to a restaurant for lunch when we he was 3 weeks old. (Unless, of course, you count the lunch pit stop at the McDonald's outside of Andrews Air Force Base on our drive home from the hospital when he was 4 days old.)

A few years ago during NaBloPoMo, I wrote a post about bringing a baby to a restaurant. 

Now, two years later, here's an update with 15 steps of eating at a restaurant...the Toddler Edition.

1. Get excited over the fact that you're going out to eat. The set the bar for the evening really, really low.

2. Location, location, location. Find a neighborhood joint and make it your own. People who see you often are more likely to seat you quickly/accept your toddler/have pity on your with free drinks.

3. Pick a place with a decent noise level. It will help mask those lovely moments when your Toddler is "expressing himself".

4. Have a bag of tricks that won't quit. Bag should include – but not be limited to – snacks, stickers, crayons and coloring book, random rubber bands and paper clips, an iPad, a change of clothes, wet wipes, gum wrappers and miniature toys.

5. Order your adult beverage the minute you sit down. You may only have 10 minutes in which to drink it. If you can call and order your cocktail ahead, you should.

6. Embrace the high chair. At home your Toddler sits on a regular chair? Awesome. At school, he sits independently? That's cool. In a restaurant, where you want 7 minutes to eat your dinner without your child up and abandoning the table? Strap that kid in a high chair. Our motto: if he fits, he sits (strapped in).

7. Accept the fact that your toddler's dinner will be a carb fest. Order the grilled cheese and french fries, and ask them the bring the bread basket. Give him double veggies tomorrow.

8. Channel your inner Boy Scout and be prepared. Read the menu online, and know what you're going to order. Calculate the timing so that there is always food on the table.

9. Make sh*t up. One day at breakfast, our food was taking an crazy long time to come out, so I improvised the old 'shell game', and hid a straw wrapper under one of three creamer containers and had LM guess where it was.

10. Play the "it's still too hot to eat" game. One time, a grilled cheese needed to cool for twenty minutes before we could eat it, which allowed Mommy and Daddy to finish their appetizer and have their entrees arrive.

11. Recognize the meltdown before it happens. You know that hitch in their voice just before they are going to lose it, better than anyone else. Deploy master skills when a tantrum is on the horizon: Detect. Distract. Deflect.

12. Pretend it's no big deal. Toddlers are smart, in that they are learning to sense the situations in which you want them to behave. And then the do the opposite. When LM acts out loudly in a public place, I simple turn my head and start talking to Mr. KK. LM calls my name incessantly for two minutes, then finds something with which to busy himself. We drink and relax, he entertains himself. Win-win.

13. Don't be above the electronic babysitter. Just put the iPad on and enjoy your dinner. People may judge you, but they'd do worse if your toddler was screaming and ruining their dinner.

14. Be ready for the haters. Because you'll encounter them eventually. The dirty looks, the whispers under their breath, the requests to be seated at tables far away from you. Don't take it personally. Some people are just assholes.

15. Just let it go. He's going to yell. There will be food on the floor. People will look at you. Who cares? YOU are eating at a restaurant. 

But perhaps the best part about eating early with a Toddler, is that once they are in bed, you can enjoy cocktail hour part 2.

Cheers!

Day 10: Restaurant Review: Kawa Ni in Westport

I've been hearing about Kawa Ni for months now. How it is truly fabulous and – as a self-proclaimed foodie – I MUST go.

I'm a fan of chef Bill Taibe from dining at The Whelk, so I knew I wouldn't be disappointed. (I'm sure I would have been a fan of Le Farm, too, but sadly in the 10 years I've worked down the street in Westport I never made it there before they closed the doors. Unforgivable, I know.)

Today, I finally had lunch at Kawa Ni.

My dining companions, Veronica and Anastasia (not their real names), had been before, so they lead the way in terms of the menu.

I was surprised at how tiny the place was, and could understand how it's impossible to get a table on weekend nights. I think I've seated more people in my dining room on Thanksgiving.

We started off by sharing a few small plates, and each ordered a lunch entrée. The food came out hot and was fresh and vibrant.

Our first dish was Chicken Karaage which was served with long chili sauce. The sauce had a great kick, and the chicken was crispy and juicy.

