El Coyote, Huntsville

I like Bridge Street. But everyone likes Bridge Street, and this means on a nice evening after work, or on a weekend, it can get a little crowded. So if you're there, and you want to sit down and have an inexpensive, uncrowded dinner, consider leaving Bridge Street and going to El Coyote in the shopping center on Old Madison Pike just across the Research Park overpass. El Coyote is a Mexican restaurant with a small bar and a little bit of outside seating. But if you're in the area and don't want to pay $8 (at least) for a Cantina Laredo margarita, go there.

A satisfied customer leaving El Coyote.

Beardy, Smalls, and I went to El Coyote on a recent weeknight at about 5:30 (after a short visit to Bridge Street). Many of the customers looked like they'd just left work in Research Park. A loud man presided over a table of co-workers next to us. When he announced to his table that Max wasn't coming, Smalls looked concerned and asked me, "Max isn't coming?" We never found out why Max didn't come.

El Coyote's food is standard Huntsville Mexican. I used to think their carne asada tacos were good until I had El Paso's. This time I had enchiladas suizas, and it was pretty good. They do have a kids' menu, and it's also pretty standard. Smalls ate a cheese quesadilla and salsa and enjoyed her dinner.

The cheese quesadilla got a good review from Smalls, but some healthy sides would be very welcome.

Nice chairs!

Exciting table art.

Bathroom report: The women's is a single (meaning toilet and sink are all in there together--no stalls). It was clean, and has a fold-down changing table, and one of the biggest mirrors above the sink that I've ever seen. Really. I've been to Versailles, and this mirror still impressed me.

Toddler Friendliness Ratings

Atmosphere: 4 out of 5 booster seats. No real complaints. They had plenty of booster seats and high chairs, and the ambiance was casual, so if Smalls had been a little loud I think it would have been ok. First she would have had to drown out our loud table neighbor, though.

Food: 3 out of 5 booster seats. Once again, I'd like to see healthy sides on the kids' menu.

El Coyote

6610 Old Madison Pike

Huntsville, AL 35806

Sun Cafe

One day last week, Smalls and I went out to lunch at Sun Café on Old Monrovia Road. This was kind of an impulse lunch. We had left the house a little late for all the morning errands we had to do that day, and we had a few left to do, but it was about 12:30 or 1:00, and we needed to eat. Sun Café had gotten on my mental list a few weeks ago when I was looking for somewhere to go for dinner (we ended up at Surin of Thailand that night), so I decided we’d try it for lunch.

It's in the shopping center with H. H. Gregg, across Old Monrovia Road from Madison Square Mall.

As a bonus, we got to see an inflatable air-noodle wavy-guy over at H. H. Gregg. Smalls likes to impersonate them; she makes a “whoop” noise as she waves her arms and bends her knees.

 They’re a little intimidating up close, though. Big.

It was about 12:30 or 1:00 when we arrived, and the restaurant wasn’t crowded. We were seated in a booth and Smalls got a highchair. They do have a kid’s menu, and it might be ok for an older kid, but I didn’t think Smalls would be interested. They did, however, have a salad with mango and cucumber (two of her favorite things), so I told the waitress Smalls really likes mango and cucumber, but asked what else was in the salad. When she said seaweed and mayo, I must have made a face, because she offered to have the chef make it with no seaweed and mayo. I thought that was really nice, and we ended up with a plate of shredded mango and cucumber that Smalls loved. We had the leftovers for dinner. I also ordered teriyaki chicken skewers (because I guess I’m obsessed with Smalls trying chicken on a stick—I just think it would be a great option for Smalls at restaurants where the chicken option for kids is “nugget”). She didn’t eat them, so we also had chicken skewers for dinner that night. But she WILL learn to love them.

The dreaded nugget. And French fried.

I really should have asked, but I don’t know what “no veg” on the kid’s menu lo mein or fried rice means. Maybe that you can’t order vegetarian fried rice or lo mein for kids? That seems odd.
I had the Singapore noodles and they were pretty good (not as fried/smoky tasting as the ones at P.F. Chang’s). Sun Café also has sushi, bento boxes, noodles, seafood, all kinds of stuff. The lunch entrees are about $8 and the dinner ones range from about $9 to $15. The menu is online here: http://www.suncafeal.com/menu.html.

Bathroom report: No changing table in the women’s, but it was clean and large—a private bathroom, not one with stalls.

Toddler friendliness ratings:

Atmosphere: 3.5 out of 5 booster seats. It was a little quiet and dark, so I felt like I needed to keep Smalls really quiet so we wouldn’t disturb anyone’s lunch. It didn't feel like it ever gets too crowded, though.

Food: 3.5 out of 5 booster seats. They were really accommodating about making Smalls a special salad, so if you don’t like the kid’s menu, I bet they’ll work with you to find something your kids will like.

Sun Café
930 Old Monrovia Rd, Huntsville AL 35806
(in the shopping center with H.H. Gregg)
256-585-1422
http://www.suncafeal.com/

Hours: Lunch: Mon-Sat 11 AM-3 PM
Dinner: Mon-Thurs 3 PM-9:30 PM
Fri and Sat 3 PM-10 PM
Sun 12 PM-9 PM

 

El Paso

It’s hard for me to even think of this restaurant as “El Paso.” It’s called “Best Food Yes” to us (the picture should explain why). We go here so much that last time we visited, when we walked in, the hostess said, “I have something that I think belongs to you.” She produced a bag from behind the counter, containing one of Smalls’ dolls that we had forgotten last time we were there. How nice is that?

