Toddler

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A week in Rye with the little guy

When people who love food and going out have a little one, does that diminish the future experience of food and going out? It is a question we are yet to definitively answer, but we are doing our best to accommodate each into the other!

Lunch at T’Gallant

Like most parents, we are very proud of our little 20 month boy, Sydney. He is energetic, cheeky, and beautiful. Those three characteristics do make our regular dining habits interesting though. We have never been shy of putting an over-the-top amount of thought into our next meal, and having Sydney takes it to the next level. I’ve separately written about some of that need for preparation, as well as what works for us, in “Combining our love of food and our little boy!” In saying all of this, I honestly believe our choices, and dining experiences while based in Rye, are very good for anyone.

  • Peninsula Hot Springs
  • Cornell’s fish and chips out the back at our Rye AirBNB
  • View from Arthur’s Seat

If you add in a trip to the Peninsula Hot Springs, one of the amazing golf courses, beautiful calm bay beaches like Blairgowrie, and energy charged surf beaches like Flinders, you have a terrific array of adventures. There are picnic (or professional) horse races, the Mornington to Moorooduc train from the preservation society, the Arthur’s Seat Lookout and Eagle “Gondola”, heaps of wineries, craft and farmer’s markets, and so many other attractions to this area. Last year, Sydney particularly enjoyed picking strawberries in Red Hill too.

Panda, Blairgowrie, Dinner

Panda is a place that feels as if it is calling out to you as you pass. Across the road is a beautiful calm bayside beach called Blairgowrie, that at this time of the year is pristine, with clear blue shallow water. Panda is on a corner after the main village, with green grass meeting an alfresco area of a white building that metaphorically says beach all over it.

We had a light dinner with some prawns from the specials, and shared a cheese burger. The burger was delicious, almost surprisingly so, with plenty of pickles and the right amount of sauce, in a brioche bun, with a nicely charred juicy meat pattie. The prawns were tasty too, with a salsa verde, and a thoughtful garnish salad.

What made Panda even better was the service. From the initial greeting at a busy venue, throughout our meal, to the end, the staff really were enjoying their shift. It was so great we had to comment on it, and we realise it is something you shouldn’t take for granted when it is above and beyond like that.

  • Outdoor dining, Panda style

T’Gallant, Red Hill, Lunch

We haven’t been to T’Gallant together, and the last time we had been separately was several years ago. Personally, I feel it is a bit simple to go to a winery for pizza when there are so many other options. With our little boy, we couldn’t be too choosy, and in the end we have a new take on T’Gallant.

Again, the welcome, and accommodating nature of the front of house, made an enormous difference. We didn’t have a booking so we were quite happy to continue on if the winery was full. They went out of their way to make us comfortable, allowing us to choose which table out of the couple that were left.

The set-up here has changed over the years and it is perfect now. There are views to the vineyard and plenty of shady umbrellas, which was necessary on this hot day. The grounds are good looking and well kept. The pizzas are rectangular and I must say huge! You can order “half and half” and the whole translates into a very large board. Quality is maintained even with the large size. It might not be D.O.C. quality, but it is the next best thing, and the wines such as the Pinot Gris are excellent for their style.

One quality you need with a little energetic boy is patience. The same is required for many of the T’Gallant staff. I realise this is a very tough time for restaurants with much of the workforce having left Australia for their own homelands. But we did see some bickering amongst staff, and we did overhear one had been there since school (for over 5 years), but that didn’t make her any more attentive than the rest. You basically had to run after someone to order (and we did, twice). If you are here for a quick lunch order immediately once seated, or just hold your breath and be patient.

  • Lunch at T’Gallant

Donna Maria, Flinders, Dinner

I’ve written before about places that we go back to, and how it is an immediate sign we really like a restaurant, because often our preference is to try something new. At Donna Maria we enjoyed the food enough that Catherine was back with her Mum, and sister Steph, only a couple of weeks later.

There are several distinct areas to sit and having started dinner early, we enjoyed sitting on the veranda facing the street, feeling the final rays of the sun for the day. Sydney was not in his best form tonight, so dinner was a little difficult, but the staff were great and they ignored the commotion very politely indeed.

To begin we shared the Capresse salad and the special truffled arancini. The generosity of the key ingredients, and the quality of the mozzarella, made this simple salad something to behold. Equally impactful, but with a lot more richness, was the arancini. For main we shared a serve of the crab pasta. Again, this was outstanding, with quality al dente pasta, plenty of crab, and the right amount of crumb to provide texture, but not overpower the star ingredients.

Given our unfolding situation in the highchair (we had to bring one by the way) we took away a serve of tiramisu for dessert. It is a very nice rendition of this Italian classic, and enough for the entire population of one of the neighbouring islands to enjoy! We bid arrivederci to Donna Maria, but Catherine would be back soon after to enjoy another great meal.

The Kitchen, Tootgarook, Breakfast

Despite a little confusion between finding The Little Kitchen, and The Kitchen, we found the actual cafe on a dreary Australia Day morning. The Little Kitchen is charming as a take away joint, with apparently excellent options across the board, but the outside is not comfortable for a family on a rainy day with no high chairs available either. Gladly we realised we were not where we planned just before ordering!

The Kitchen Bistro, Bar & Courtyard on the other hand is equally very busy this morning, but far more comfortable, as the main cafe / restaurant of the two sister eateries. On the other side of the main road, but close to the beach at Tootgarook, it has plenty of space inside and out, but we took the indoors option given the occasional showers.

The coffee is great, and the egg & bacon breakfast burger is full of flavour – the perfect start to a day that would lead to the Balnarring picnic races. We even got a taste of Sydney’s kids breakfast “The Smashy” which was pretty good.