Next up was the Peekytoe Crab Rangoon with a carrot ginger dipping sauce. The rangoons were deep fried to perfection. Seriously, I didn't even need the dipping sauce with them. The insides were creamy and delicious.

I'm Italian, so if there's one thing I know about it's rice balls. This rice ball – the Onigiri – however, couldn't have been further from the arrancini of my childhood or have been more amazing. We tried the Pickled Farm Greens with pickled peanuts and cashews. The rice was the perfect amount chewey, the sauce creamy and the greens wilty. Delish!

There was no way I was going to this place and not getting noodles. I had the Turkey Ramen which was a braised leg, sofrito, egg over ramen in a broth that was so flavorful I wanted to pick up the bowl and drink it. And don't get me started on dishes that include an egg; they have me at hello.

Veronica and Anastasia (again, not their real names) both had the spicy miso. Anastasia's flushed face gave away the heat that was in the bowl. I had a quick taste and it was a welcomed punch of heat.

Four hours later and I'm STILL FULL.

That's the sign of a great lunch experience.

Believe the hype.

Go.

Now.

Kawa Ni

19 Bridge Square

Westport

www.kawaniwestport.com

Day 1 NaBloPoMo: How to dine at a restaurant with a baby in 25 easy steps

While on vacation in the Berkshires we were all eating at an Italian restaurant one night. Max was in a flirty mood, batting his eyelashes at our waitress and watching her walk by.

After she delivered our entrées, she squatted down next to Max's high chair.

"He is an awesome restaurant baby!" she explained, smiling at Max.

I beamed.

Best. Compliment. Ever.

And it's true. Right now in his life, Max is a fantastic restaurant baby. Maybe it's because his first restaurant outing was at 3 weeks old. Or that he enjoys crowds. Or that we perfectly time every trip to a dining establishment down to the minute.

Whatever it is, it's allowed us to still do what we love best: eating out.

Even if we're enjoying dinner with the blue hairs at 5:30pm.

How to Dine at a Restaurant with a Baby in 25 Easy Steps

1. Forgo any notion of eating dinner when it's dark outside.
2. Think of your most favorite restaurant, where you have delicious cocktails, sumptuous appetizers, and delectable entrees over a 3-hour period. Then pick a different place.
3. Planning for the night starts when your baby gets up in the morning: Nap and bottle times, amount of stimulation, finding an outfit that is comfortable and non-restricting, yet presentable in public. Don't wait until the last minute.
4. Remind yourself that eating at the restaurant just might not happen, and that eating at home is just as good.
5. Pack the diaper bag. This should be done early, off of a list, and double-checked no fewer than 3 times. The proper restaurant diaper bag should contain the following: 
• bottle
• dinner
• back-up dinner in case he doesn't like the first dinner
• bib
• enough snacks to last a week
• soft toys that make no noise
• plastic toys that make minimal noise
• lovie
• back-up lovie
• diapers
• wipes
• iPad with favorite shows ready to go at the click of a button
6. Agonize over the nap schedule. Stick to it. Go to extreme measures to make sure the nap happens, and that it happens for as long as it's supposed to.
7. Call ahead to the restaurant to either make a reservation, or if one isn't needed, to let them know you're coming, and that you're coming with a pint-sized dinner companion. Secure a high chair.
8. Make peace with the fact that you're going to eat about 3 hours earlier than you used to before you had kids. In fact, this will be your 'new normal' time for dining out.
9. Choose your restaurant wisely. You are dining with a small child. 5-star French is out of the question.
10. Even though you're not eating at the best of the best, you can still eat at good restaurants, as long as you go early enough not to disrupt the Saturday night dinner rush.
11. Obsessive over the online menu all day long. Scrutinize the ingredients of each dish. Fantasize over the frisée. Obsess over the octopus. Pine over the polenta.
12. Choose a time to dine that works best with YOUR babies schedule. For us, it's 6pm. This allows us to feed Max dinner at the restaurant, a few little snacks, then his bottle right before we're leaving.
13. Arrive ON TIME. Or even early. Give yourself the opportunity to choose between multiple tables during your reservation time slot to select the table that will work best for your needs.
14. Plotting out your spot in the restaurant should be handled with as much dedication and care as charting the next spaceship launch. Windows = good. Squeezing between two tables = bad.
15. Learn how to ignore the stink eyes you'll get from fellow diners.
16. Have an emergency "We have to get out of here RIGHT THIS MINUTE" game plan. Be ready to implement it at a moment's notice.
17. As soon as you get to the table, make sure everything has a 2-foot radius clear of the baby. This includes: place mats, bread dishes, silverware, napkins, salt and pepper shakers, wine and water glasses, menus and candles.
18. The minute your server appears, take action: give them any extraneous items from the table and order yourself a drink. (And, if your baby is eating off the menu, it might be a good idea to put their order in, too).
19. The minute that baby sits down it's SHOWTIME. You are the lead in the production. There are no understudies. You are always on and you get no breaks.
20. Who says you have to give them full spoonfuls of food? Putting half the normal amount of food on the spoon allows you to stretch out their dinner. It also allows you to shove a forkful of your own dinner into your mouth every now and then.
21. Create innovative games to distract little brains. One time I entertained Max just for a half hour just by making my fingers walk across the table in front of him over and over.
22. Don't drink so much that you lose your eye-hand coordination. You have to be on your game to catch any and all toys that get flung over the side of the highchair before they touch the dirty floor.
23. Don't be ashamed to pull out the iPad. A few months ago were had taken my parents out to eat for their anniversary. Max had finished his dinner and we were still eating so I set up the iPad with his favorite show. Judgy McJudgington at the table next to us gave us a disapproving look, "Oh. I see he's getting his screen time in." Yes. Yes, he is. And he's being perfectly quiet and not bothering your dinner you while he's doing it.
24. Get dessert to go. It's the only way you're going to enjoy it.
25. Remember: he's just a baby. He doesn't know any better. And who cares what other people think, anyway?

