Taqueria El Cazador 2

Me: So... we're going to eat in a bus restaurant for lunch today.
Smalls: I don't want to!

Well, we did anyway, and it was fun.

Taqueria El Cazador #2 is the bus that's parked on Governors Drive in Huntsville. They have another location at 10099 South Memorial Parkway.

We had a good experience, but you can be more prepared than I was (which is always a good thing when you have a toddler with you). Here's what you do: first, you go up into the bus. There are about ten seats inside, counter-style, facing the windows. They were mostly full when we got there at 11:45 on a Friday. Next, you order at the counter that separates the back 1/3 of the bus, which is the kitchen, from the dining area. You pay, then you get a ticket with a number. Pick up your napkins and utensils from inside. Then you go sit and wait inside the bus (we would have enjoyed sitting in the bus, but it was mostly full) or outside, on the covered picnic table. Then they call your number, and if you're outside, an employee hands you your order through a window in the bus (that was neat).

While waiting for our food at the picnic table outside:
Smalls: I thought the bus was going to be moving while we ate!
Me: Oh, well, it doesn't. It stays here.
Smalls: Why does it have wheels, then?

Smalls and I shared a chicken quesadilla plate and a bottle of water. It was $6. The drink choices are bottled water, Coke, and Jarritos. As far as I could tell, there's no kids' menu, and most of the choices were like combo plates, so I don't know if you can order, say, one cheese quesadilla or something (which is what Smalls likes at Mexican restaurants). But Smalls loved the quesadilla we shared (she said it was "forty" good--I think that's a lot).

You can eat here with your toddlers, and you should because the food is good (for grownups, at least), and it's fun to eat food cooked in a bus. But bring another adult with you, and go on a warm day, so one of you can stay outside of the bus with the kids while the other goes inside to order. It was a little tight waiting to order in the bus, and I didn't want to annoy anyone sitting at the counter/window seats. You can take the kids in one at a time if they're curious, so they can see the bus restaurant and say they've done it. But there's no room for playing around or pretending you're a pigeon that wants to drive the bus or anything. You know, normal things people want to do on buses.

Bathroom report: None.

Toddler friendliness ratings:
Atmosphere: 2.5 out of 5. There's not much room to maneuver with a toddler inside the bus.
Food: 3 out of 5. Smalls liked the chicken quesadilla, but I didn't see a way to get smaller portions. Sharing off your plate might be the way to go.

Taqueria El Cazador #2
3414 Governors Drive
Huntsville, AL
(256) 698-8682
Hours: 10:00 AM - 10:00 PM

5 A's

5 A's is a Greek/Mediterranean restaurant on 53 in Harvest. It used to be the (J)iffy Mart gas station and convienence store, but got a total revamp a year or two ago. It's also really good. Beardy, Smalls, and I have been there several times; Grandma, Smalls, and I went recently for lunch; and we've gotten take-away there once for dinner. I've never been disappointed. 

5A's is on 53 in Harvest, north of Publix.

I've gotten the traditional gyro (meat cone!), and the chicken gyro, and both are so good. The tzatziki sauce is wonderful. They do have a kids' menu, and the standout is the hot dog. Really. They slash it and grill it, and it is really better than you think it's going to be (comes out really hot, though). We've also gotten Smalls the veggie pizza, and it was too big for her to finish alone, but she loved it. Yes, Beardy and I sampled it, too. I think the crust is the same pita bread they make the gyros on (that's a good thing). 

Smalls thinks the dolmades look like... um... poop. But that's a 3-year-old's opinion. They taste fine. Let's move on. 

The hot dog is better than you think it's going to be.

Overall, this is a great toddler-friendly place. The owner is always so nice to Smalls, and the atmosphere is very casual.

Bathroom report: Clean. 2 stalls. No changing table. Bonus: you get to walk through a beaded curtain to get there.

Toddler friendliness ratings
Atmosphere: 4 out of 5 booster seats.
Food: 3 out of 5 booster seats. Healthy side choices would be better than fries only. Veggie sticks, pita wedges, and hummus?

5 A's
6297 Highway 53
Harvest, AL 35749

http://www.5asrestaurant.com
Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 10:30 AM - 9:00 PM
Sunday 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Closed Mondays

Red Robin

Dear Red Robin, 

Thank you for having so many choices of sides on the kids' menu. 

