The Beet

I know it seems like it has taken me so long to come back to the Beet with my son, but for full disclosure, I actually come here a lot for takeout. This time, I happened to be in the area for a La Leche League meeting (breastfeeding moms - seriously, check these out, they are so worth it) so I decided to stop by for lunch.

Restaurant: The Beet

Location: The Junction

Meal: Lunch

Day: Tuesday

Son's Age: 9 months

The restaurant is quite small, located inside an old TD Bank building, so I suspect on a busier day I would be asked to park my stroller outside. Luckily, on a winter Tuesday, there was enough room for me, my baby, and the stroller.

Accessibility: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is still great for accessibility as it is stroller friendly, with automatic doors and a ramp to enter the building, and the washroom has a change table. They also have Ikea high chairs, which are my favourite.

That's right - the high chair even comes with its own tray and insert. I'm not sure how well they clean the tray, but that's why I always come prepared with wipes.

Service: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The servers were extremely friendly and understanding, and they were happy to interact with my son and let him play with the menu when he didn't want to let go of it. They were very helpful in getting me to my table and parking my stroller next to me, and they remained pleasant the entire time, even when my son was making a mess (more on that later).

Food: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I actually wanted to order something different from my last post just to provide variety, but I am obsessed with their loaded avocado combo.

The avocado is stuffed with brown coconut Thai rice and veggies, and the combo is served with the daily soup, house salad (that chilli-cilantro dressing!), and toast with house pesto (not made with nuts!). Unfortunately, I'm a little behind on my blog posts so I actually don't remember what kind of soup I had, but it was delicious, and everything is healthy so you can feel good about yourself when you eat here. What really puts this place over the top, though, is the baby menu.

That's right - I didn't even have to bring food for my son. The nibbler platter includes chicken (or tofu), avocado (or cheese), potatoes, and apples. This is the perfect portion for my son, who loves to feed himself. Everything is served at room temperature and unseasoned, and because the high chair had its own tray, my son was able to pick up his own food, which allowed me to use both my hands to eat my own meal! As a warning, the menu specifically advertises this to be served with sweet potato, and as you can see, these are regular white potatoes. Personally, I am okay with this and didn't even realize the discrepancy until after the fact, but if your baby is really looking forward to sweet potatoes, make sure you mention it when you order this. If your baby is eating solids but hasn't started finger foods yet, they also do purees.

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is pretty much the perfect place to take your baby. The food is so healthy and the restaurant is so baby friendly that you don't even have to pack baby food. 

Farmhouse Tavern

Finally made it into the new year! My mom and sister wanted to have brunch together for New Year's, and since I had a good experience at Farmhouse Tavern, we decided to return.

Restaurant: Farmhouse Tavern
Location: The Junction
Meal: Brunch
Day: Sunday
Son's Age: 9 months

Similar to my last experience, it seems that lots of families bring their babies here for brunch, so we felt very comfortable bringing my son.

Accessibility: ⭐⭐⭐
Obviously, the accessibility of the restaurant wasn't going to change, although this time I actually put my baby in the high chair.

Washrooms are still not great and even though people bring their strollers in here, it's not exactly stroller friendly.

Service: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The service was very consistent with our last visit - still prepared to deal with the baby and still very friendly, but I could still have used some more coffee refills.

Food: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This time I took a photo of my food, which is why I decided to write another blog post despite my last visit being so recent. I ordered the eggs in a nest, which are poached eggs nested in a butternut squash, served with a side of salad.

I also added bacon, which lined the holes in the squash and surrounded the eggs. Conceptually, I love the idea of the bacon nestled in there, as the bacon flavour melts into the squash, which would otherwise be very light for brunch. While overall it was delicious, my only qualm was the distribution of the bacon - the majority of the bacon was under one of the eggs, with only a few pieces under the other. I started eating the egg with less bacon and thought I had been ripped off before realizing halfway through that the rest of the bacon was under the next egg. That aside, the combination makes for a very satisfying brunch, and the salad is very light and fresh and makes the perfect complement.

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐½
While the restaurant itself isn't as baby friendly as other locations, the service and the food balance it out, and it's clearly good enough for me to come back within the month!

