Manhattan Munchies Archives - Page 9 of 9

Maialino at Gramercy Park Hotel

October 9, 2012 / Cheese, Manhattan Munchies, Midtown / 0 comment

Elegant dining – with kids? Absolutely possible at Maialino; kids and babies are made to feel very welcome. Despite not having a kids’ menu, the staff offered several suggestions for meals they could make for the 11-month-old babies we had dining with us. We chose the pasta with a butter sauce – and no-one even batted an eye at the piles of pasta thrown on the floor. Sorry about that, Maialino – next time perhaps spaghetti noodles are not the best idea for babies with minimal hand-eye coordination.

Maialino, Gramercy Park Hotel — Cheese loves the specially-made pasta.

Highchairs: Yes.
Stroller storage: Yes, for strollers that fold up.
Easy access: Yes.
Change tables: No, but the restrooms are in the lobby of the Gramercy Park Hotel, which are large and have space for diaper changes.
Kids’ menu: No, but they will cook custom dishes for kids on request.
Kids-friendly rating: ♥♥♥–

Maialino at Gramercy Park Hotel
2 Lexington Avenue,
New York, NY 10010
Tel. 212 920 3300
Reservations: (212) 777 2410

Hours:
Breakfast: Mon–Fri 7:30am–10am, Lunch: Mon–Fri 12pm–2pm
Brunch: Sat–Sun 10am–2pm
Dinner: Sun–Th 5:30pm–10:30pm / Fri–Sat 5:30pm–11pm

[googlemaps https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Maialino,+Lexington+Avenue,+New+York,+NY&aq=0&oq=Maialino,+g&sll=40.687423,-73.990624&sspn=0.008965,0.02105&ie=UTF8&hq=Maialino,&hnear=Lexington+Ave,+New+York&ll=40.738546,-73.985772&spn=0.07652,0.056504&t=m&output=embed&w=425&h=350%5D

Landmarc (at the Time Warner Center)

October 9, 2012 / Cheese, Manhattan Munchies, Midtown West / 2 Comments

Landmarc at Time Warner Center - kid-friendly restaurants, New York — Cheese!

For Alec’s first Father’s Day, we wanted to try a restaurant near Central Park. Landmarc at the Time Warner Center is right on the edge of Central Park, at Columbus Circle, so it’s the perfect location if you want to dine and then stroll or play.

Landmarc features standard breakfast and brunch food, like omelettes, pancakes and egg dishes. I found them to be a bit over priced (a basic omelette starts at $18), you do get to eat lunch with a killer view of the park and Columbus Circle.

A real family restaurant, there are always lots of kids dining at Landmarc – which will be obvious as soon as you arrive and see all of the strollers parked outside. Be sure to reserve your table in advance via Open Table.

Last bite: Solid food, great view, and you’re right on Central Park!

Highchairs: Yes.
Stroller storage: Yes. Stroller parking outside the front of the restaurant (inside the Time Warner Center), or you can bring in small foldable strollers with you.
Easy access: Yes.
Change tables: Yes.
Kids’ menu: Yes.

Landmarc
10 Columbus Circle, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10019
Phone: (212) 823 6123

Hours:
Open 7 days a week from 7am-2am

Cafe Blossom: Kid-friendly Restaurants, West Village, New York

October 9, 2012 / Cheese, Manhattan Munchies, West Village / 0 comment

Cafe Blossom West Village — Beetroot and cashew nut cheese.

Delicious organic, vegan food – that even the fussiest carnivore will enjoy. Welcome to Cafe Blossom.

Alec took me to Cafe Blossom for my first Mother’s Day. It was the perfect location for a special outing – unique (and cruelty-free!) dishes, made with flair and obvious love.

I was pleasantly surprised at how baby-friendly Cafe Blossom was. They couldn’t have been more accommodating, or friendly towards us and Cheese.

Cheese loved the (healthy!) fries, while I was enamoured with every dish on the menu. Usually I only get a choice of one or two vegetarian items, so to have an entire menu of dishes that I can eat is such happiness.

Cafe Blossom take reservations – which I would strongly recommend, especially on weekends.

Last bite: If you’re vegetarian, vegan, or just love delicious food, check out Cafe Blossom. Be sure to try our favourite dishes, the BLT and fruit crumble.

Highchairs: Yes.
Stroller storage: Minimal. Bring a small, fold up stroller or carrier.
Easy access: Yes.
Change tables: No.
Kids’ menu: No.

Cafe Blossom
41 Carmine St, New York 10014
(Btwn Bedford & Bleecker St)
Phone: (646) 438 9939

Hours:
Lunch
Daily: 12pm-3:30pm
Dinner
Daily: 5pm-11pm

Balthazar: Kid-friendly Restaurants, SoHo, New York

October 8, 2012 / Cheese, Manhattan Munchies, SoHo / 4 Comments

Not only is the food at this famous establishment delicious, the staff is also more than accommodating towards babies. While we were initially trepidatious about bringing the babies to Balthazar, the staff checked our strollers and sat us down quickly.

The ever-helpful staff brought us bread for the babes to chew on, baked freshly in the Balthazar Bakery, gave kids spoons to play with (which then then spent a considerable amount of time picking up again off the floor …), and a little crayon kit to draw with.

Brunch at Balthazar means fresh bread and pastries, best ordered in the bread basked and shared with a group, and one of their delicious egg dishes.

I always order the same thing – the scrambled eggs in puff pastry with asparagus (it actually comes with mushrooms as well, but I request it without the shrooms as I’m a bad vegetarian and hate mushrooms. It’s one of Balthazar’s signature brunch dishes for a good reason – perfectly cooked eggs and asparagus in flaky puff pastry. Yum!

The only downside we experienced was that the tables are tightly packed, making it hard to squeeze in with a highchair. Get to know your neighbours well! Reservations (a few weeks in advance if possible) are recommended to avoid waiting, particularly on weekends.

Highchairs: Yes.
Stroller storage: Yes.
Easy access: Yes (no stairs).
Change tables: No (they do have ample bench space in the restrooms however and are more than happy for babies to changed there).
Kids’ menu: No.

Balthazar
80 Spring Street
(b’ween Broadway and Crosby)
New York, NY
Reservations: +1 (212) 965 1414

Hours:
Breakfast
Mon-Fri 7:30am-11:30am, Sat-Sun 8am-9am
(continental only)

Brunch
Sat-Sun: 9am-4pm

Lunch
Mon-Fri 12pm-5pm

Dinner & after hours
Mon-Thu 6pm-12am, Fri-Sat 6pm-1am, Sun 5:30pm-12am