Your friend,

Uppies and Cuppies

Smalls, Grandma, Aunt W, Smalls's cousin Jo, and I went to Red Robin for lunch yesterday. It was the last day of spring break and it was actually not raining or snowing and it's above 55 degrees, so everyone was out at Bridge Street. We had to wait about 25 minutes to get in, but it wasn't that bad. We watched Harlem Shake videos and chatted, and before we knew it, our name was called.

Just look at this: Mandarin oranges, salad, apples, baby carrots, broccoli, fruit salad. Nice.

Red Robin is loud. It may only be loud when it's busy, but I've actually never been when it's not busy, so I wouldn't know. But I couldn't hear Smalls talk, and she was next to me. It was like she was a baby  chick: "Cheep, cheep... Cheep? CHEEP!" So, that's good and bad. As Aunt W pointed out, your kids can be going crazy and no one else will know or care. Also, there's a TV in the floor in the waiting area. We got crayons and an activity sheet when we sat down. There are some kids' activities on their website, and you can look at the kids' menu there, too.

Smalls got the mac and cheese and Mandarin oranges. The mac and cheese was mostly sauce; it was meh... ok. The grown-up food is pretty good: good burgers (I like the turkey burger) and salads and chicken sandwiches.

Bathroom report: clean, two stalls. I didn't check for a changing table in the larger stall--the bathroom was crowded during the last day of spring break.

Toddler friendliness ratings:
Atmosphere: 4.5 out of 5. Casual, noisy, crayons provided.
Food: 4 out of 5. Thank you for that broccoli, Red Robin, but watch the sauce-to-noodle ratio on that mac and cheese.

Red Robin, Bridge Street
(256) 327-8530
Hours: Sunday-Thursday 11:00 AM - 11:00 PM
Friday and Saturday 11:00 AM - Midnight

Chuck Wagon BBQ

Smalls and I just experienced our first visit to Chuck Wagon BBQ in Madison. It was Beardy's birthday, and he'd been wanting us to meet him there for lunch for a while. But you can't just show up to the Chuck Wagon. One does not simply walk into the Chuck Wagon. He had a plan--we'd snag a table right at 11 when they open, while he stood in line. At one point I texted him to let him know I wanted the coleslaw instead of potato salad. This plan was necessary, because there are only about nine tables inside (there are more in a covered patio area, but it was cold Monday), and the line is long. People start getting in line before they open for lunch. We were early enough to get a booth, (the style of which reminded me of the booths they used to have at the skating rink when I was little. Smalls did enough squirming during this meal. Thank God she wasn't on skates, too.)

I love that green cow... steer? Bull? Cow.

When the tables do fill up, it's hard to move around, especially with a toddler or a baby, and you wouldn't want to stand in line while corralling a kid. So, do what we did and snag a table and have someone in line. Or get your lunch or dinner to go and enjoy it at home.

First time I've seen jeans-butt seat covers. Also plastic covered. The fact that the chairs had pockets is still amusing Smalls.

The food is great, though. It's BBQ meats (brisket, chicken, ribs, sausage) and sides (corn on the cob, coleslaw, potato salad, beans). I had brisket and mild sausage, beans, and coleslaw (vinegar-based, not mayo). I brought a lunch from home for Smalls (which kept her busy at the table while Beardy was in line), but thought she'd like to try the sausage, which is why Beardy got me the mild one. She ended up eating about half of my sausage, bread, and some beans. The spicy sausage is good, too, and I don't even like baked beans, but I liked these. Beardy says the person serving the food (it's sort of cafeteria-style) scrapes the brisket ends into the beans all day as he serves the brisket (yeah, so the beans are NOT vegetarian). 

Bathroom report: The women's is a single (meaning toilet and sink are all in there together--no stalls). There's no changing table.

More jeans decor on the bathroom doors.

Toddler friendliness ratings

Atmosphere: 2 out of 5 booster seats (too crowded to accommodate younger kids).

Food: 3.5 out of 5 booster seats. Personally I think the BBQ is great, but the menu is limited to meats and a few sides.

Chuck Wagon BBQ
8982 Madison Boulevard
Madison, AL 35758
(256) 772-5179
Hours: 11:00 AM-2:30 PM, 5:00 PM-8:00 PM (but check their Facebook site for updates to the hours. I think they're on "winter" hours right now.)

