by Deb Hall » Fri Aug 14, 2009 9:27 am
Thanks for all the input folks.
We ended up going back to Carly Rae's- Brad was right it was a fantastic evening for eating on the patio, and the lack of a kid's menu at Third Ave was an issue. ( Paula, sorry I didn't see your post until after- that was a great idea for another visit downtown). Sara's at Manual HS so I'll keep Third Ave in mind as a watering hole during Field HOckey practices.
The patio as previously was perfect, and the food ( Bison Burger and BBQ Pork sandwich) were both excellent. I'd really like to see them expand their sandwich selection- there are only 4-5 choices under $10 on the dinner menu and I'd think that might increase their draw. Our service was enthusiastic, but very uneven- we had to get up twice to try to track our waitress down and we were half way through eating our food before our errant beers arrived. She may have been a new server and she was trying hard. Responsiveness was very good: Two issues ( overly spicy sauce on kid's spagetti and bottled beer when drafts were ordered) were resolved on the spot with apologies and free replacement meal for the first- found out when the bill came that they had comped us the beers. Aiden loved the fountains and having the freedom to get up (nicely- not running around ) and explore the patio while we finished our food.
The highlight of the evening was the musicians who were 1) unexpected- I thought they only had music on weekends, 2) talented, and 3) very thoughtful. The opening act was a young self-professed "hard Rocker" who said she didn't usually perform for families. Aiden was the only child on the patio ( excepting several babies), but she "censored " the words to her songs to make them appropriate for him. This was a bit of a struggle, but she persevered, ending with a comical number where she effectively substituted the word "witch" for the songs main "B" word refrain and actually had to "lalala" one phrase. It was greatly appreciated and added to our enjoyable evening. Aiden announced as we left that he wanted to come back soon- it was clearly a hit with him too.
Deb
