Factory Girl

I was headed to the east end of the city to meet a friend, and I must admit I am not too familiar with this part of the city, so obviously I had to try eating at a restaurant in the area. It was raining, so I ducked into one of the first places that caught my eye.

Restaurant: Factory Girl
Location: Riverdale
Meal: Lunch
Day: Tuesday
Son's Age: 9 months

The menu here is Italian but the vibe is clearly rock 'n' roll. There are posters on the walls of all the great rock stars and the music is all classic rock. Did I mention that my son is a Bon Jovi fan? I was a bit apprehensive about how receptive the staff would be to a baby, but thought I'd try my luck anyway.

Accessibility: ⭐
The setup is not designed to be stroller friendly at all. For starters, there is a step at the front or before you enter. At least I was able to get a high chair for my son.

Yes, his shirt says "(future) foodie", in case you were wondering. Since there wasn't enough room for him to sit beside me and keep the stroller at the table, his stroller was moved to the front. 

The washroom is also located downstairs, and there is no change table provided. At best, you could use the counter between the sinks. 

I don't know that the space is wide enough, and your baby cannot be super mobile. One other thing to note if you are trying to avoid exposing your baby to screen time: there are TVs everywhere, and there is really nowhere your baby can sit without being able to see one, whereas every other restaurant I've been to with TV screens still had a space or two without one. 

Service: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

What the place lacks in accessibility is certainly made up for by the service. When I first arrived, my server helped me navigate into the restaurant and initially parked the stroller beside my table. Once he realized I wanted my son beside me (I can't reach across the table to feed him), he offered to move my stroller for me. It turns out that there is a kids' menu, so I suspect the staff is prepared to work with families. The server also brought hot water for my son's food. 

While the cup looks small, it was just big enough for me to fit my baby cube in. The server offered to find something wider but since this worked fine, I figured it was easier to keep a small cup away from my son's wandering fingers than a large bowl. My server also checked in with me regularly to make sure I had everything I needed, and he nicely interacted with my son as well. 

Food: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I have to be honest - when I opened the menu, nothing popped out at me and I was worried the food would be dull. I noticed, however, that the mac and cheese appetizer was described as "almost famous", and since it was lunch time I figured an appetizer portion would be substantial enough. 

So we need to talk about this mac and cheese, because oh my God. It's rigatoni, alfredo sauce, mushrooms, diced tomatoes, mozzarella, cheddar, and bread crumbs. I ordered it with the optional house made spicy sausage. As you can see, this is not your traditional mac and cheese, and it was amazing. Everything just worked together, and the sausage added a touch of heat. I was right about the portion being good for lunch but I also wished there was more because I didn't want to stop eating. If you are in the area, I highly recommend you try this. 

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐½

The restaurant itself isn't very accessible or, in my opinion, suitable for babies and strollers, but if you are in the area, the service and the food will make the visit worthwhile.