Uppies and Cuppies on the Road: NYC

Smalls, Beardy, and I took a trip to New York City over Thanksgiving this year. We were a little nervous about hauling a two-year old through airports, and then around the city for a week, but the trip went great. We found an apartment to rent on VRBO.com instead of trying to all pack into a tiny NYC hotel room. That was good, too because we could cook there if we wanted, or go out. We did plenty of both. I carried a container of apple slices and carrot and celery sticks the whole time, just in case we ended up at a restaurant Smalls didn’t like, but mostly she did fine. Here are some highlights of our dining adventures.

Sabor a Mexico

This is a small Mexican restaurant in the Yorkville area near the apartment we rented. We went on a Tuesday night, and we were the only people there, but it looks like they do a lot of delivery and take out. It was perfectly comfortable for dining in, though. We had an assortment of tacos (very good), and shared the chicken ones with Smalls. She seemed happy with the tacos and the chips and salsa.

This is Buzz Lightyear's fist. The closest we got to seeing the Macy's parade was looking at the inflated balloons the day before the parade.

Chinatown

We had lunch at Old Shanghai Deluxe because it was there and it was not crowded. The restaurant was big and not crowded, so there was plenty of room for us and our coats and scarves and bags and stroller and everything. We got sesame noodles for Smalls (the ones I make at home are better) and soup dumplings, noodles with beef in broth, and General Tso’s chicken. The food was ok but not great, but it was a good place to sit, relax, spread out, and warm up at lunchtime.

Afterwards, we went to the Original Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, just down the street from the restaurant. Smalls got strawberry, I got green tea, and Beardy got lychee sorbet (dairy free). There’s nowhere to sit inside, so walk up Bayard Street to Columbus Park to eat your ice cream. There are plenty of benches and you can watch people play mahjong and card games at the tables. Even if it’s only 50 about degrees.

This lovely elephant can be found across the street from the Original Chinatown Ice Cream Factory on Bayard Street.

Fatty Fish

This one was an adventure (or I thought it might be—it turned out pretty tame). Smalls and I met one of my friends from high school here for lunch on Saturday, and Beardy stayed at the apartment to watch the Iron Bowl (that’s the Alabama vs. Auburn football game. It’s kind of a big deal). So I rode the bus by myself with Smalls and a stroller, and it went fine. Someone even held the bus door open as we got out, and other passengers gave us the “she’s so cute” as Smalls nodded off on the bus ride back to the apartment. Smalls ate yakisoba (just noodles) and my friend and I ate sushi and talked for about two and a half hours. Smalls ate the noodles and put sparkly taxi and bus stickers on paper the whole time (really! I was amazed). I probably wouldn’t recommend Fatty Fish for a dinner with kids, because the restaurant wasn’t that big, but for a late lunch on a Saturday, it wasn’t crowded, so it was just fine. The sushi was very good.

Sabor a Mexico

1744 1st Ave, New York, NY 10128

(212) 289-2641

Old Shanghai Deluxe

50 Mott St

(between Pell St & Bayard St)

New York, NY

(212) 566-4884

http://www.oldshanghairestaurant.com

Original Chinatown Ice Cream Factory

65 Bayard Street

New York, NY 10013

(212) 608-4170

http://www.chinatownicecreamfactory.com

Fatty Fish

406 East 64 Street, New York, NY 10065

1 212 813 9338

http://www.fattyfishnyc.com

A couple extra:

Uno Chicago Grill

http://www.unos.com

This is a chain and we ate at the location behind the Natural History museum (432 Columbus Avenue). They have a kids' menu, a huge dining room, and calorie counts on the menu.

Mole Mexican Bar and Grill

http://www.molenyc.com

We actually ate at the UES location twice--once for dinner and once for lunch. No kids' menu, but good margaritas.

Below the Radar

Beardy, Smalls, and I went to Below the Radar last Saturday for lunch. We'd just come back from the Scottsboro Hardwood Center, and were on our way to the military surplus store, so all we needed was a good lunch to make the day truly exciting. Below the Radar is billing itself as "Huntsville's First Brewhouse," a slogan I like because that implies that there will be more. 

I checked BTR's website on the way back to Huntsville, and saw that they did have a kids' menu, and they had fish and chips, which sealed the deal for Beardy. We got there at about 11:45, and there were about four tables full, and one or two people at the bar. It stayed about like this for the whole time we were there, so it wasn't too crowded. The TV's were showing football, which made Beardy even happier. We were offered a highchair, but we just let Smalls sit in a chair. They have some barstool-height tables and some table-height tables. 

