By Annalisa Burgos

Family Style chronicles an urban mom’s search for DC area restaurants that both kids and adults will enjoy.

All parents know the challenge of dining out with the kids, especially toddlers. It’s like traveling with a ticking time bomb – you never know when it’ll go off, resulting in an embarrassing scene of tantrums and food on the floor.

The key to eating out with your toddler is constant stimulation. But when you’re busy entertaining your two-year-old (or keeping the knife out of his/her hand), how can you really enjoy a nice meal?

As an urban mom who enjoys eating out, I’m always searching for kid-friendly, grown-up restaurants. Firefly near Dupont Circle is one of those places, as my family and I discovered one evening.

At first glance, Firefly looks like any fine dining establishment, but hidden behind the elegant decor and attentive service is a kid-friendly place. As soon as we were seated, our server placed an unbaked cookie-dough man with a side of chocolate pearls and sprinkles in front of our 18-month-old Alex. Alex immediately started decorating the cookie, mesmerized by the chance to be creative.

That gave mom and dad a chance to savor amazing appetizers, including crispy chicken fried oysters that melt in your mouth, bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with blue cheese that were perfect morsels of sweet and salty, and a salad of housemade mozzarella, heirloom tomato and basil bread that gave new meaning to the word “fresh.” (All of which Alex enjoyed as well.)

The kid’s menu featured more than the typical burger or chicken fingers. Among the choices: chicken matzoh ball soup, baby shrimp, BLT and avocado sandwich and creamed spinach. We opted for the macaroni and cheese, which was tasty enough for an adult to appreciate.

Once Alex completed his decorating project, the cookie was whisked away to the kitchen for baking, while we finished our cocktails and devoured our entrees – pan roasted Alaskan halibut and mini pot roast – both perfectly cooked.

To cap the meal off, our server returned with the baked cookie-dough man, which Alex admired before gobbling up. A sweet end to a delightful family dinner.

And the best part? I didn’t have to pick up any food from the floor.

Firefly
1310 New Hampshire Avenue NW
(202) 861-1310
http://www.firefly-dc.com