Back in town!

Here we are in Bristol, England, near the gorge enjoying a local cask IPA and a local pear cider.

We have finally surfaced after a steady month of work and play travel. Alexander visited the "homeland" to see his extended family and friends in Ireland, England and Scotland. You can assure there was much good food and drink to be had, but since this is a blog about dining around DC we'll just keep those experiences to ourselves.

However, there is one place where the UK is far ahead of us and I already miss it sorely. Everywhere you go, I mean EVERYWHERE there is a "babycare" room. Always with a sink, changing table, nursing chair, and usually a potty. In smaller places it is also the handicapped restroom, but it always is a great place to be able to change baby-- and it's easy for both parents to go into. It's also easy to strap your little one in and pee yourself, which was much appreciated. Anyways, I hope we head in this direction in the future here.

J & G with a babe: A relaxing lovely night out

With Daddy at J&G out front of the Treasury building

The prettiest places to eat in DC must be those along Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the Willard and W hotels where Cafe Du Parc, the Occidental and J & G Steakhouse are located. In recent years the leafy wide sidewalks have been converted to outdoor dining rooms for these three restaurants complete with sofas and plenty of flowers.

I had eaten a few times at J & G when I was pregnant and vowed to come back here after, thinking it a risky proposition to bring a baby to such a fancy place. Since then it has even won the accolade of the 4th best restaurant in DC from Washingtonian Magazine and I have yet to be back with my newborn. Now that Alexander is almost 6 months we decided he was ready, and it was a beautiful night to eat outside.

Our first course, sweet pea soup with creme fraiche and a watermelon and feta salad were both so good we didn't even photograph them and just sat there in the gorgeous evening and relaxed and enjoyed the starters. You might be wondering why we were so relaxed dining with a baby. Well, first of all, we were outside, and there was a LOT of things going on to keep him busy. Second of all, this restaurant was insightful enough to have Stokke Tripp Trapp chairs for their highchairs. The Peanut LOVES these chairs lately as he can kick and play completely unrestricted and really feels a part of everything.


Alexander in his Stokke chair!

Moving on to the dish responsible for bringing me back: the halibut with spicy scallion sauce, basil oil, and celery. It's a perfectly designed and executed dish, and just might be the best fish dish I have had. It was every bit as good as I remembered it!


Yum, this fish is so good!

Lastly, it was time for dessert. And you can't miss dessert here. Yes, there are three desserts in that picture- the two which came with the prix fixe menu which were a lovely strawberry meringue with poppy seed sorbet, and the ice cream sampler which was with the fantastic chocolate cherry and cinnamon ice creams and a rather benign condensed milk ice cream. The third was an incredibly kind gift from our waiter after he heard me lamenting the lack of the warm chocolate cake from the pix fixe menu. And please notice, although warm / molten chocolate cakes have been old news since about 1995, Jean-Georges literally popularized (possibly invented?) this cake, so it is a great place to have it and a perfect rendition.


Here I am with my three desserts!

The most amazing part was after we were done with our three courses, Alexander was happy as can be, kicking and playing in his chair and enjoying the evening. We hope for many more experiences like this one in the coming months!

Baby-friendly? If you go early, it appears that this hotel restaurant welcomes well-behaved children. They don't have a changing table in the restaurant but there is a private bathroom where there is ample room for changing and very clean. This is by no means a family restaurant, but the outdoor setting, the fantastic high chairs and the friendly service make a it a great place to treat yourself if you have a well behaved little one. We went early and opted for the $35 pre-theatre menu which helped out on the pocketbook as well.

Pho VN One offers some nice surprises

We've been to Pho VN One in Beltsville, MD a number of times. Always friendly, reasonable, and a quick place to eat, we were happy to take baby there as we were sure they were family friendly. Plus, what better food to eat than a steaming bowl of pho when it's 100 degrees out?

Nana and I started out with an excellent surprise-- the mango bubble smoothie. A real fruit blend of frozen mango and a little bit of ice, barely sweet but oh-so-fruity with the optional tapioca bubbles. Yum. So good before we left we got a coconut one for the road. At $2.75 this is worth it alone to stop in and will bring me back.



We started with fresh rice paper rolls with tofu (not on the menu, but they never seem to mind) and with shrimp. Served with peanut sauce, they are a reasonable rendition of one of my favorite foods, although they could use more mint.

I got the vegetarian pho, packed with broccoli and bok choy and piled in the typical basil, sprouts and jalapenos. But the best surprise was the jumbo onion in vinegar for 85 cents-- crunchy and sweet onion to add to your pho. It was a new favorite and I can crave it already.

Child friendly? Yes, there were other babies in there and if your kids like the two things they offer: pho and spring rolls, it's a great place for them. Take a trip some time and check it out.

Royal Tea room: Proper tea for proper children

Looking for something different to do on a way too hot Sunday, we decided to go for a hike and visit the Royal Tea Room in La Plata, MD.

It was a proper place, full of quirky antiques and more than a few members of the red hat society. Now, I should add that my husband is British, so the idea of going to a tea room for the afternoon with a bunch of old ladies wasn't the least bit off-putting.



