Sunday, March 13, 2011

Street – LA’s Most Toddler-Friendly Restaurant?

Neon Sign at Street Restaurant

We met Valley-based Grandma for Friday night dinner at centrally located Street last night, not sure it would be kid-friendly for our almost-three year old. It quickly became obvious that Street is a restaurant that welcomes everyone, even sometimes crazy toddlers.

Top 8 reasons we'll return to Street often:

1. Reservationist assured me, “kids are welcome!” when making our reservation. Always a good sign. And, she gave us a perfect corner booth, comfy and easy to navigate.

2. “Ugh, there’s a toddler” looks from co-diners quickly ameliorated by warm welcome from everyone from the busser to our server. People, we have an iPhone with toddler apps, it will be ok, promise!

3. Our lovely server assured us there were no pecans, pistachios, or walnuts (our guy’s allergic) in anything, but would make a note for the kitchen just in case. So much better than the annoyed reaction we often get.

4. Kajsa Alger, Street’s Executive Chef and Partner, visited our table with a bowl of strawberries for our guy. She chatted with us about kids (she has a 4 year old) and how they either love or hate Street’s food. Our guy inhaled everything, from the millet rice krispie treat amuse to the carrot & harissa salad, short ribs, Brussels sprouts, and shitake & shrimp fritter.

5. The one bummer, especially on a triple-poop night (sorry, overshare), was the absence of a changing table in either bathroom. Luckily, two big chairs outside the bathrooms were easily dragged into the single-occupancy men’s room for our makeshift changing table. We got an ok from our server before we started moving furniture.

6. On our way to the bathroom for diaper change #3, our server and two others stopped us to say how much they loved having our son there and asked us to come back to Street soon. Non-parents, this is an extremely rare sentiment. Shocked, I told them how much we appreciated their warm welcome and support as we try to raise a well-mannered little diner.

7. Sheparding our guy out the door, we were sent off into the night with sweetly enthusiastic thank-yous and “please come again!” from Kajsa and others.

8. Almost forget to mention, the food was fabulous. Loved it all. Favorites included:
- Black Kale with Refried White Beans
- Braised Short Ribs
- Tatsutage Fried Chicken
- Sauteed Brussels Sprouts
- Kaya Toast
- Shrimp Stuffed Shitake Mushrooms
- Carrot and Harissa Salad

Street
742 North Highland Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90038-3415
(323) 203-0500
www.eatatstreet.com

*Image courtesy of Muy Yum: http://www.flickr.com/photos/muyyum/4395467903/