The kids' menu looks good--baked cheesy penne, grilled cheese, chicken fingers, and hot dogs. Everything is $5. Smalls opted for the grilled cheese and fries. She ate half of it there, and then ate the other half for dinner. I did the same thing with my sandwich (Cuban panini--which was very good, but I'm not sure it was Cuban or a panini.). Beardy liked his fish and chips, and the waitress offered him malt vinegar before he had to ask. The fish and chips was $11 and the panini was $10.

They have a great selection of beer, including local beer. Beardy and I tried Straight to Ale's Stop Work 689 Kolsch and Old Black Bear Cave City lager. I liked the Straight to Ale better.

Lunchtime on a Saturday felt kid-friendly, and I'm guessing their Sunday brunch and maybe early dinnertime would be, too. It may get a little too bar-like for a late dinner, though. We plan to leave Smalls with Grandma soon and find out. You know, just in the name of research.

Bathroom report: Very clean with two stalls (one is large), one sink, and no changing table.

Toddler friendliness ratings
Atmosphere: 3.5 out of 5 booster seats. 
Food: 4 out of 5 booster seats. The children's menu is good, but I'd like to see some fruit or veggie sides.

Below the Radar Brewhouse
220 Holmes Ave. N.E.
Huntsville, AL  35801

Hours:
Monday-Thursday 11:00 AM-10:00 PM
Friday and Saturday 11:00 AM-12:00 AM
Sunday 11:00 AM-10:00 PM

Watercress at Bridge Street

I had a birthday last Wednesday, and Grandma took Smalls and me out to lunch. Because it was a special occasion, and because I needed to spend the gift certificate to Anthropologie that Grandma gave me RIGHT THIS INSTANT, I chose Watercress. Watercress is an upscale restaurant in Bridge Street, down near the Monaco movie theater. Beardy and I have been to their former location in a converted house downtown, but this was my first visit to the one at Bridge Street.

This is not somewhere I'd take Smalls for dinner, and I only chose it for lunch because it was a special occasion. The other clientele were people having business lunches, and there were no other kids. Smalls was incredibly good; the only unnecessary noise she made was RAWR-ing a little too loud when she was pretending to be a dinosaur, and she dialed it down when I told her to. And she put her napkin on her head a lot, but that didn't make any noise.

Quiet, napkiny hijinks.

If you do want to try Watercress, and want to brave it with the kids, go at lunch (or Sunday brunch), and look at the sides menu for more kid-friendly food. I packed Smalls a lunch and ordered her a side of pommes frites, which she liked a lot, of course. Pommes frites just sound better than french fries, don't they? She also ate the broccoli that I snuck onto her plate. The lunch prices are also more reasonable than the dinner prices. You can view the dinner menu here and the lunch one here.

Grandma got the shrimp and grits (mini review: the shrimp and grits at the Classic on Noble in Anniston is better), and I got fried catfish on a cornmeal pancake (looked almost as weird as it sounds, but tasted pretty good). If only they had kept that catfish bites appetizer they had downtown. Beardy and I TOLD the chef not to take them off the menu, but maybe they didn't listen to the ramblings of patrons who may have had a little too much wine.

I like Watercress, and I don't like giving it low ratings. Remember that these ratings are for those times when you have your kids with you. If this blog was for upscale restaurants to go to without kids, I'd give it much higher ratings.

Toddler friendliness ratings
Atmosphere: 2 out of 5 booster seats. Our waitress was really nice to Smalls, Grandma, and me at lunch, and she even poured Smalls' water straight from her pitcher into Smalls' sippy cup, and that impressed me for some reason, but it's just not set up for kids.
Food: 2.5 out of 5 booster seats. No kids' menu, and it's pricey, so if your kid doesn't like their fancy grilled cheese and tomato soup, you're out $10.

Lunch: Monday-Saturday 11:00 AM-5:00 PM
Dinner: Monday-Saturday 3:00 PM-Close
Sunday brunch: Sunday 11:00 AM-3:30 PM (Closed for dinner Sunday)
There's also a happy hour Monday-Saturday 3:30 PM-6:30 PM. The bar looks small but classy, so find a babysitter and try it out.