Bad picture, yes? Actually it's mine from Intsagram, so I suppose wanted it to look this bad.

Surin of Thailand

I was kind of nervous about this one for some reason. Maybe it’s because I remember going here several times when Beardy and I were dating and just married, so I kind of associated it with going out without kids. Once we ordered fancy martinis and didn’t realize they were $10 each so we were surprised when the check came. This became a running joke between us.

Lime Fresh Mexican Grill

Smalls, my mom, and I had a fun day out last Saturday. We started the morning standing in line for an hour to drop off our items for the Kid’s Market consignment sale (it’s my first consignment sale). And no, I’m not being sarcastic about it being a fun day—Smalls was really good in line, the weather was cold but sunny, and the day got better from there. We went to Bridge Street next, mostly because Grandma promised Smalls strawberry “up con” (ice cream) if she was good. She was, so we went to Orange Tree for strawberry frozen yogurt… a little healthier than ice cream, right? By the way, advertising works on two year olds. Every time we pass that giant McDonald’s billboard with the green St. Patrick’s Day milkshake on it, Smalls goes nuts. “UP CON! UP CON!” We have not had one, though, so it's not completely effective.

Carrabba’s Italian Grill

Beardy, Smalls, and I went to Carrabba’s Italian Grill in the Parkway Place Mall last Sunday to celebrate Beardy’s sister’s birthday. We were expecting a group of about 15 people, including three toddlers and someone in a mobility scooter, so I called ahead in the middle of the week to make sure they were ready for us. Even though they don’t officially take reservations, they wrote down the specifics of our group and what time we wanted to arrive. I think they called this “call-ahead seating,” which is different from reservations, but it still helped us out. Beardy, Smalls, and I got there a little early to make sure they expecting us, and they were. They had a table ready for us by noon, and were very nice and accommodating.

We received three crayons and a multi-page activity book/kids' menu when we sat down. Smalls can’t do mazes and find-a-word yet, but she’s happy with any paper and any writing implement. We were also fortunate to have our 12-year-old niece as part of the party. She can keep Smalls busy, quiet, and happy for an infinite amount of time; I’ve never seen the limit of her patience with Smalls. I think she even managed to divide her time among two other cousins—3-year-old twin boys—and keep everyone happy.

The kids menu consists of grilled chicken with a vegetable, spaghetti and meatball (singular meatball, but it’s big), pizza, cheese ravioli, and chicken fingers. The prices on the kids menu were about $5-$6 and that includes the drink. Smalls went for the spaghetti; we’d eaten udon noodles at home for lunch twice the week before, and Smalls loved them, so I thought she’d like some “long noodles.” She did like them, one at a time. I think she could have stayed there all afternoon, eating one. Noodle. At. A. Time… But, still, quiet and happy is the goal. We ended up taking some of her spaghetti home with us. The bread that they put on the table near the beginning of the meal is good, too. The 3-year-olds in our group got the pizza, and seemed happy with their choice. Here’s the link to the bambini menu—or I guess you can call it the kids' menu if you don’t speak Italian. http://www.carrabbas.com/our-menu/#Bambini

The grown-up menu is good, too. I got the mezzaluna ravioli and Beardy got the lasagna. We both thought our food could have been hotter, but it’s probably hard to get 15 entrees out at exactly the same time and keep them hot. Both dishes tasted good. The prices range from about $9-$17, so it’s not super-cheap. The atmosphere of the restaurant is casual, but dark enough to feel grown-up; you could have an almost-fancy grown-up feeling dinner here, but still keep the kids happy. Beardy’s cousin mentioned that they get take-out from the Carrabba’s near them (I noticed you can order online and then pick it up, too), and that sounds like a good idea.

Toddler friendliness ratings:

Atmosphere: 3.5 out of 5 booster seats. Everybody's really nice, but you might have to wait for a table, and it seems a little crowded in the dining room.

Food: 4.5 out of 5 booster seats.

Note on hours: The Huntsville location is NOT open for lunch during the week, and the restaurants’ opening hours vary by location. Check their website (http://www.carrabbas.com/index.aspx) to make sure they’re open when you want to go.

Carrabba’s Italian Grill

(256) 288-1333
2801 S. Memorial Parkway
Huntsville, AL 35801

Hours (for the Huntsville location):
Mon: 4:00 PM-10:00 PM
Tue: 4:00 PM-10:00 PM
Wed: 4:00 PM-10:00 PM
Thu: 4:00 PM-10:00 PM
Fri: 4:00 PM-11:00 PM
Sat: 3:00 PM-11:00 PM
Sun: 11:00 AM- 9:00 PM

Steak N Shake

I like Steak N Shake. There was a Steak N Shake somewhere between Alabama and Wisconsin (that narrows it down, right?) that my family would stop at sometimes when we’d make the 18 hour drive to visit my mom’s side of the family. It was one place that my dad would actually enjoy stopping at. I think it was a magic combination of inexpensive, slightly old-fashioned, and obscure (obscure to us, at least, because we didn’t have one near us at home). We even have souvenir Steak N Shake glasses in the top of the cupboard that were tacitly considered “too nice to use.” So I’m glad that we have one in Huntsville, even if I don’t go very often. Maybe I secretly think that if I went there all the time, it would be less special.