Blogmas Day 3- 5 NYC Restaurants with Parental Approval
/My mom recently visited me in the city and I spent FOREVER deciding where to take her for meals. I've always felt like as a foodie, there is always a pressure to find the "perfect" spot to take family when they are in town. After all, most parents, especially visiting parents, have different standards than those of us in our mid-20s. I knew places too dark and too loud and with low quality food would definitely be out. Also out would be a place that had too long of a wait. While I might be fine with waiting 1-2 hours on a Saturday morning for fluffy pancakes at Clinton Street Baking Company, I knew my mom wouldn't want to waste her New York minutes on it. Plus, I also wanted to fulfill my desire of trying new restaurants. There's something special about experiencing a restaurant for the first time with someone else and trying the food together. After much research (and I mean much), I decided on the following restaurants. And they all met with her approval so I've deemed them parent safe!
DomoDomo
Upscale sushi, with an emphasis on delicious handrolls. That's how I would describe DomoDomo. While pricey, the food was very high quality and the flavors worked well together. We ordered the handroll course of 5 different hand rolls, which came with edamame. The oyster tempura, shrimp tempura, and the chocolate (yes it really did have chocolate) eel were my favorite rolls, although to be honest everything was so yummy. We also ordered the uni pasta, which turned out to be black squid ink pasta (something I've been wanting to try) drenched in a soupy cheese sauce and uni. My only complaint was that the dishes were too tiny!
L'Amico
L'Amico is located inside the Eventi Hotel and while it is slightly loud and slightly dark, the atmosphere is still comfortable and the food is very good. I loved my veal pasta and my mom throughly enjoyed her mushroom pizza. However, our favorite part of the meal was our appetizer- the octopus. As soon as a piece of the octopus entered my mouth the flavors bursted into pepper, lemon, and so many other things that I couldn't place, but the combination was DELICIOUS.
Five Senses
I didn't plan to eat here with my mom, but we were short on time and this Korean restaurant didn't have a wait so we decided to grab a quick dinner here. I've actually been here before and didn't feel like the food necessarily stood out, but this time around I truly enjoyed eating the spicy octopus rice dish. Although slightly too spicy (you guys know I have a weak stomach when it comes to spicy food), it was still something I would reorder.
Bubby's
No New York experience is complete without brunch so I knew I had to bring my mom to a classic brunch spot in the city. And it doesn't get any more classic than the bright rustic restaurant, Bubby's, located near the High Line. The fact that the food was mouth watering was a bonus! Their pancakes rival those from Clinton Street and their pie was unlike any other pie I've had. I'm so ready to come back for their dinner menu. While reservations can't be made here, we came early on Saturday morning and didn't have any trouble getting a table immediately.
Banter
I didn't actually eat here with my mom because she had an early Sunday morning flight, but since I was already up that day I decided to join a few friends for brunch at this adorable Australian cafe. There was a 30 minute wait (which isn't too bad considering it's New York), but they text you when your table is ready so you're able to walk around the neighborhood while you wait. I ordered the chai latte and the pulled pork sandwich with sweet potato fries and spicy mayo. The spicy mayo was amazing and I don't say that often! I also appreciated that the burger wasn't too big to fit into my mouth in a bite. Does anyone have issues when a burger is so tall that you have to eat it piece by piece? For some reason, that really bothers me! Luckily, I didn't have that issue at Banter.
Where do you take your parents when they visit? I'm always looking for new suggestions!
