Wall of Shame has Two More Entries!

Today, we have two more restaurants to add to the WALL OF SHAME -- Devour and Chef Suzi.

I take little joy in this designation, as they both look like good restaurants. However, due to stairs, narrow entryways, sharp turns and tight spaces, these places are simply impossible to access by stroller. Sorry guys!

Sumeria Caffe Bar To Go

Next up is Sumeria Caffe Bar To Go, at 1329 Cook st (at Johnson). This is a tiny take-out coffee bar, and so will be judged according to retail standards (not restaurant).

Access: Fantastic -- Walk-up window style service means NO doors to wrestle with!

Food: My egg nog latte was delicious, though a bit sweeter than Starbuck's version.

Service: Excellent. I was having a rotten day, and the clerk was kind, sympathetic, and even gave me a chocolate. I don't know if the chocolate is, in fact, distributed with every coffee, but at that moment, a tasty token of kindness was exactly what my waning sanity needed. Thank you, Sumeria Caffe!

Cost: Not cheap, but egg nog lattes rarely are. It was a good size, and I paid about $4.50.

Baby-Friendliness: Good. Lovely staff, easy access, and plenty of little tables I could have easily pulled a stroller up to, if I'd wanted to stop for a moment.

Overall Grade: A

Delicious coffee (with great service) that does *not* require wrestling with doors? Sign me up!

Next up, more names to be added to the WALL OF SHAME. Who will it be? Stay tuned to find out!

Italian Food Import

Next up for #StrollerFriendly review is Italian Food Import at 1114 Blanshard!

(*Note that this is a retail-type establishment, and therefore I am applying the retail standards, rather than restaurant standards.)

Access: Not bad. There is a slight incline next to their door, which makes getting in and out a bit tricky. However, once in, there is just enough space to move around. When I went, the place was fairly crowded, and I had no space trouble.

Food: Stellar! I had the Rocky Balboa toasted sandwich, and it was just the right combination of spicy, fresh, salty, savoury, and a little bit greasy (in the good way). LOVE that sandwich.

Service: Great. Fast, hard-working counter staff processed the long line in no time. Very friendly, even when the baby started getting really fussy.

Cost: Great -- my sandwich (not huge, but filling and tasty) plus an Orangiata came to under $8.

Baby-Friendliness: Very good. Bustling atmosphere, friendly clientele who were eager to help with doors and chairs, and who were very kind when baby started freaking out while I was midway through my sandwich.

Overall Grade: A

An easier door would catapult this retail-food jewel into A+ territory.

Next up -- a cafe that saved my sanity! Stay tuned for the whole story...

Beirut Express Lebanese Food

As a bit of background, I am unsure about how to remain unbiased in my reviews of any Lebanese or Vietnamese restaurants I come across. The reason for this bias is that I once lived in Ottawa, which is deliciously overrun with top-quality shawarma and pho spots. Hence, I have been spoiled.

However, my random selections have inevitably led me to a Lebanese restaurant, and I will try to be fair in my evaluation of the food at...
Beirut Express Lebanese Food at 787 Fort st!


Access: Ok. Getting in the (sans-wheelchair-button) door was no more difficult nor easier than anywhere else. Navigating in the restaurant was tight, and getting to the till involved minorly disrupting other patrons. There was also only one table at which a stroller could be comfortably pulled up -- luckily, that one table was open.

Food: Not great. The falafel was a bit dry, and the sauces and veggies packed no punch. Even the normally-zesty pickled turnip was bland.

Service: Good. Fast, efficient, and friendly.

Cost: Ok-- A big (and filling) falafel shawarma and an Orangiata soda was just under $10.

Baby-Friendliness: Ok. Bustling atmosphere of busy street is good, and the staff was kind. Lack of places to park a stroller wasn't great, though. Also, I am unsure whether there was a washroom, and did not check about a change space. No obvious, comfortable spots to breastfeed.

Overall Grade: C-

The good service and relative stroller accessibility save Beirut Express from a D grade. Next up, another Mexican restaurant! Stay tuned...

Happy One-Month Birthday, #StrollerFriendly!

To celebrate, I'll go through a few questions I've gotten about the website, and a few modifications that will be coming in the future.

Comments
I've opened up the comments section to allow for discussion and feedback, and I invite anyone to respond.

Also, I wholeheartedly invite anyone in any city to do a #StrollerFriendly review of their own -- just be sure to address all categories in a sentence or two, and be sure to let me know what city you're hailing from. I would love to publish your review! :-)


Breastfeeding Clarification
Someone once asked me what I'd meant, when I said I was looking for a place to breastfeed discreetly. Was I requiring a comfy chair in a large, private washroom, or would a spacious booth in a secluded section of the restaurant suffice?

