Newk’s Express Café

Once there was a Chinese/Korean restaurant on University Drive where a friend from Malaysia suggested that I eat food from the non-English menu. She ordered us kimchi and seafood stew. She held up a rubbery chunk and said, “I don’t know what you call this in English, but when it’s alive in the sea, and it’s scared, it throws up its insides.” I said, “Oh, sea cucumber. Yum.” Not the best way to describe something while you’re eating it, but good to know.

This sea cucumber story is only relevant because now the building that I always associate with the disgusting habits of the sea cucumber is a restaurant called Newk’s. Because its name on the sign is written in a colorful, crayon-y, tilty font, I always assumed that it was a kiddie restaurant (kind of how I think of Red Robin now), with crayons at every table and balloons for all. But now I’ve been to one, and while it’s more grown-up than I expected, it’s still pretty kid-friendly.

The kids’ menu is pretty good. They have toasted cheese, ham and cheese, or turkey and cheese. The sandwiches come with chips or fruit—yay.  On the website (http://www.newkscafe.com/index.php/menu/category/little-newks-favorites/) fruit isn’t listed as a side, but on the menu on the restaurant wall it is. They also have cheese or pepperoni pizza. The pizzas don’t come with a side. The kids’ meals come with a drink (whole milk is available) in a plastic kiddie cup with a tight-fitting lid and a big straw. For grown-ups, they have sandwiches, salads, soup, and pizzas. My mom and I both had the pesto chicken sandwich. It had a LOT of goat cheese on it, but was good. And they have Orangina. Mmmm.

While we stared at the big menu on the wall, I asked Smalls what she wanted, pizza or a choo-mop (choo-mop = sandwich. Yes, I shouldn’t encourage mispronouncing words, but it’s so cute). She chose pizza, and the cheese pizza is very good. It didn’t taste like a Totino’s frozen pizza; it’s possible they made it just like their grown-up pizzas. Sometimes that’s not the case with the kids’ pizzas. It was big enough for two meals for Smalls. And I asked her if she liked the pizza, and she said yes. But, just to establish a baseline for her truthfulness, I asked her if she liked wolverines and rabies, and she said yes for both of those, too. I think she was just in a yes mood.

One logistics note, when you walk in, you order and pay at the counter. Then you have to get your drinks yourself, and find your own table and high chair (there were plenty of high chairs), so try to have a free hand or to do this or bring a friend to help out. They bring your food to your table when it’s ready, though, so that’s a plus.

Toddler friendliness ratings:

Atmosphere: 4 out of 5 booster seats. Lots of high chairs available, and a very casual atmosphere.

Food: 4 out of 5 booster seats. Glad to see fruit as a choice, even though we didn’t get it.

Newk’s Express Café

http://www.newkscafe.com/index.php

We visited the one on Whitesburg Drive, near Airport Road (851 Whitesburg Drive), but there's also one on University Drive (4925 University Drive, Suite 190).