Cafe Mama's Guide to Kid-friendly Restaurants in Portland and beyond...
Peanut Butter & Ellies, NE 13th & Fremont -
Note: Peanut Butter & Ellie's is closing its 13th and Fremont location on February 19th and will re-open on 4409 SW Vermont near the end of March, 2005. I'll review the new one once it's open. This is a fantastic concept, poorly executed and managed. I can't count the number of times I have driven all the way to NE Fremont (a trek from my house off Holgate) during their supposed regular hours, only to find it closed. Their food is good, typically, for what it is: toddler food. I love their house-made peanut butter, and think the sandwiches are great. But the service is not. Every single time I've been there, something has been screwed up, and when I bring it up (in the nicest most non-confrontational manner), it's treated with a cavalier shrug of the shoulders.
The thing is, it's supposed to be built around the idea that the mom needs someplace for the child to play. That should automatically mean, I think, that the servers are totally in tune with the needs of a mom with a young child/children. But the servers aren't playing to my music; forgetting coffee mugs, being lazy with the check (note: my recent trips have been better in this regard), forgetting substitutions, letting balloons roam free. A couple times I got charged for things I ordered, but that never came. Their servers would all make nice friends, but...
My other criticism of PB&E's are that the bathroom is a little scary (it's hard to open the door with a wriggling toddler and/or stroller, there's no place for a kid to sit while you're changing a baby or going to the bathroom yourself) and there is no buffer around the door - an inattentive, just for a second, parent could see her toddler charging out onto Fremont with an exiting customer if she doesn't watch it. Also the chalk walls behind tables are a bad idea - people are always getting up from the tables with chalk all over the back of their nice shirts.
Old Wives Tales, East Burnside & 12th. I think their food is, by and large, good, and the play area is really cool. The main problem here is that you can't see the kids when they're inside so you always have to go and double check that they haven't disappeared or something. And the few times I've been there, the kids seem to get in mysterious disputes (screams erupting from inside) that cause lots of parents running to see what's happening. But all in all, a cool idea. And great for vegetarians.
After having gone back many times (my sister-in-law is close family friends with the owner) and having had many meals delivered to me while on bedrest, I've determined that this is one of the top few healthy choices in Portland, with a wide variety of goodies that fit into a restricted diet. The oat and cornmeal pancakes are amazing; the spanakopitas are a favorite; and the salad bar is really delicious and fresh. I could live on a diet of BLTs. (nitrate-free!) I'm still having trouble with the strict-grandma attitude of many of the hosts toward the kids, though; it's tough to keep a 7-month-old and a 2-year-old quiet 100% of the time and sometimes the employees' patience wears thin before we have a chance to shush them.
Beaterville Cafe, 2201 N Killingsworth They have a ton of kids' books and big booths in back. Their food is cheap and delicious, their coffee is great, and they have lots of chickens and car parts on the walls. Last time I went Everett and a little girl he met there were jumping around the booths doing the chicken dance from Wiggles at the top of their lungs. No one batted an eye. Except, of course, my husband and Greta's mom, who were a little embarrassed. The servers and the other customers couldn't have cared less. It was awesome.
Urban Grind, 2214 NE Oregon It's really great, the coffee is EXCELLENT, best in town I think. They roast it there. My sister's pastor knows all the people who run it and they gave me a tour. It used to be a bakery and they got it super cheap - they wanted to open a church but it wasn't zoned for churches, they had to have a commercial enterprise. So they opened a coffee shop. They have a huge area in the back with lots of toys for kids that they use for a nursery on Sundays, you can take your kids back there if you ask. They have free wi-fi, super fast. They have excellent paninis. They roast their own beans. Big drawback - they're only open until 4 p.m., bad for working mamas.
They also have a meeting space if you want to have your next (tee hee) board meeting there. One of the pastor/founders is a concrete artist, he poured all the counters and the massive gorgeous table in the board room.
If you talk to them you can have birthday parties there, too. They're starting a catering business since they have such a huge kitchen. They're really busy idea people!
Laurelwood, NE 42nd and Sandy The servers are really friendly and good with kids. The food is good but expensive, and I think they try to be a little more upscale than they actually are - you know, the steak sounds way more gourmet than it really is? It's way too easy for a rambunctious kid to run behind the bar (like Everett tries to do every time we go). The beer is great - definitely a perfect place if you want to kick back and have a good time and not pay for childcare. The play area is too small, kids tend to get in disputes over the toys and the times Everett has played there, there have been much older kids taking things away from him (this is a parent issue, I know, not a restaurant issue, but would be solved if they had separate areas for the 2-and-under crowd).
My other issue with Laurelwood is that their kids' menu leaves something to be desired. I'd be willing to bet that everything available is straight from the freezer section at Costco, and they don't have any extraordinarily healthy options (orange mac and cheese is the most wholesome of the bunch). It's expensive, too. But...their beer is the best.
Old Chicago Pizza, SE 112th and Washington - when my husband worked nearby, we went a lot. They are really focused on being kid-friendly, and immediately bring out crayons and sippy cups. There is lots of room to run around, relatively safely. They have no play area but they have video games that kids can sit on and pretend to play for a while (Everett's favorite passtime there). They also have sports on TV so ball-crazy kids like Everett can sometimes be kept busy. It's not the best place in the world for kids, but it's pretty good.
You pick the Thai restaurant - Thai restaurants are SO kid friendly! Every time I go to a Thai place I lose my child b/c a waitress or waiter takes him away to play. The one on Woodstock (43rd?), on a Sunday afternoon, was so baby friendly that we hardly saw him at all the whole meal. We went in the back of the restaurant and discovered that one of the family members had their tiny new baby there, and the whole family had been playing with Everett and the baby while we ate. I went to one in Eugene during the state track meet, Everett was being a pill - the host and two waiters were totally focused for the next 10 minutes on getting him calmed down. They brought out a mega box of 64 crayons and drew pictures for him. They brought out a booster seat and a highchair so he could pick which one he wanted. They didn't get mad when he decided to take all the pillows off the seats in the reception area and put them on the floor for a "nap".
Sushi restaurants are often good for kids too, especially the ones with fish tanks. Yoko on Gladstone/30th has great kids' shrimp tempura and a really entertaining fish tank. Dragonfish on SW Park and 9th has a gigantic fish tank that can keep a kid occupied for hours.
Spaghetti Factory under the Marquam bridge- very indulgent with nursing mothers, always lots of kids running around. It's kid-friendly, but not perfect. The food is obviously ideal for kids (everyone loves pasta and ice cream), they bring out a little crayon-toy package and have those car-seat holders, and typically plenty of room between tables, but it's a nightmare when busy, as you have to wait forever, kids get cranky, crackers only go so far. The servers are nice but always teeny boppers and don't often get what it's like to be parents.
Chain restaurants of course all the chain restaurants are equipped for kids, with crayons and kids' menus and high chairs and the like, but one is just as good as another and the food is usually not the healthiest. Despite my many criticisms I think PB&E's is the best in town. If your schedule works with theirs, that is.