Jamie's Italian

Just because you have a baby doesn't mean that you can't celebrate New Year's Eve! To be fair, I actually rang in the new year at home, watching the ball drop on TV (yes I saw Mariah's "performance") and sipping champagne quietly while my son was asleep in his crib. BUT I still wanted to have a good dinner to say goodbye to 2016, and we knew Jamie's Italian would be both delicious and baby friendly so we went back to one of our favourite spots.

Restaurant: Jamie's Italian
Location: Yorkdale
Meal: dinner
Day: Saturday
Son's Age: 9 months

Another perk about Jamie's Italian is that it is attached to Yorkdale, which has covered parking, which means I don't have to worry about running through an outdoor parking lot in the snow with my baby. Jamie's also had a special New Year's Eve prix fixe menu for the evening.

Accessibility: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Obviously we have been here multiple times so you can refer to my other blog posts for details about accessibility, but this is pretty much as good as it gets. They also allowed us to park our stroller next to our table, even though they had brought a high chair for my son.

I love the little NYE message they had on the chalk board, and as you can see, my son was pretty excited too. 

Service: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The servers are always prepared to work with families that have babies. They were extremely helpful and attentive, and they brought a bowl of hot water for me to heat my son's lunch up as well. 

The server was also smart enough to place the bowl of hot water on the exact opposite side of the table from where the baby was sitting. 

Food: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The prix fixe menu actually came with a glass of prosecco, which is exactly what I wanted to kick off  our New Year's Eve dinner. 

For my appetizer, I had the egg raviolo with mushrooms and Parmesan. 

This was fantastic! When you cut into the raviolo, the egg yolk just oozes out like a delicious sauce. The pasta tasted fresh, as was to be expected given that they make the pasta in house. The mushrooms and cheese were just the perfect complement. Next I ordered the branzino.  

It doesn't look special in the photo but the fish was perfectly cooked and the flavours were not overwhelming. Finally, the dessert was served family style, and my husband and I ordered the panettone. 

This tasted like a cross between a fruit cake and a bread pudding, and I mean that in a good way. It was such a pleasant way to end a beautiful meal, although I do acknowledge that I would have preferred if we could order our own separate desserts.

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

There's a reason why I keep coming back here, and that's because, not only is the restaurant food amazing, but I always feel at ease bringing my baby here, so it's not like we are disturbing a romantic meal for anyone. 

The Good Fork

After a successful morning of Boxing Day shopping (yes I know, I'm still in December), my sister and I met up with my husband and son for brunch at the Good Fork.

Restaurant: The Good Fork
Location: Bloor West Village
Meal: Brunch
Day: Monday
Son's Age: 8 months

Yes, this is another repeat visit. I love coming here but I hate that they don't take reservations for brunch. Luckily, we didn't have to wait long, and there is a Timothy's down the street whose customer base I'm pretty sure includes a lot of people waiting for their table at the Good Fork.

Accessibility: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Obviously the accessibility still hasn't changed - the entrance is wheelchair (and stroller!) accessible and there is an accessible washroom with a change table. This time, I didn't bring the stroller, so we were seated upstairs and given a high chair.

They provided my son with a kids' menu which I think he decided was a new toy. 

Service: ⭐⭐⭐
Our server was extremely friendly and very approachable, and she seemed to find my son adorable, which is always a plus for me. That said, she also seemed very forgetful. I asked her for milk with my coffee several times before finally getting it when I asked a different server - each time she would apologize profusely, then say she's going to get it right now...and then forget again. She was also very forgetful at bringing coffee refills (did I mention I spent the morning Boxing Day shopping? Mommy needs her coffee!), which also required me to flag down another server. I asked how big a portion was in the menu and she kept emphasizing that I shouldn't worry because my baby definitely wouldn't be hungry. He's a baby - he doesn't need a lot of food, but my questions were more about whether the food was baby appropriate and if it might be too much, which she didn't understand. The kids' meals also come with a cup of juice, which she kept saying was so great, and then forgot to bring it until I asked (not that I give my baby juice, but if it comes with juice my husband will drink that!). I do want to point out that this kind of service is not typically what I encounter here, but it does seem like this server in particular could use a notepad.

Food: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I'm starting to think I need to hire a food photographer because clearly I am not getting this job done. I ordered the Nova Scotia benny with smoked salmon and fresh dill with a side of salad, and my photo did not turn out but it was delicious. The eggs were perfectly runny and the hollaindaise was rich, while the salad was a refreshing complement (if you hate salad for brunch, there's an option of home fries, too). Of course, I had to get a side of my favourite red velvet pancakes!