Basically, having a comfy chair in a washroom is ideal, and will fetch extra points for the restaurant being reviewed. I am looking forward to reviewing The Cactus Club, as it does indeed have this feature. However, I will settle for any secluded and moderately comfortable spot to breastfeed, and restaurants only start losing points when there is nowhere that is both suitable and accessible.

Note that booth seating is not always a sure thing for discreet breastfeeding, as the sometimes-immoveable booth tables can often be too close to the seat to fit both mom and baby.


Coming Soon: Restaurant vs. Retail
Lastly, I was reflecting on the standards I've been holding all restaurants up to, and realized that there is a problem with holding a food-retail-type establishment (such as Pink Sugar Cupcakery) to the same standard as a restaurant-type establishment (Nautical Nellie's).

While access, service, cost and food are equally important in both categories, a retail establishment should not be expected to offer the same amenities (change tables, comfy place to breastfeed, etc) as a sit-down-and-take-your-time restaurant. Therefore, any retail-type places I review henceforth will only take into account basic Baby-Friendliness (noise level, staff attitude) and not the presence of amenities.

The distinction between retail and restaurant-style food establishments will be as follows:

• Restaurants serve food that is assumed to be eaten on premises; Retail is mostly a take-out operation with limited seating for the rare on-premises-eaters.
• If there is an onsite washroom available to the clientele, it's a restaurant. If not, it's retail.
• Restaurants offer availability and variety of both food and drink; retail is more limited, often specializing in a very specific food.

Naturally, there are places that are clearly restaurant or clearly retail, but there will doubtlessly be others whose classification will be unclear. When in doubt, I will err to restaurant standards.

So, that's it for the one-month writeup! Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for our next review!

No Spontaneous Lunches for You!

I have since uncovered two more restaurants which are, apparently, uninterested in spontaneous patronage by strollermums. Why can I say this, you ask? Because, while they all HAVE wheelchair-accessible entrances, NONE have any means by which these entrances can, indeed, be ACCESSED at the clients' timing.

All require advance warning and/or sending an able-bodied companion to notify staff of your presence.

So, if you're on your own with a stroller, looking for a quick bite while the baby naps, these restaurants are not for you!

Milestones at 812 Wharf st
Japanese Village Restaurant at 734 Broughton st.

...and as previously mentioned, Ric's Grill on 910 Government st.

These entries fall into a newly-dubbed category: THE WALL OF SHAME. Who will be the next entry to The Wall? Stay tuned to find out!

Nautical Nellies

Today's review is for Nautical Nellies, found at 1001 Wharf st.

Access: There are a few small stairs and a raised doorway, making getting into the restaurant a bit tricky, but not impossible. Upon entering the restaurant, I was asked to leave my stroller at the entrance, even though there was sufficient room to manoeuvre and park without being in anyone's way. (Also, I was fairly certain that I'd seen a table with a stroller parked next to it in the other section of the restaurant.) Nonetheless, I didn't kick up a fuss, and the staff was quick to furnish me with a high chair.

**NOTE, this therefore makes Nautical Nellies a bad choice for cases in which a baby is too young to sit in a high chair, or where one might not want to remove the baby from the stroller and/or leave a stroller unattended. (E.g., sleeping babies, or strollers packed with post-errands goods).

Food: Though I'd been craving a burger, I could not resist the description of the Ultimate Lobster Sandwich, which I opted for instead. It was pretty straightforward -- two slices of grainy bread, some tender greens, a yummy aoli, and big, honkin' chunks of lobster. It was tasty, but not terribly exciting, and it was (imho) somewhat overpriced.

Service: Not great -- It was fast enough on the basics (food order, delivery), but I had to go to significant lengths to flag down my waitress to ask for an extra spoon. Note that the restaurant was almost totally empty at the time, so it wasn't like she was busy with other tables.

Cost: My meal cost $30, which I think is a lot, considering it was for a sandwich (albeit one with sizeable lobster chunks) and a beer.

Baby-Friendliness: Wins some, but loses overall. No change table in the bathrooms, which is VERY inconvenient. Though this dark restaurant with lots of hidden corners leaves several options for discreet breastfeeding. Noise level was good, if a bit quiet.

Overall Grade: D

Next up is a double post of stroller-friendly FAILS -- stay tuned for more details!

Hernandez

Next review is courtesy of my friends at Mothering Touch baby group, as they helped me find this hidden gem! Here is the review for Hernandez, found in a mall at 734 Yates st.

