Mother’s Day is Sunday and Father’s Day is June 18. Grand occasions, of course, but for those of us whose families don’t live in New York City, there’s always the nagging question of where to take your family if they decide (or deign) to visit.
Just a few weeks ago I was recommending places for picky teens. But parents can also be picky. (For example, my dad equates good food with steak.) With a special dinner, there’s also the chance of post-meal sticker shock or a last-minute surprise visit from an entire branch of the family tree. Sure, #notallparents, but there’s a certain amount of pressure to impress and confirm that your decision to live in one of the most expensive cities in the world is the right one, even if you’re not so sure yourself.
It would be impossible to tailor restaurant recommendations to every kind of parent. So here are a handful of places that are more or less guaranteed to be a hit with the people who raised you.
Everyone understands Italian
Cafe Union Square, with its two-tiered seating, sharply dressed attendants, and chic, forest-green interior, is a cafe in name only. Most importantly, it is Italian-leaning, and Italian cuisine is a cross-generational culinary love language. The entire menu is simple enough to parse for those who don’t eat out to exercise, while interesting enough for those of us who consider “gremolata” and “freekeh” words of affirmation.
I recently enjoyed brunch there, and it was the pastas that really caught my eye, particularly the rigatoni alla cacciatore and the fettuccine al limone. That said, I would have been just as happy to sit at the bar and eat spoonful after spoonful of savory ribollita as I struggled to solve this newspaper’s Saturday crossword.
Family dinners don’t have to be (very) pricey
Lest you think the only way to impress your parents is to take them to a place with tablecloths, consider these deliciously affordable options: fried chicken sandwiches topped with mint chutney and yogurt at Rough Rooster, in the East Village; broccoli Reubens and Italian combos at each of Grocers on Hofstraatfour locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn; fried pork and kimchi dumplings made to order Sanmiwago Taiwan Bolhuis, in Manhattan’s Chinatown, followed by a visit to the Tenement Museum; or a quick burger Corner Bistro, in Greenwich Village. Then you can play pantomime across the tab and earn a few Brownie points.
A restaurant designed for families
Sometimes, but not often, my parents stay with me in Brooklyn. And if I had to put my finger on one of the most parent-friendly restaurants in the borough, it would be from Patty Annin Prospect Heights, which arrived last year at the height of the Midwestern food craze.
In short, Patti Ann’s is just plain fun. It is decorated with colorful furniture and bright yellow classroom-style walls. Certain dishes may overdo it — think the oversized mozzarella stick — but the food, like the duck lasagna and Chicago-style pizza menu, delivers when it matters. (To the reader who emailed me last week asking where to get a banana split in New York City: Ta-da!)
I would like to know where you take your family members when they come to visit. Is it an old favorite from when they lived here, or a new favorite you introduced them to? Let me know at wheretoeat., and you may see your comment appear here.
In other news…
This week Pete Wells shines a light the many, many pop-up pizza makers making great pies with portable ovens at breweries and events around town.
Openings: ElNicothe new Latin American restaurant on the roof of the Penny Williamsburg hotel, is now open; the good good in Harlem offers roasted mushrooms, cod fritters, and other Caribbean delights; and, ahead of its reopening next month, the resurrected bar Angel’s share will show up Saturday at Poster House on West 23rd Street.
Our wine critic Eric Asimov wrote about it 10 wines in boxes (yes, in a box) that are actually good.
Brett Anderson and photographer Adam Riding traveled to drought-stricken Arizona to capture the home growers and small farmers in the southern part of the state working to grow products with as little water as possible.
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