Archive for October, 2008
On the Road to Athens
Last weekend we made our way down through the hills of Southeast Ohio and headed to Athens, home of Ohio University, our beloved alma mater. It was an informal 10-year reunion, perfect fall weather (the best time to visit if you ask me) and just a small group of 10 getting back to the place we all called home for 4-plus years (some of us just visiting regularly, not actually attending).
We try to get back at least every couple years, the groups always varying in sizes, but the main difference this year–aside from the 10-year mark–was that kids were in attendance. I’m not counting the time almost 4 years ago when our friend Alyson was expecting. This time, toddlers were in tow and we also took on the challenge of actually eating dinner together. In the past, food was one of those things you randomly grabbed in between bar stops. Or the large group was split into smaller groups and everyone met up later at some point to get back to drinking. And then the only “sitting down for a meal” you did was after the bars closed, on the steps of the war memorial statue in the middle of College Green to polish off your tasty burrito from the Burrito Buggy. Ok, so we relived that this time as well, but, as I said, we did successfully have a group meal prior to that–at a scheduled time, with kids. Amazing how things change.
In a college town, the selections are limited as far as casual, kid-friendly restaurants. Sure there are places like Applebee’s and Ruby Tuesday’s, but when you only get back once every few years, you want to take in something local and missed. The easiest choice was Casa Nueva.
Casa has a long history with Athens and the OU students. It’s a worker-owned cooperative specializing in mexican fare–namely salsas, enchiladas, burritos and the like, with some specials thrown in the mix. They believe in “slow food” or the farm-to-table idea that is rather popular with many chefs today. Only they’ve been doing that at Casa since 1985.
Overall, our visit was really nice. Plenty of room for a group of 10 adults and 3 kids (one in a high chair), the food was good (only a few complaints about the burritos being a bit dry), our server was very knowledgeable and handled us all pretty well. We definitely made her work. Not sure if it was her fault or the kitchen/bar, but it seemed like “slow” was taken a bit too far when it came to getting things to the table. We didn’t really mind because we were enjoying ourselves, but every now and again the kids got antsy. 3 hours is a long time to dine even without kids. But when all was said and done, everyone was satisfied, the kids were ready for bed, adults ready for the bars and no one complained about the checks. With prices this cheap how can you justify paying big city prices? Especially in this economy. But that’s another topic for another day.
And to keep on the cheap eats theme, a few of us stopped at the Coffee Cup in Nelsonville on our way out of town the next morning. Huge breakfasts, homemade food and a friendly environment. Definitely beats Bob Evans. Especially on the selection. I’ll let the reviews here sum it up for you. But it’s no wonder OU students will make the 16-mile drive just to get breakfast.
Casa Nueva
6 West State Street
Athens, Ohio 45701
(740) 592-2016
Date of visit: Saturday, October 18, 2008
Hours: Monday-Thursday 8a-2:30p and 5p-9p; Friday 8a-2:30p and 5p-10p; Saturday 9a-10p; Sunday 9a-9p; Cantina open until 2a daily.
Prices: Apps/soups/salads, $2-8; House specialties and Entrees, $3-10; Dinner platters, $8.50-13. Full bar service.
Reservations: They don’t take them and advise bigger groups to get there as early as possible. We sent a couple people there around 5p to put our name in and they gave us a 35-minute wait time so we made sure people knew to not show up until it was time to be seated. That way we avoided standing in the entrance/at the bar for that long. And even by doing that we still had a short wait at the bar.
Called ahead: Yes–which is how we found out about the reservation policy.
High Chairs: Yes
Changing Tables: Yes, in the large stall in both the women’s and men’s bathrooms. That’s a +5 if you’re keeping a grading scale. Now mom isn’t the only one getting diaper duty during dinner.
Kids plates: Yes, it’s a separate printed sheet with some coloring activities on the back. Crayons included. And since Casa was green before green was a movement, the game on the back of the sheets for our visit had a maze game with a recycling message. Items are in keeping with the mexican fare, but also include grilled cheese.
Other notes: Breakfast and lunch are also served and there are a variety of interesting beverage choices for those who want something different, but sans alcohol.
The Coffee Cup
615 W Washington St
Nelsonville, OH 45764
(740) 753-3336
Date of visit: Sunday, October 19, 2008
Hours: Not sure on exact hours, but they do serve breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Prices: Breakfast menu ranged from as little as $1-2 for a la carte items and on average $3-8 for full platters and entrees.
Reservations: No. We walked in with a group of 8 plus 2 kids and waited maybe 15 minutes for a table during a busy breakfast rush.
Called ahead: No
High Chairs: Yes
Changing Tables: Yes
Kids plates: I’m checking on this, but even if there isn’t a specific one, items can be ordered a la carte as I mentioned earlier. And I know the little ones we were with had pancakes and bacon.
Other notes: Vegetarians love the fact that there is a vegetarian section on the menu and some of the items are listed as vegan.
Add comment October 24, 2008
Props Again to Mod Mex
It’s safe to say that Momocho has easily become my favorite restaurant. I say that with some reservation only because there are so many great restaurants out there and Momocho deals in pretty specific cuisine. However, as of late, I can’t get enough of the place. It’s also become our go-to restaurant for entertaining out-of-town guests. We did just that a couple Saturdays back and we posed a decent challenge for the staff at Momocho: 6 adults and three kids under the age of 2. Two of which were in high chairs. The other still young enough to camp out in his car seat. Due to this visit, I felt the need to post again about it and give some major props to a great place.
I have to give a huge pat on the back to our waiter. I want to say his name was Kevin. I could be wrong on that, but regardless, he was fantastic. A lot of fun, enthusiastic and really interactive with the kids. The service was great, food was tasty as always and the rest of the staff was just as nice. What really surprised me though was just how happy the staff was to interact with the little ones. Maybe it was where we were seated? You couldn’t help but see us when coming up the stairs–we were right there, Grady on the end saying “hi” to anyone who walked by. But everyone from bussers, to waitstaff, to the guys in the kitchen couldn’t have been more friendly.
A little bit of the details: We made an early reservation for 5 p.m. and due to a perfect pace on food courses/drinks etc. we were finished up within the suggested 2 hour dining time (Whenever I’ve made weekend reservations there, that’s what they tell you. I think it’s pretty standard for busy places). That even included a couple diaper changes and smoke breaks for those who partake. I’ll also note here that we never felt rushed. It was a very easy-going dining experience and just goes to show you how being efficient doesn’t mean compromising a good time.
During our shuffling around to get seated, our waiter asked if we needed him to get another high chair from Johnny Mango. I’m assuming there must be only 2 high chairs at Momocho, only because I didn’t see any others being used. We didn’t need one (had the car seat and room for that in the booth), but I thought it was nice that he was willing to take the extra step.
Turns out there is a “super secret” kids’ menu as well. It’s not printed, but they offer things like chicken and rice, cheese quesadillas and chicken fingers at a lower price point for the kids. I wasn’t aware of that before this visit. Definitely good to know.
Again, I can’t say enough about how great the staff, in particular, was that night. While the food is definitely the draw at most places, and it’s fantastic here, a wonderful waitstaff is icing on the cake. If you still have yet to get to Momocho, do so ASAP! With or without kids, this place is a must eat.
1 comment October 6, 2008