Happy NaBloPoMo!

Happy dining!

Day 22: Date night and invalids

Just one day short of Max's seven-week birthday we had our official first date night! (outside of the house, sans bambino)

Also, I feel I must let you know that on this date night, we were both invalids. Me, with my bum knee from my fall the other day (in case you missed it, you can read about that traumatic day here), and Rob, with his brand-new ankle injury from today's leaf blowing in his parents' yard, including x-rays and two prescriptions.

So between the two of us hobbling, we somehow miraculously made it out of the house.

And…here's how our life has changed after having a baby.

When making a dinner reservation, they told us that they had 6:15pm and 8pm.

I hated to admit it, but if we took the 8pm reservation, there was a good chance I'd be asleep at the table before dessert.

"So 6:15 it is! Us and the blue hairs!" I (half) joked.

Now that we had the reservation, we needed babysitters. In an effort to not hurt anyone's feelings, we offered babysitting duties to BOTH grandmothers. All's fair in love and grandchildren.

TEXT TO GRAMMIES: 'Hi. Is anyone free to babysit Saturday night?"

TEXT FROM GRAMMY 1: 'We're free! Hey, maybe all four of us could babysit and we can order food and make a night of it."

TEXT FROM GRAMMY 2: 'We're in! Sounds like fun!'

Immediately I imagine the four of them ordering take-out and having cocktails and wonder…but if you're all eating food and drinking cocktails...who's watching the baby???

So we went on our date night and I'm ashamed to say we were home by 8:45pm. Not because we were worried about the baby (because we weren't), but because we're old and tired, and one of us had a fresh ankle injury and had spent the afternoon in the Urgent Care center.

But what a great night, no matter what time we got home!

Kicking the night off with a few IPAs.

Baxter's Stowaway IPA out of Maine…a favorite from our trip to Portland 

and now on its first week on tap in Connecticut.

 We went to Caseus (delish!) and we were seated next to a cheese lover's dream: the cheese fridge! No joke, probably thousands and thousands of dollars worth of cheese in here. Had I brought a larger pocketbook, we could have smuggled home some Manchego, college-style.

I'm a cheese whore. So, yes, we got the cheese board. 

Steak au poive for me.

The meatloaf special for Rob. This was my second choice, 

so thankfully he ordered it so I could have a few bites.