We decided on the full tea which started with a salad and soup, moved on to a course of scones with clotted cream and jam, and then to the fancy three tiered tea service with little sandwiches, savories, and pastries and cakes. Included was any tea or beverage (the peach iced tea was lovely) with your meal followed by any teas with your scones and pastries (we had earl grey, English breakfast, and rooibos cranberry.



The food was tasty, fresh, and reasonably interesting-- but nothing fancy for sure. Some of the baked things clearly came from in house, and some clearly weren't which really was the only big negative for me (as well as the inclusion of food coloring in a few things). I didn't go there expecting anything fancy and it was a great way to kill a couple of hours.



Child-friendly? It's a quiet and proper place, and while they do have high chairs and innumerable older women who want to hold your baby, its quiet and the place is packed with antiques little hands could smash in a moment. However, if your child would like to go to a proper tea party, this is your place. They get to choose their tea cups and you can get all dressed up in hats and boas for the occasion. In fact, when we were there, the folks from below came to pay a visit. Who knew?


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Kushi is a tasty treat for parents and older children (and those brave with babies)

Having a fairly accurate guess that the new izakaya and sushi restaurant, Kushi, wasn't going to be bouncing with babies, we decided to brave it at lunch when little ones seem more acceptable. The new restaurant located in the building off New York Ave with the Safeway and Busboys and Poets has had mixed reviews in the press. To sum it up, this is a place with quality over quantity. Translation: if you are really hungry and don't want to spend a lot of money this isn't a great choice.

The restaurant is a modern, open space and has a number of interesting things for children or adults to check out. You can choose to sit in view of the sushi bar or the kitchen which is pretty fascinating. Older children should be very amused by the spectacle here.


A large salmon being turned into sashimi at the fresh fish preparation area.


The open kitchen, pork belly being prepared, sous vide chicken and lots of other preparations going on.

We had the Living Social Deal for $50 of food for $25, so we were feeling a bit more spendy than usual. We focused mainly on the sushi options since this is one of the few places in the District where one can get truly fresh fish. The extra fatty tuna was like buttery ocean, melting away on the tongue.


I opted for the chirashi, which was fresh and lovely in it's lacquer box.


Some other rolls, notably the veggie roll with the interesting addition of raw okra giving in a almost fish-like feel and a delicious taste.

Last, we finished with the pineapple peppercorn sorbet which is not to be missed, and at $2.50 it's the best deal in the house.

Family-friendly? This is a quiet, sophisticated place and a crying baby will likely be glared at. That said, they did offer us a high-chair. There isn't a changing table, but there is a big bathroom good for changing. Older children should find the live cooking interesting and it could be a good place to experiment. It's expensive, however, plan on about $50 - $75 for two adults to eat lightly without drinks.

Eden Center restaurants are baby heaven

The Eden Center in Falls Church, VA is a good place to take the kids to an exotic destination without leaving the country. The large and always busy plaza is packed with more than a dozen Vietnamese restaurants and bakeries and is a fun place to explore before choosing a place to eat.

We're taking Alexander to Vietnam in December, so this was a bit of a preview for us. We went to Huong Viet , an old standby, and were greeting by a 20-something Vietnamese man who told Alexander he loved him-- "I love you baby....I love you". Yes, they like babies here.

Food was good as always. It lacks the precision you might get a Present or Four Sisters, but it was quick and tasty. Above is the grilled chicken with soft rice crepes complete with herbs and lettuce to wrap the meat and rice in and dunk in the sauce-- fun finger food.



Shrimp on a sugar cane skewer bun (rice noodles and veggies).

Oh, and don't miss the iced coffee and bubble tea for dessert...

Family-friendly? Yes, they welcome families and there are many there. No changing table, but there are high chairs and lots of simple things for children to eat.

Pete's Apizza finds tastiness for all

We have a friend in town from the west coast and she is dying for East coast style pizza, particularly pizza from New York. Cheap pizza, greasy pizza, late night after drunk jumbo slice kind of pizza. Not willing to stoop entirely to her level we went to Pete's Apizza in Columbia Heights for a pie.

Pete's has New Haven style pizza, and it's quality. There appears to be extensive discussions about exactly what New Haven style pizza is, as well as interest in their new location. More importantly than specific regional affiliation, you can get it by the slice so there are no disagreements. My husband loves the Sorbillo, a "A rectangular shaped pizza filled with Salumi, ricotta, mozzarella" and topped with tomato sauce. I go for the plain cheese and the chef's special. This time we also tried the antipasti, a compilation of four seasonal dishes, the highlight of which was the fantastic grilled vidalia onion and marinated peach salad. Yum.



I have a special fondness for this place because I went here when I was in labor and succeeded in eating enough calories to get me through the second and third days of labor. It was quite a feat, and Pete's will always have a special place in my heart.

Did I mention that during happy hour their beers are a steal, with micro brews like Lagunita's for $2.50 a pint (in a real glass glass, which is something I love about this place).

As for my friend, it wasn't New York. It was New Haven, and the pizza wasn't greasy or salty enough-- as she put it-- it was far too quality for what she was looking for. Sigh.

Family-friendly? It's pizza, so yes, and the place is mellow. There are high chairs, but no changing table but the bathroom is big and the floor is clean (I realize here that I am assuming other parents change their kids diapers on the floor with a pad, right?). And there are great salads so a balanced meal can be had.