Watercress
365 The Bridge Street NW, Suite 125, Huntsville, AL 35806
(256) 585-3265
http://www.watercresshsv.com

 

Macaroni Grill

My mom, Smalls, and I recently had a big day out: storytime at the library, then frozen yogurt, pop jets, and the carousel at Bridge Street, and a late lunch at Macaroni Grill. After pop jetting for the first time this summer (I know summer's almost over, we just didn't get to it until now), I understand now why, in the summer, the bathroom at Bridge Street always made me think of the changing room at Point Mallard waterpark--this is where we have to dry off and change our soggy kids after playing in the pop jets. It gets to smelling like pool water and wet children. Fortunately Smalls and I were the only ones changing in there at the time, or it could have gotten crowded.

Once Smalls was presentable, we went over to Macaroni Grill for lunch. Grandma just retired from 35 years of teaching and got a gift certificate as one of her retirement gifts and she shared it with Smalls and me (thank you!). It was fairly late, maybe 1:30 or 2:00, and it was a weekday, so it was very uncrowded. Smalls was presented with the kids' menu/activity sheet and crayons. When the waitress came over, she brought extra crayons, and Smalls proceeded to draw on the paper tablecloth. And that's ok. It's kind of the thing here. The servers must practice writing their names upside down so they can impress diners as they introduce themselves. I can write backwards cursive, but haven't perfected my upside down.

The waitress also brought Smalls a ball of raw dough to play with, which we've never gotten here before. I wonder if this is standard, or if they're being influenced by the dough ball policy at Pie in the Sky.

I like the kids' menu here. Smalls got macaroni and cheese on a previous visit, and she ate all of it, one noodle at a time, very slowly. This time she got pizza and ate one slice. It's a huge pizza, though. Beardy ate a slice later in the day, and I had a piece for breakfast the next day. Then Smalls had another piece for lunch. Really. It fed us for 2 days! Sort of. You also get good bread before the entrees come, so Smalls did fill up on that a little. Her milk came in a nice, sturdy plastic cup with a lid and straw.

The waitress drew a butterfly on the table, so Smalls did too.

I got the flatbread with roasted chicken and arugula, and it was served on an embarrassingly large platter. Actually the platter was the size and thickness of a boogie board, you know those ones that kids throw into the surf, then run and jump onto it. Then they either skim along the edge of the water on the board or they trip and fall dramatically. Anyway, that's what I ate my flatbread off of. I suggest you share it with someone else if you order it. It's good, though.


Toddler friendliness ratings:

Atmosphere: 4 out of 5 booster seats. I love drawing on the table--I mean, Smalls loves it. I think the atmosphere is a good mix of grown-up restaurant and kid-friendliness.

Food: 4.5 out of 5 booster seats.

Macaroni Grill
5901 University Drive NW
Huntsville, AL 35086
(256) 722-4770

Sunday-Thursday 11 AM - 10 PM
Friday and Saturday 11 AM - 11 PM

http://www.macaronigrill.com
Get all the Huntsville-specific info here (hours, address): http://www.macaronigrill.com/locations/1231


 

Backwoods Bistro

Uppies and Cuppies is on the road again, this time in Sopchoppy, Florida.

We spent a week at the beach at Alligator Point, Florida, and visited Backwoods Bistro in Sopchoppy two nights in a row (that has to be a hint to how much we enjoyed it). The first night, we ordered from the non-pizza menu (grilled cheese and sweet potato fries for Smalls), but we noticed that other diners' pizza looked and smelled really good. So we went back the next night and ordered pizza (crab cakes and hummus for appetizers), and it was great. We got the Greek pizza, and the Backwoods, which was pesto and chicken. Smalls loved the pizza, too. She also liked the ice cream that came with the churros Beardy and I shared for dessert. She also liked saying "Sopchoppy" and "S-O-Peeee... choppy."

The kids' menu has some pasta choices that sound good, in addition to grilled cheese and chicken fingers. The prices range from $4.95 - $6.95. The pizza is also really good ($15.50 for a medium), and you can choose your own toppings or choose one of their combinations. Check out the menu here: http://thebackwoodsbistro.com/menu/.

Bathroom report: The one one-room bathroom also seems like a storage room, but it's clean and big enough to change a diaper in. No changing table, though.

Toddler friendliness ratings:

Atmosphere: 4 out of 5. It's casual, and kids certainly seem welcome. No complaints, but nothing special. 

