You Don’t Need A “Kid’s Menu” To Be Kid-Friendly

I'll admit one of the main reasons we live in Brooklyn is the amazing food. The minute I sit down at a table at or , any stress from my day is instantly alleviated. It's my elixir.

The restaurants of Brooklyn have also kept my family well fed, while also providing my kids with an education on various types of cheeses, sauces and ethnic cuisines. My children's mouths have traveled to India, Italy, Cuba, China, Peru and Thailand without ever venturing more than a few blocks from our apartment. 

Truthfully, we eat out a lot. In fact we probably eat out too much. When my daughter was two years old, the preschool teacher handed out a holiday schedule to all the parents. My daughter asked, "Can I have a menu too?" She had no idea that paper could have any other meaning. What this means though, is that my children are great resources when searching for a kid-friendly restaurant in the hood.

And so in order to provide you with an authentic kid-friendly restaurant suggestion, I asked my children to pick the restaurant for Saturday night. They chose .  My son is obsessed with the sliders and my daughter loves their mac 'n cheese.

Although Apartment 138 doesn't have a kid's menu, the waiter did offer to make pasta, chicken fingers or grilled cheese for them. But kids don't need to be limited to those choices. The restaurant has an extensive selection of sliders (mini-hamburgers) ranging from veggie to fish. All sliders are $3. Most entrees are well under $20 and are the ideal size for two kids. The $8 side of mac 'n cheese is also big enough for two kids to share, making it extremely wallet friendly.

Apartment 138 is one of the restaurants that does a great job of being both kid and adult friendly while not sacrificing ambiance or feeling like a pediatrician's waiting room, which often happens in noted kid-friendly restaurants. The exposed brick wall, fireplace lit with candles, and the dim lights give you a sense that you are in an establishment that caters to grown ups.

Of course there is a playful edge, the downstairs features a pool table, foosball and an arcade game.

In the summer, we love to dine on the large shaded wooden patio. Many times, as we walked through the downstairs' game room onto the patio, I would see elementary school aged kids in an intense game of pool or playing a video game.

This Saturday we sat at a table with a friend and the kids enjoyed their food while we talked and ate. The couple across from us had a toddler and at another table there was a couple with two older kids. Abundant signs pointed to the family friendly vibe. In the bathroom, there was a changing table. However, they don't have a kid's menu, which might make folks think it isn't kid-friendly.

Personally, I am not a fan of the kid's menu, and tend to have my kids order appetizers or split entrees. Of course there are some great and inventive kid's menus in the hood. But kids menus or not, these are some of my kids and their friend's favorite spots in the hood, besides Apartment 138.

Honestly, there are too many too name, so I just included a few of our special places. If you have any to add, please leave it in the comments section. I'd love to hear all about it. 

Here's to a night without having to do the dishes. Mangia!

• : My kids and their friend's love the meatballs and gnocchi. My kids also enjoy the crostini.
• : My daughter's favorite breakfast spot in the neighborhood. She loves the yogurt & granola, French Toast and their biscuits. I enjoy the strong coffee.
• Lucali (Henry Street): The entire family loves the pizza and calzones. It's a favorite amongst our friends, too.
• 5 Burro Cafe: I loved this place when it was in Forest Hills, so I was so happy when they opened a second restaurant in the old Pit Stop space on Columbia Street. In the summer, the restaurant is packed with kids. My children love the quesadillas.