Access: Excellent! The mall doors have wheelchair push-buttons that allow for easy stroller access. The ramp to the restaurant itself is easy to find. The tables are well-spaced, leaving many places a stroller can fit without being underfoot. We even had four strollers at one table without any trouble!

Food: Delicious! My chicken tacos were messy and superb.

Service: Fast, no-frills.

Cost: Very cheap! My tacos and a bottle of fancy beer came to $12.

Baby-Friendliness: Great. Bright, plastic tablecloths ease my paranoia about my baby spilling/ruining something. Similarly, some dishes (like the tacos) are served not on plates, but on sheets of wax paper... impossible to break by accident! Note that I did not get around to using the washroom there, so I cannot report on whether there's a change table... will update when I know. Lots of space and opportunity to breastfeed, though a nursing cover is a good idea for the more bashful mothers, since the restaurant spans a mall thoroughfare.

Overall Grade: A!

Depending on the verdict with the washroom, this restaurant may yet break the A+ barrier! Stay tuned...

Nevertheless, I've found a new favourite, and I will be back!

Orchard on View Marketplace

Next is the little sandwich joint near the Bay Centre: the Orchard on View Marketplace at 655 View st.

Access: Bad -- the store itself is so small, I had to wait until there were *no* customers in order to get to the cash register. However, there is one little table outside where I was easily able to park the stroller and eat my lunch, so it's only the ordering and paying parts of the lunch process that are not very stroller-accessible.

Food: My ham & avocado sandwich was tasty and full of fresh vegetables, but the bread was dry. The seed cookie was delicious, not too sweet, and with phenomenal texture.

Service: Prompt and very friendly. The clerk saw I'd forgotten napkins, and so she made a special trip to bring some out to my table. :-)

Cost: My pre-made sandwich, cookie and Orangiata came to $11.50, which I think is a bit expensive.

Baby friendly: Space-wise, not so much. But personnel-wise, I was very satisfied with the level of baby-friendliness. The cashier seemed overjoyed to talk to my baby, who was more than happy to flirt back. (Yes, having staff speak kindly to my baby *does* count towards this grade.)

Overall Grade: D+

The tasty food and friendly service save this somewhat expensive and not-easily-accessible restaurant from a failing grade.

Ric's Grill

Next is Ric's Grill on 910 Government st, and it has the dubious honour of being this blogs' first EPIC FAIL. How so? Read on.

So I arrive at the restaurant, eager for the burger I'd been dreaming about all day, and a lady coming out of the door stops to tell me how great the food is there. I can't wait! :-D

Then I notice that inside the main doors are many, many stairs. Drat. After looking around, I see a sign saying there's an accessible entrance off Broughton, so I head there.

The first sign of trouble came when I got to Broughton -- there was only a small sign for Ric's Grill, and it wasn't clear where I was supposed to enter the building. Eventually I found a dark, hidden, sunken door to a nondescript government building, and went in. Inside said building there were NO SIGNS WHATSOEVER to lead me to the restaurant, or even the elevators.

Meanwhile, well-meaning passersby kept stopping me and trying to redirect me to the restaurant's main entrance, which I had to repeatedly explain I could NOT enter, due to having a stroller. I would see the penny drop, and had to retain my patience despite having had this conversation half a dozen times within the space of 15 minutes. And of course no one had any idea about where to find the accessible entrance -- some didn't even know where to find the elevators! Sigh.

So eventually I find the elevators, fend off MORE would-be-redirectors, and finally arrive at a hidden, ill-marked door with a tiny sign, "Ric's Grill Accessible Entrance". Success!

And then I pull the handle. It's locked. It's business hours, and it's locked.

I bang on the door with my loudest, most police-like knock. No answer. I knock again, even louder. Nothing. Nor is there any doorbell to ring, or even the phone number for the restaurant posted, so that I may call them on my celphone.

No, instead I am left, alone and hungry, in the middle of some awful and confusing government building. Apparently Ric's Grill has no interest in spontaneous patronage from stroller-mums or even the disabled.

In the interests of fairness, however, I later phoned them to ask for an explanation. I spoke to a very kind lady named Liz, who is just taking over as a new manager. Apparently, the usual way it works is that customers requiring that entrance make arrangements in advance. I replied that with an unpredictable baby, keeping schedules is almost impossible. A mum herself, she apologized profusely for the inconvenience and assured me that she will talk to the building managers to install some sort of notification system (doorbell, buzzer) and/or just leave the door open.