Food: 4 out of 5.

Backwoods Bistro

106 Municipal Avenue

Sopchoppy, FL 32358

850-962-2220

http://thebackwoodsbistro.com/

Hours:

Tuesday - Thursday 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Friday and Saturday 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM

Fulin's Asian Cuisine

My car was in the shop recently (something that didn't get fixed right from when I hit a deer last winter), so I had to take Beardy to work for a few days last week. That meant he also didn't have a car to go get lunch, so I asked if he'd like for Smalls and me to come pick him up and we'd go out. We went to Fulin's Asian Cuisine in the Shoppes of Madison (it's next to Pie in the Sky).

We got there at about 11:45, and it was almost empty. It's not a buffet, like a lot of Asian restaurants in Madison and Huntsville. That's a plus for me. The TVs were showing the Food Network, subtitled in an Asian language (forgive my ignorance, but I don't know what language it was). I actually tried to take a picture of Unwrapped with subtitles, but didn't get it the first time, then felt really stupid and sat back down.

Their menu looks good; they have a lot of sushi (including lunch specials) and Chinese dishes. I got orange chicken from the Chinese Lunch section of the menu. All Chinese Lunches are $7.95. The Japanese Lunches (sushi) come with miso soup and salad and are from $8.95-$13.95.

Fulin's has a kids' menu, and here it is. Vegetarian kids will have to look elsewhere on the menu.

Smalls got the Fried Chicken with Noodles ($4.95) from the kids' menu. The chicken was small chunks fried in a batter--probably the same chicken that was under my orange sauce in my orange chicken. It also came with sweet dipping sauce for the chicken, steamed broccoli (this was a nice surprise), and a little chunk of pineapple. The pineapple chunk had its own little pineapple-chunk-shaped area in the plate, and that pleased me. Smalls also enjoyed the wonton chips that came with Beardy's hot and sour soup. 

Beardy said the hot and sour soup was very good. He also got kung pao chicken, and said it was pretty good. My orange chicken was SWEET. I've actually never had orange chicken before, so maybe this is standard. Beardy compared it to the icing that comes with Pillsbury cinnamon rolls, and he was right!

Overall, I liked Fulin's. I like that it's not a lunch buffet, and I want to come back and maybe try their sushi for dinner. It was too empty when we were there; I hope more people start supporting it for lunch.

Bathroom report: Nice, clean, three stalls, with a fold-down changing table in the largest stall. This slightly creepy baby is there to greet you.

Toddler friendliness ratings:

Atmosphere: 3.5 out of 5. Kids certainly seem welcome, but they're not really going out of their way to cater to them (and that is fine!) It's a little quiet, so if Smalls had made a little noise, I might have felt like she was disturbing people.

Food: 3.5 out of 5. The kids' meal is limited (fried, fried, fried) but it did come with unexpected broccoli and pineapple.

Hours:
Sunday - Thursday 11:00 AM - 9:30 PM
Friday and Saturday 11:00 AM - 10:30  PM

Here is their Web site, which lists other locations (Decatur, AL, and several in Nashville.)
http://fulins.com/

The kids' menu is online here:
http://fulins.com/category/kids-meals/

 

Bandito Burrito, Madison

A few weeks ago, I introduced my Aunt Bessie to Old Time Pottery in Madison. If you haven't been there, Old Time Pottery is a warehouse-sized store full of glassware, baskets, bowls, picture frames, rugs, anything for your house, really. And it's CHEAP. We were there for pasta bowls and bottles. I ended up with chicken-themed cloth napkins that say "Laying Mash." Aunt Bessie had to explain to me what laying mash is.
After our OTP adventure, Aunt Bessie, Grandma, Smalls, and I had lunch at Bandito Burrito in downtown Madison.

Bandito Burrito's front entrance on Main Street in Madison.

We arrived at about 1:30. I've been here several times at lunchtime, and even from 11-1, it's never really crowded; I've never had to wait for a table. We came in the back entrance, and seated ourselves (I think that's what we were supposed to do). There are two indoor dining rooms and one outdoor one. Sometimes they have live music outside on weekend evenings (or they did a few years ago). Another interesting feature is that they offer drink specials while the train goes by (the train goes right through downtown Madison, parallel to Main Street). It's a fun place to go in the evening.

