Press
“Getting the best delivery on the street where you live ”
- The New York Times
"It's hard not to love a restaurant that lets children roam the premises "
- Ultimate Review Guide
“Two Boots: A downtown gem you can kick up your heels for ”
- Park Slope Courier: by Kenneth Brown
“Kick up your heels at Two Boots: Good food and great sounds go together ”
- Park Slope Courier: by Stephen Witt
“Two Boots Restaurant: A Party in Your Mouth ”
- Courier Lifestyles
“Royal Feast: Kids are treated like kings at these family oriented resteraunts ”
- Go: The Brooklyn Papers
GO: THE BROOKLYN PAPERS
“ROYAL FEAST: KIDS ARE TREATED LIKE KINGS AT THESE FAMILY ORIENTED RESTAURANTS.”
BY ELLIE JONES
Feel like taking the kids out for a sit-down dinner that doesn’t involve chicken from a bucket, foil-wrapped burgers or other fast foods? If you anywhere else but Brooklyn your choices would begin and end with Chuck E. Cheese, Friendly’s or some other restaurant that is long on patience with restless young diners but short on adult atmosphere and menu options. But this is Brooklyn and when it comes to restaurants, the Borough of Kings treats its children like royalty.
Unlike most cities, children are welcome in nearly every restaurant here, from hole-in-the-wall deli to haute bistro or special occasion spot. “No restaurant in Brooklyn will turn away people with kids,” says Joe Chirico, president of the Brooklyn Restaurant Association and owner of the Marco Polo and Gage and Tollner restaurants, which are both happy to accept diners with young ones in tow.
Restaurants like Two Boots in Park Slope strike a nice balance between kid-friendly and kid-themed and prove that dining ‘en famiglia’ doesn’t have to be juvenile style.
“For us, it’s important to appeal to kids and their parents,” said Piper Wandzilak, owner of Two Boots. For the adults we have spicy foods and fun cocktails. Kids can get pizzas with faces on them and even watch them being made. We try very hard to be fun for the whole family.”
Judging by the crowds, Two Boots is succeeding wildly in this regard. Strings of lights and paper lanterns lend the space and air more festive than kitsch. Adults chow down on Cajun and Italian specialties that include everything from po’boy sandwiches and pecan-crusted catfish to lasagna and delicious thin-crust pizzas embellished with a spicy sauce. More importantly, not-too-sweet sangria (red wine, brandy and fruit juice) and refreshing margaritas help take the edge off of dining in a room full of kids.
Kids love Two Boots for reasons beyond the food. While finicky eaters seem to appreciate the selections on the children’s menu – bow ties with butter and cheese or a mild tomato sauce, chicken nuggets and smiley faced pizzas – the real draw for them is to watch the chefs at work and play with the balls of pizza dough handed out to every child.The cooks are an especially patient lot, happy to answer questions and otherwise entertain the curious kids that flock to the kitchen window.
With dough-wielding kids running back and forth between the kitchen window and the tables, the dining room could veer over to chaos if it weren’t for Two Boots’ floor staff, who seem to possess nerves of steel and healthy senses of humor.
“We try to hire people who have experience working with kids, maybe at summer camps or something similar,” says Shmitt. Such backgrounds come in handy. When things get stressful, staff members show themselves well versed in child-management strategies and may, for instance, select a Vivaldi or Motown tape that seems to magically settle over-stimulated kids as much as it soothes adult psyches.
Restaurants like Two Boots and other kid-friendly places in Brooklyn make it easy for parents to treat their kids, and themselves, too.