So, we'll see whether that actually happens -- but until it does, Ric's Grill gets an EPIC FAIL for stroller access. And since access is key for me being able to rate the place, total inaccessibility is met with a TOTAL FAIL on all counts.

Overall Grade: F

Pink Sugar Cupcakery

Next is Pink Sugar Cupcakery! They are located at 773 Fort st, and their website is here.

Access: Getting in and out the door is tricky with a stroller, but once in, there is lots of room to move around. Parking a stroller next to a table is very easy.

Food: As you'd expect, Pink Sugar Cupcakery solely sells cupcakes, though there are many varieties and two sizes to choose from. The Peanut Butter cupcake is, in my opinion, sheer heaven! Will definitely be back.

Service: Prompt, efficient, to the point. Would prefer a bit more warmth, but that's just me.

Cost: $3 per regular-sized cupcake is an appropriate price for a tasty indulgence.

Baby-friendliness: Like Il Posto Pizzeria, Pink Sugar Cupcakery overlooks a busy street, and therefore most baby noises fit in well with the hustle and bustle of the traffic. No place to breastfeed, change a diaper, etc, as it is more of a retail-cafe than a restaurant-cafe.

Overall Grade: B

Note that I will upgrade this to a B+ if they left the door open (at least on nice days)... the door was by far the biggest downside to the baby-friendliness of Pink Sugar Cupcakery. Otherwise, I recommend it! :-)

Il Posto Pizzeria

Here goes my first stroller-friendly review!

Where: Il Posto Pizzeria at 1001 Douglas, across the street from the Bay Centre.

Access: Easy to get through the door, but narrow to maneuver in the restaurant. Would have been impossible had there been more people.

Food: Tasty enough, but nothing to write home about. The broccoli, feta and cranberry salad (WAY less healthy than it sounds) was a delightful surprise, and the highlight of the meal. The pizza was tough.

Service: Very prompt, friendly enough, and generally no-frills.

Cost: Cheap -- a slice of pizza, a reasonable helping of salad, and a soft drink came to less than $10. I left satisfied.

Baby-friendliness: Not great, but not bad. The restaurant overlooks a very busy street with lots of ambient buzz from all the cars and people walking by. Also, a rock radio station was playing Guns N Roses. Hence, the noise level was appropriate to bring a babbling baby into. There was, however, no place to breastfeed discreetly, nor could the stroller easily make it to the bathroom (to see whether there was a change table/surface).

Overall Grade: C+

Thanks for reading -- another review should be up within the next day or two! :-)

Welcome to Stroller Friendly City!

I love restaurants. I've always loved restaurants. I love trying new restaurants, and occasionally discovering a hidden gem.

And then I had a baby.

Suddenly, my judgement criteria shifted. While I still love tasty food and good service, I now also incorporate some other factors in my gauge of restaurant quality.

Can I fit my stroller somewhere? Do they have a change table? Is the noise level lively enough for other tables to not be bothered by a loudly babbling baby?

Then I thought, maybe other mums are searching for the same thing! So, I'm launching #strollerfriendlyyyj, a multi-pronged social-media project that will distribute baby-oriented reviews of restaurants in downtown Victoria (=YYJ), where I live.

The synopsis and final mark will be disseminated via Facebook and Twitter (@Karla_HH), whereas the detailed review will be found on this blog.

Specifically, the rating will focus on these aspects:

• Access -- ability to enter the establishment with a stroller, ease of maneuvering, sufficient space (somewhere!) to park one stroller.

• Food -- how good is it? Bonus points for the availability of items that can be eaten one-handed, in the event of a fussy baby.

• Service -- Fast service takes on a wholly new level of importance when you've got a (metaphorical) time bomb on your hands. How long do I actually have before the next crying jag? It could be minutes, or it could be hours. Either way, a speedy lunch is a very good thing. Friendly service is also important, as my poor, sleep-deprived soul always appreciates a kind smile.

• Cost -- Now that we're living on a single income, splashy and overpriced lunches are (for now) a thing of the past. What kind of bang-for-the-buck does this place give?
  

• Baby-Friendliness -- Are there change tables? A spot to breastfeed discreetly? Was the noise level compatible with the occasional loud baby babble? Were the staff and other patrons mostly kind, or were they noticeably annoyed with the presence of a baby?
  

• Overall grade -- A for excellent, B for good, C for satisfactory, D for barely passable and F for godawful.

Anyhow, if you have any questions, or want to do a #strollerfriendly for your own city, I'd love to hear about it! In the meantime, stay tuned for the reviews for my first four restaurants. I'm hoping to get to two this week.

Bon appetit!