For my son, we decided to order a grilled cheese on multigrain toast with a side of fruit.

This is definitely a kid portion and not a baby portion, in case you are wondering. My son loves to chew on proper food (he's totally over puréed food now), and he is obsessed with fruit, cheese, and bread, so I knew we couldn't go wrong. No, he did not eat the whole thing, although he did polish off the fruit. I wouldn't generally recommend ordering off the menu for a baby, but if you are so inclined, the fruit is fresh and the grilled cheese is very simple, so this probably isn't a bad meal to get for your child.

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½
Even with the questionable service, this restaurant is a fantastic place to take your baby for brunch. The food is excellent and bringing your baby is so convenient. Plus, the atmosphere is casual enough that people won't really blink an eye if your baby decides to be fussy. 

Asian Legend

I mentioned in my last post that I was a bit behind in my blog, so I'm going to try to bang out a couple of entries today. And I'm so behind that I am currently about to write about Christmas. It is now February. Again, so sorry!

Restaurant: Asian Legend
Location: Scarborough
Meal: Lunch
Day: Sunday
Son's Age: 8 months

I was having lunch with my in-laws on Christmas day, and while many places are closed, Chinese restaurants are typically still open. Don't worry, we had a big Christmas dinner at my in-laws' house that evening also - I am not one of those miserable people that goes out for Chinese food on Christmas because I have no other options (that's a movie, right? I vaguely recall hearing about this on a Top Chef episode...). Anyway, my in-laws really like Asian Legend, so that's where we ended up.

Accessibility: ⭐⭐
You can find my previous blog post about Asian Legend to read about accessibility, but obviously this has not changed - there is still no space to change a baby. The new development, however, is that I discovered that they have high chairs available!

If you do come here, though,l please double check your high chair. They brought us one where the buckle was broken and we had to request a new one.

Service: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I found our server to be very attentive - he was quick to bring us a high chair, and upon discovering that it was not functional, he immediately brought out a new one. He also brought us a bowl of hot water to heat my son's food.

I admit the bowl is comically large considering I'm heating up a 2 oz baby cube, but it got the job done. The server checked in with us several times throughout the lunch to make sure we had everything we needed for the baby, as well as extra napkins, which I found to be very thoughtful.

Food: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
We ended up ordering several dishes, and probably way more than we needed. We started with some fried dumplings and green onion pancake.

You can't go wrong with either of these dishes, in my opinion, as they are both Shanghai classics. We also ordered the rice cakes with shrimp and pork again.

Still delicious, obviously, since we always order this one. This time, we also ordered a ja jeung mein, or as the menu calls it, minced pork with noodles in peking sauce.

In case you're wondering, yes, this is the original dish that inspired the Korean version of jja jang myun, but made with minced pork and shredded cucumber. It was very satisfying, but don't order it thinking of the Korean dish because it's not same. We also got some fried noodles with chicken.

I have to be honest - this one is not my favourite. It's quite bland, it pales in comparison to the other dishes, and given how much we ordered, it was highly unnecessary. I think we decided we needed to offset the saucy noodles, since we also got some dan dan noodles in peanut sauce.

It's funny - I always forget about dan dan noodles and then get very excited when it's put in front of me. It's delicious, and if you like peanuts, you definitely need to try this sometime. Of course, no visit to a Northern Chinese restaurant is complete without xiao long bao!

Classic pork dumplings with soup - always hits the spot!

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐½
It's definitely possible to bring your baby to this restaurant, since there are high chairs and the food is delicious and served family style. The setup and decor of Asian Legend is also more comfortable and less intimidating than other Chinese restaurants, if you are trying Shanghai food for the first time, but the food is still very good. That being said, if your baby needs a diaper change, it is probably more convenient to run out to your car than to use the washroom there.

Farmhouse Tavern

Full disclosure: I'm super behind on my blog posts for a really stupid reason. I thought I had a food photo that I had taken on my husband's phone and was waiting for him to send it back to me. Turns out, I had only taken a blurry photo of the side of the table, which is why he didn't know what I was talking about when I asked him for it. Apologies for the delay, but now, let's get to it!