And back at home…

The parents had finished their dinner and wine, and were relaxing and watching TV. Max was wide awake, keeping an eye on everyone. AND, we missed not one but TWO poopy diapers.

So a successful night in our books to say the least. :)

kk eats Connecticut

I love food.

And much of what I do resolves around food: shopping for food, watching food on TV, talking about food, cooking food at home. 

And perhaps one of my favorite things to do is to eat food out.

While we love trying new restaurants, there are those places that we go to because we know they have some of our favorite dishes that we can count on to be fabulous every time.

From the Rhode Island Coast to north of Hartford, here are my favorite dishes across the state of Connecticut.

The Clam Chowder

The Oyster Club

Mystic, CT

This is the perfect chowdah. While it's a New England-style chowder, the broth is silky smooth and creamy, not the old stand-your-spoon-up-in-the-soup-thick. It's chock-full of clams and potatoes. But the best part, are salty, hand-cut bacon lardons that are the perfect mix of crispy and melt in your mouth.


The Tasting Menu
Millwrights
Simsbury, CT

While it may seem like cheating, EVERYTHING on Millwrights menu is fabulous. So much so that you have to get the Tasting Menu when you're there. You get 7 delicious courses of the chef's choice from the menu, from appetizers to dessert. And if at all possible, splurge the extra $45 for the cocktail pairings with each course. You will experience everything from sparkling wine, to seasonal beers, to robust wines and even hand-crafted cocktails from their resident mixologist that pair perfectly with the course at hand. Dinner here is an experience, and the rustic atmosphere and gorgeous views aren't too shabby either.


The Reuben
Eli Cannon's
Middletown, CT

This place is a Dive, with a capital "D". And sure, they boast a beer list that's to die for, with 30 rotating taps of craft beer goodness. But it's one particular sandwich – hidden in their menu – that has stolen my heart. So much so, that I've nicknamed it "The Best Reuben in America", and I stand by that claim. The corned beef brisket is made in house and cut into thick slices, covered in melted swiss, tangy sauerkraut and cool Russian dressing, and piled high on toasted rye. Uh-may-zing.



Deviled Eggs
The Whelk
Westport, CT

Deviled eggs have made a comeback. No longer a 1970's throwaway, these creamy little bites have resurfaced and they are fancier than ever. At The Whelk, they take deviled eggs to a whole new level, topping them with pickled red onions and a cornmeal-coated, friend oyster. Yep, there's a fried oyster on every half. This little snack-sized plate is made for sharing, but take it from me, order one just for yourself…you're not going to want to share.

Mussels & Fries
Mikro Craft Beer Bar
Hamden, CT

Mikro is our neighborhood bar, the place we go on Thursday nights where we know they'll save us seats at the bar and have an amazing selection of craft beers on tap. But the food! It's a gastropub in every sense of the word, and one of my favorite dishes is the mussels. You get a bowl of at least two pounds of mussels, in a beer, citrus and thyme broth, served up with crusty bread. You can opt to add the fries, and I suggest you do. Ok, I'm going to say it: these are hands-down my favorite french fries. Ever. Did I mention the garlic aioli they come with??


Warm Local Ricotta
Heirloom
New Haven, CT

You must.try.this. Local ricotta is served in an earthenware dish, drizzled with truffle oil and thyme, then baked until it's bubbly. Served on the side is toasted bread, charred from the grill, crispy on the outside and moist and warm on the inside. Creamy cheese and crunchy bread…is there anything better?


Steak Tartare
Bar Bouchee
Madison, CT

I'm picky about my tartares, but this one is out of this world. They start with filet mignon and chop it to order. It's mixed with capers and dijon and other amazingness, topped with a quail egg. It's served with crispy homemade potato crisps, perfect for scooping up this masterpiece.


Bread and Butter Pickles
Max Burger
West Hartford, CT

Yes, their burgers are delicious, but what I love most here are the housemade bread and butter pickles. I've never met a pickle I didn't like, and I will say, I LOVE these pickles. I order a burger just so I could get these pickles. They are crunchy and tangy, zesty and sweet, all at the same time. Order extras on the side, because you'll eat them all before you even take a bite of your burger.



Ok, now I'm hungry.

Happy eating!