Nordie, Red Hill, Breakfast

In an area rich of options, Nordie has the right balance to satisfy a diverse cafe crowd. On this bright and sunny day, the back courtyard is the perfect setting, but the interior is almost as inviting.

The dishes from the kitchen are attractive and tasty, with my Red Hill Rosti Benedict beautifully composed. While not as attractive, Catherine really enjoyed her smoked salmon bagel, and Sydney enjoyed his fruit toast and jam. The coffee is good too.

I quite like the idea of starting off at Nordie before a few cellar door visits, and then perhaps a late winery lunch. It was a very nice way to end our trip down to Rye, enjoying some Arthur’s Seat views on the way back down to the freeway.

Some takeaway options

Johnny Ripe, Main Ridge – while we have actually dined here before for lunch in the outdoor courtyard, lately we have been taking food away from Johnny Ripe like it is going out of fashion! The vanilla slices are special (you can get them a few other places too, like the Blairgowrie IGA), the lasagne is exceptional value (and delicious), and the pies and sausage rolls are terrific. A great option on a nice day is to take your own picnic blanket to eat on the expansive lawn, or stock up on provisions for your next trip on the Peninsula.

Cornell Seafood, Blairgowrie – we ordered a few serves of snapper, a Greek salad and minimum chips, and we were happy with our dinner.

16 Beach General Store, Rye – on the ocean side, this cafe has a terrific business going for a small general store, smashing out hundreds of coffees a day. They are friendly and have a lot of nice options packed into a tiny space, but the coffee (and chai) is a real winner.

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Combining our love of food and our little boy

For two food lovers it has been more than an interesting couple of years. Almost two years ago we welcomed Sydney into the world, and the lead up involved a lot of research about what you could eat when pregnant, plus what you could eat with gestational diabetes. COVID didn’t make things easier, although we did have plenty of excuses to not go out (ie, we were forced!)

Deep thought about both important, and far less important, aspects of life, is one of the reasons I write this blog. Like most with their first child, I am not an expert in anything to do with the little one, and Sydney is unique, just as everyone’s kids are. They all have different personalities, temperaments, interests, dislikes, and experiences. So I thought I would write about some things that help us dine with Syd.

Before we leave the house there is two things that are critical. The first is packing everything! It would be unusual for us not to have a selection of snacks, toys, his water bottle, everything spare for what could go wrong, and five other things that Catherine remembered that I always forget! The second is research. If we are not sure about any aspect of where we are going we either look it up, or call (or both).

There are things that we need to know or our dining experience could be awkward. We’ve been to enough restaurants that don’t have highchairs to know that we need to verbally confirm if we are not 100% sure. We often book for Syd but leave a note, or make a call, to let them know he is a toddler. Restaurants are doing it tough and we do understand if bringing a toddler (or two or more on some catch ups) means a seat is not available for someone else who could be eating and drinking a lot more. We also figure if a restaurant knows a toddler is coming, they can hardly be displeased once we arrive given their prior knowledge. For outdoor dining we also need to be sure that there will be a spot for Syd that is shady enough if it is hot (which hasn’t been an issue in Melbourne recently!)

Lunch at T’Gallant

Syd has been a difficult combination of a small eater, and a fussy one, which is actually a bit like his parents. We’ve found some cafe and restaurant staples that allow him to join in when he is not in the mood to try anything unusual. Fried rice, cheesy pasta (thanks Tipo 00!), and fruit toast, are normally winners, with other plain toasts and avocado growing in popularity. When I’m at a pub, chips are often eaten liberally, but please don’t tell anyone. Normally whatever is on offer is the follow up from snacks, or the snacks are in the back of Syd’s mind as he eats.

We take him to a lot of places, both together and separately too. There is often a small window to enjoy the meal, but very rarely would I say it is relaxing. We do love it though. Whether it is a family dinner at home, which we try to do most nights, or showing Syd one of our favourite cafes or restaurants, it is a great experience for all of us. Between the thousands of wet-wipes, picking up food from the floor for the fifteenth time, and warnings about how close that toy was to knocking down my beer, there is the love of eating with someone who is learning how to eat. He gets to hear about our thoughts in conversation, and we get to talk to him while he is captive in his highchair.

Although I am very finicky and fastidious, I have learned with Catherine’s help, to let Syd get used to eating at his own pace and preference. He has a hilarious habit of eating with the spoon facing down like the way I eat ice cream, and although he can use a fork, he rarely finds it more appealing than his hands. I can’t help but stress a bit, but I’ve learned to relax a touch in the knowledge that his habits will change a lot in coming years, and he will get there. I’m glad to say it has never stopped us going out, and that goes with the occasional episode, and general noise level of being a toddler.

It can however dictate the time we eat, and our preference for certain venues that are a bit more atmospheric. Time wise we’ve chosen to eat very early lunches and dinners when going to quieter and/or fancy places, like Supernormal for example. Breweries are a favourite, as are large noisy places like busy cafes. Outdoor dining is a favourite because of the mess factor, and that goes for home dining too. Hand me the hose!

Catherine’s tip is to look at the menu before you arrive at the restaurant. That helped earlier today when she already knew what she wanted at Red Door Corner Store, and what Sydney might go for. It’s especially helpful with catch ups too, because so many times we just want to chat when we get to the venue, and not have to stop the conversation to read the menu.

The harder you work; the luckier you get. While there is effort in taking a toddler to a lot of dining experiences, there is a lot of joy. When Syd gets to an age where he is expected to start dining to certain standards, he should be well placed, comfortable in the knowledge that he has done this before, and enjoys the experience. We are really proud of him.