Anyway, we found a table, and I found a booster seat for Smalls, and (although it took a little while to get noticed) a waitress brought us menus. 

We got lunch specials (Aunt Bessie and I got pork tamales covered in chili and cheese) and Smalls got the cheese quesadilla basket with fries from the kids' menu. This is not an expensive restaurant. I think the lunch specials were about $5-6, and the dinners are about $10. You can also order a la carte. We got two salsas--one was spicier than the other, but both were good. You should know that I have had bad salsa here; once it was really cold and gelatinous. But this time it was really good. Smalls liked the quesadilla (just a standard cheese quesadilla) and dipped some fries in the salsa. Does it really have to be fries? Crinkly freezer fries. All fries, all the time.

The kids' menu. That's a lot of fries.

I think the food at Bandito is ok. Not great, but I like the location, so that makes it worth going back to.

Bandito Burrito's back door. 

I always park behind the restaurant, in the small parking lot right behind it, or in the larger parking lot across Martin road with the sign that says "Free Public Parking." Then we sneak in the back door. It may not be sneaking; it just feels like sneaking. It's possible the waitress won't notice you right away either even if you come in the front door. There is street parking in the front, on Main Street.

I spotted some interesting above-the-door decorations on the way out.

Toddler friendliness ratings:

Atmosphere: 4 out of 5 booster seats. It's very casual, and you don't have to sit right in the dining room that contains the bar if you don't want to. There's also covered outside seating on the patio, which is fun. 

Food: 3 out of 5 booster seats. Fries, fries, fries! Next time, maybe we can find our own healthier choices from the sides menu.

Bandito Burrito, Madison
208 Main Street
Madison, AL 35758
256-461-8999 

Bandito Burrito's Web site in under construction at the moment, but it does have a picture of the wonderful funky sign at their location at the intersection of West Clinton and Governors Drive.
This seems to be the Web site for that location (West Huntsville): http://www.banditoshsv.com/

To be honest, I'm not sure how connected the Governors Drive Bandito Burrito and this one are. The Madison location isn't mentioned on the Web site (and doesn't have its own site). I also don't know how related (if at all) Bandito Southside is. I haven't been to the Governors Drive one in years, and haven't ever been to the one on South Memorial Parkway.

Uppies and Cuppies on the Road

Smalls, Grandma, and I just got back from a road trip to Wisconsin. Some of the highlights of the trip were
- stopping in Bloomington, Illinois to have a raisin extracted from Smalls's nose. She claims she put it there because my mom and I "were making too much noise."
- seeing roadside attractions like a life-size pink elephant wearing glasses, giant corn, a giant cow and a giant bull, and the House on the Rock.
- eating and eating and eating. We had some great food on the trip, and my uncle took us to some really great restaurants in and around Madison, Wisconsin. A few were brewpubs, and I love that they're kid-friendly but also make great beer. Here a few of the best places we ate on our trip.

Great Dane Pub, Madison WI

The Great Dane. Look at that neat bicycle shadow.

Great Dane is a pub and brewery based in Madison. They have a great kids' menu (http://www.greatdanepub.com/sites/default/files/kids%20menu.pdf) with fruit and vegetables available as sides. We got to sit outside in a courtyard, but they have lots of indoor seating, too.
We ate here before attending a free outdoor concert by Brother, a Celtic-Australian fusion band. They played didgeridoos while wearing kilts. It was awesome and inspired Smalls to dance wildly.

The Grumpy Troll, Mt. Horeb WI

Mount Horeb is the Troll Capital of the World.

Another brewery and restaurant, in a small town outside of Madison known for their troll carvings (the main street is known as the Trollway). You can eat in the main dining room or the pizzeria upstairs; we ate in the main dining room. It's very kid-friendly, with coloring sheets and crayons and a kids' menu and a changing table in the women's bathroom. Here's a link to their Junior Troll menu: http://www.thegrumpytroll.com/menu/kids_menu.pdf.
We visited Mount Horeb after visiting House on the Rock (the first time), so I was reeling a little from trollway/Wally Keller/Infinity Room weirdness.

Culver's

A giant bull in Stewardson, Illinois. It has nothing to do with Culver's.

