The Adventures of Baby Arthur

Wrong. There's actually plenty to do for Halloween for kids! Here's what I saw:


2. Block Parties: Various single blocks around the island were closed off and the local residents and homeowners decorated the street, setup tables, had food and made it fun for everyone.






Arthur was not digging the outfit but he was definitely really cute! It was reported to me that he was completely awestruck by the life sized T-Rex skeleton and stopped in his tracks for several minutes. He had an awesome time.

Labels: arthur, miscellaneous, nyc

by Lincoln

We didn't have any travel plans over the long Labor Day weekend so we spent it at home and around town. We took this opportunity to spend an afternoon with Moira, See-Fut and Wylie right over the bridge in Brooklyn in an area called DUMBO. The name has nothing to do with the elephant and it actually stands for "Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass". I used to spend a bit of time in the Brooklyn Heights area years ago and sometimes down in DUMBO. Boy, have things changed down there! DUMBO is now teeming with life and has surprisingly become quite a family oriented area.

We started off by visiting Brooklyn Bridge Park. The park itself is still years away from being finished, but it already has a lot to offer. The riverside park his home to one of the largest kiddie playgrounds around and the playing complex is appropriately shaped like a boat. Following the mariner theme, there is also a sandbox shaped like a rowboat and a kiddie fountain as well. The park also has a large grass picnic area a seasonal weekly farmers market by Community Markets. Best of all are the breathe-taking and pervasive views of the Manhattan skyline.

The DUMBO area also offers many restaurants, including the famous River Cafe and Grimaldi's pizzeria. I think Grimaldi's may serve the best pizza in NYC. Hundreds of other agreed with me on this day, as the line literally wrapped around the block! Before heading back home we stopped by Rice for a snack. Perhaps the best feature of this restaurant was the connection to Speak Up, which is a really nice garden patio bar for relaxing outdoor drinking. (We saved the drinking for another time!)

While the food itself was probably a bit too vegetarian for my taste, what struck me the most was the number of strollers, families and children of all ages at the place. This was no anomaly, as the waitstaff was prepared for this clientele. They quickly offered us a high chair, straws and a plastic cup for Arthur to drink his water. The final icing on the cake was the group of two young and fresh twenty something females that walked in. They took one look inside the joint and told the host "there are just way too many babies in here, sorry!".

I'd venture to guess that the recent real estate boom ushered in a new population of young families. This isn't a surprise as DUMBO seems like a real great place to live!

In Other News... Shang NYC

It was also Grandma's birthday, so for the occasion, we took her to an extra fancy Chinese meal at Shang NYC. If you clicked on the link, it took you straight to the dessert menu! That's because while the food was perfectly decent, the best part was the dessert BY FAR. We had the warm chocolate cake, fresh mango panacotta and house made fresh sorbet. All were perfectly made and devoured quickly. There aren't many eaters that are pickier than my mom and she gave it a glowing approval by saying that she "hadn't had such a great dessert in quite some time". Here's the gold star for Pastry Chef Melissa Chang for making my mom's birthday dinner a success!

However, since this is a blog about babies, I will mention that we took the first reservation of the evening by design. They don't offer high chairs and probably wouldn't be the most kid friendly establishment when they are busy! Nevertheless, Shang gets my vote!

Labels: nyc

by Lincoln

Personally, I like the mad scientist look! But we did eventually need to take Arthur for a haircut and we did so last week. This haircut was not Arthur's first. I bravely attempted to give Arthur his first haircut myself, which quickly turned into fiasco. Not only was I extremely nervous about accidental impalement, my hands were not quick enough, steady enough or straight enough for a delicate little head that wouldn't keep still! Within minutes, the barber's apron was on the floor, baby hair was all over the place and what we ended up with was a head that resembled a poorly mowed lawn. My only saving grace is that we don't have any pictures that accurately depict the disaster!


This time, Liz took Arthur to a professional - Doodle Doo's Children's Hair Salon in the West Village.



They know what they're doing at Doodle Doo's. That's a wooden boat that Arthur is sitting in! Blowing bubbles and books for fun and a TV to mesmerize him enough to keep him still. Genius!! Add a swift professional pair of hands and you end up with a handsome haircut for a handsome little boy! Doodle Doo's also features a store where you could buy toys, books or other children's paraphernalia.


Cost: $35.


Now I've never spent $35 on a haircut in my entire life, but, at least Arthur looks good! I'm guessing we'll be taking him back for his next cut too.

Labels: arthur, nyc

by Lincoln



A couple weekends ago, we went to a Sunday brunch with two of our close friends, Lance and Henry, who are partners from Chelsea. The place was Calle Ocho, located in the Upper West Side. It was a bit of a trek for us with baby and all but we agreed to the go, since Lance had been wanting to try it for some time.


When we first walked in, the place looked small and I got a little worried. However, once we walked to the back of the restaurant, the space opened up into a cavernous dining room:




The service was swift, courteous and extremely welcoming to children. Even though the place was filled with hip, sophisticated, decked-out Manhattan singles, they were still very family friendly! We sat down with high chair provided along with a goody bag of toys just for Baby Arthur.




The best part was that it turned out to be Sangria Sunday. All you can drink Sangrias, what could be better? The menu itself was creative as Calle Ocho boldly departs from the typically safe brunch fare like pancakes, french toast and eggs benedict. We ordered a platter of breakfast tacos for the table and I had the braised skirt steak for myself, all of which were wonderfuly made. Ok, honestly, I remember it being really good but Sangria Sunday ended up being the main draw!


And after 3 hours of drinking we all went home HAPPY.


Good work Lance! Click here for a professional review and ignore the negative comments! Calle Ocho gets our two thumbs up!

Labels: nyc