Restaurant: Farmhouse Tavern
Location: The Junction
Meal: Brunch
Day: Saturday
Son's Age: 8 months

I was meeting a friend for brunch, and with a baby in tow, that means finding a good brunch place that takes reservations. We decided to stay in the neighbourhood and go to Farmhouse Tavern. This restaurant is a great local spot with an ever changing menu. The place has a bit of a rustic feel to it, including mismatched coffee mugs.

Accessibility: ⭐⭐⭐
I came here a lot before I had a baby, and I swear I don't remember seeing so many high chairs here before. I actually brought my son in his car seat thinking that I would need to have it perched on a chair. Luckily, high chairs actually flip over to accommodate car seats.

There are steps to get in, so while people did bring in their stroller, it isn't an easy feat. Additionally, there are no change tables in the washroom.

The good news is that the toilet seat has a lid, so you can lower it and change your baby there. And yes, if you have been reading all my posts, I have been getting less picky about my definition of "accessible washrooms" when it comes to change tables, but it's one of the things I'm learning about as a first time mom.

Service: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The server was definitely prepared to have a baby at the restaurant, which is always helpful. They also brought a bowl of hot water for me to heat up my son's lunch.

I could have used some more frequent coffee refills, but otherwise, the server was happy to explain the menu to us and for the most part left us alone to enjoy good food and conversation.

Food: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I always rate the food based on the specific experience I have here, so based on this particular visit, I'd give the food four stars. As I explained earlier, I do not have a photo, but I ordered the mother and child reunion for brunch, which in this case, was a breaded duck egg over a duck rillette and a potato hash. Now, I have to emphasize that they are constantly changing their menu, and I hadn't been here in quite some time, so I knocked off a star partially because of expectation - the last time I had come for brunch, the mother and child reunion was two duck eggs and duck prosciutto served with salad. To be fair, this new creation was significantly more filling, and it was still tasty, but I was slightly disappointed because I had expected something different. The server did explain it properly, so I was aware that the description had changed when I ordered, but I suppose I was really hoping to be blown away. That being said, the duck egg is perfect - the yolk is nice and runny, and I think it has been poached first and then fried, which is just lovely and does pair quite nicely with the hash.

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐½
The accessibility of this restaurant makes it slightly inconvenient to bring your baby, but the food and service are good, and the ability to make a reservation for brunch in Toronto is a big bonus. I'd recommend coming here if you want some good local food for brunch but want to avoid the crazy wait times.

Barque Smokehouse

Happy New Year! I'm actually going to kick off the new year with a revisit, but my cousins wanted to get together for the holidays and we decided to choose a restaurant that we knew would be baby friendly, so we ended up at Barque Smokehouse.

Restaurant: Barque Smokehouse
Location: Roncesvalles
Meal: Dinner
Day: Sunday
Son's Age: 8 months

This post will be pretty short since I have actually been here before, and to be honest I was debating whether I should even do another post, but since I did order something different, I figured it was only fair to give a new assessment.

Accessibility: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This will pretty much never change unless a restaurant relocated or renovated, but the place is still very baby friendly (refer to my last blog post for photos). They provided my son with a high chair and a plastic cup (although he doesn't know how to use a cup yet, but the point is that they were prepared in case he was). The washroom has a change table and a diaper pail, so from an accessibility standpoint, this is everything you can ask for.

Service: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Service here is also still stellar, as the servers are more than prepared to work with babies. They were very prompt in serving us and were also happy to refill our popcorn - I suppose they are also accustomed to dealing with extremely hungry people.

Food: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The food was still fantastic as ever. Since we were a large party, we were able to order the "meet meat platter", which included the infamous 12 hour brisket, pommery pulled pork, caraway stout sausages, competition chicken thighs, and baby back ribs.

I unfortunately did not take any other photos, but we also ordered the Cajun mac and cheese and the green beans. Everything was absolutely delicious - the meat is so succulent and I really can't decide what my favourite thing is. The meat platter is advertised for four people but to be honest we divided it amongst six people and were stuffed! You certainly get your money's worth here and, as I'm sure I've mentioned before, this is my favourite place for barbecue in the city.

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
What did you expect? Baby friendly, fabulous service, and amazing food, plus they take reservations so you don't have to wait for 45 minutes with a baby in tow. I highly recommend coming here even if you don't have a baby, but the overall experience is great if you do.