Culver's is a Wisconsin-based chain of fast-food restaurants. They are known for butter burgers and frozen custard. Both are as wonderful as they sound. Frozen custard is like the densest, creamiest, smoothest soft-serve ice cream you've ever had.
On our way home, after a detour to see a giant bull in Stewardson, Illinois, we stopped at the Culver's in Effingham (within sight of the World's Largest Cross). Here's a link to their kids' menu: http://www.culvers.com/menu/ScoopieKidsMeals.aspx. It's butter burgers and chicken fingers, but they do offer applesauce as a side.

Pie in the Sky

I went to the new Target in Madison before Pie in the Sky was open, and before their sign was complete, and tried to figure out what it was going to be. I thought, pies? Like, apple pies? British-style steak pies? Duh. It's pizza pies.

Pie in the Sky is in the Shoppes of Madison on highway 72.

This made me happy. I love pizza, especially places that you can sit and eat the pizza, as opposed to places that rely on carryout and delivery. But I also would have been happy about British pies.
Beardy, Smalls, and I visited Pie in the Sky on a Sunday, late lunchtime (I think we missed most of the after-church crowd). They told us it would be a 25-minute wait, but it was only 15. We went outside to wait, and as soon as Beardy went inside to check the status of our wait, we were led to a table. We suspect they called our name inside and marked us off the list when we weren't in there. When you go, maybe you should make sure at least one member of your party waits inside.

What are these screens called? Where you touch the screen and lightning seems to gather at your finger? There's one in the waiting area.

We were seated in a booth, and we got a booster seat for Smalls. However, the booster seat made me want to give booster seats themselves a booster-seat rating of ZERO. This one slid all around the booth, and once Smalls fell over onto me (she is very wiggly). I think she would have done better just sitting on the bench. This is not specific to Pie in the Sky; this is just a general tirade about booster seats.

Here's the kids' menu.

Pie in the Sky has a kids' menu. The sides you can choose from are steamed broccoli (yay), spaghetti, fettuccine Alfredo, pasta salad, fries, and kettle chips. You can see the entire menu here http://www.pieintheskypizza.com/menu.
We didn't order off the kids' menu; we just shared a pizza with Smalls. We got a medium 1/2 Greek, 1/2 pesto. The waitress actually offered the half-and-half option, which I thought was nice. The Greek had kalamata olives that were delicious, but Smalls got one with a pit (Ppp-too. "I not yike iss part"). So check your olives.
They also offer gluten-free crust. It's $2.50 extra for a small pizza. Other sizes are not mentioned, so I don't know if this means this option is only available for a small.
Pie in the Sky has local beer, so if you're interested, ask for a separate beer menu. They had draft beer from Back Forty (whoo! Gadsden!), Blue Pants, Good People, Old Black Bear, Straight to Ale, and Yellowhammer.
To entertain the kiddies, they have a counter with about four stools where kids can watch the pizza chefs at work. They plop little dough balls through a dough hole in the glass to the kids. Smalls kept trying to toss it back through the hole. Back at the table, Smalls dropped her doughball under the table several times and it just kept picking up floor dirt and it grossed me out a little. It also explained the strange sticky lumps melting in the puddles on the sidewalk outside the restaurant that I spotted while we waited for a table. Maybe I'm not a fan of the doughballs.

The kids' pizza viewing window. There's a dough hole in the glass to the left of the man's hat.

Overall, this place is very kid-friendly. I also like the local beer selection. I think the pizza's a little expensive (our medium-sized half Greek, half-pesto was $22). I think Famous Joe's has better pizza, and Big Ed's has cheaper pizza.

Bathroom report: Very nice and clean. Two stalls with a fold-down changing table in the large stall.

Toddler friendliness ratings:

Atmosphere: 4.5 out of 5. They cater to the kids by having dirt-collectors, I mean doughballs to play with. It's casual and fairly noisy (which can be a plus when your toddler decides to wail a little--just a little--like Smalls did at one point).

Food: 4 out of 5. It seems like the kids' menu is a natural offshoot of the regular menu (it has some of the same food as the regular menu, not just freezer fries and ChickieNobs), and I like broccoli as a side choice.

Pie in the Sky Pizza
Shoppes of Madison, Highway 72, Madison
256-722-2112

Hours:
Sunday-Thursday 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Friday and Saturday 11:00 AM - 12:00 AM

Pie in the Sky is a small Nashville-based chain, and they have a nice Web site with menus and a list of other locations (in Nashville): http://www.pieintheskypizza.com/.

The menu is here: http://www.pieintheskypizza.com/menu.