On a recent weekend we decided to take Finn to the Children’s Museum and let him go at it. After 2.5 solid hours of running around, he’d worked up quite the appetite. Lucky for us, Fred’s is right at the corner. It looked family friendly enough, but it wasn’t until we were inside that I realized just how wonderful this spot is for families. In addition to having a kid’s menu with crayons, the servers are so great with kids. Our waitress not only asked Finn directly what he wanted to eat (rather than asking us to order for him), but she also got down on his level. And when your kid happens to be an antsy one, like mine, there are hundreds of pictures of dogs all around the restaurant that you discuss like a canine art gallery. This area of the UWS is all families so I probably shouldn’t have been surprised, but you never know.
The fare is typical American, and it’s done well. The items are all familiar so everyone will find something they enjoy, but they don’t feel like they’ve been half-assed. I ordered the nachos with steak and couldn’t believe how much guac I got. Extra points for the homemade tortilla chips – this definitely didn’t feel like bar food that was just slapped together. My beau got a pressed chicken sandwich, and V got a big bowl of mac and cheese.
The food may have been “expected,” but they do just enough to keep things interesting, like mix-ins for the mac and cheese or those aforementioned homemade chips. Oh and they have a lovely brunch cocktail deal because they don’t just know what the kids want, they’ve got the parents’ backs as well.
Peaches to Apples 