It has recently occurred to me that an additional perk of racing to the grocery store prior to a snow event (the first perk being, of course, that you have food in your house should the storm turn out to be significant) is that you then don’t have to go to the store after the snow event. Because although you’ll find empty shelves and crowded checkout lines before, after you’re stuck with a slushy parking lot, grocery carts kicking up all kinds of nasty gunk as you trudge along, and half the cart returns filled with plowed snow (as if taking up those two customer parking spots instead of dumping the snow in the cart return is really going to make a huge dent in this year’s profits).
So after the snow a few weekends ago, when faced with the choice of grocery shopping or going out to lunch, I thought, hey, isn’t it about time for the next installment in our Tiny Diner series?
Nothing banishes the winter blues quite like salsa and queso (not to mention margaritas, although, I still feel sketchy ordering a cocktail right after I’ve asked for a high chair, even when hubby has volunteered to be our designated driver; anyone else similarly burdened with that unfortunate complex?) so we decided to hit one of our favorite pre-baby haunts: On The Border in Rocky Hill.
The parking lot looks big, but I’m always surprised at how quickly it fills up.
At about 2:00 on a Sunday afternoon the restaurant wasn’t exactly busy, but if it had been, there is this nice, out-of-the-way area to wait in.
There is even a basket of books to help keep the little ones occupied.
Unfortunately, it’s hard to sit in a booth with a high chair here because of fire codes (for safety reasons, high chairs can’t block aisles), but the tables are nice and big so it’s not too much of a concession.
Once we got settled, we took a look at the kid’s menu. On The Border scores big points on their kid’s menu. Bright, colorful, full of fun activities, and packed with great meal options for little ones.
With all this “research” for the blog, Boo is getting really good at using crayons.
We ordered Boo a milk, which came in a cute, cartoon-covered plastic cup with a straw, and the cheese quesadilla.
Boo loves pretty much anything with cheese these days, and this was no exception. However, it was a huge meal for my little guy, so hubby and I might have, er, had ourselves a little quesadilla slice appetizer. Bonus.
I usually can’t resist the Big Bordurrito, but today the Achiote Chicken Tacos caught my eye.
I still love the Big Bordurrito, but this dish comes in a very, VERY close second.
I didn’t need to do any diaper changing while we were there, but I did check out the restroom and there is one of those wall-mounted, pull-down plastic changing tables.
When we had finished lunch, and Boo could no longer be amused by our lame attempts at kid’s menu origami, we packed up to go. For some reason, Boo has recently decided that he hates to put on his coat (he doesn’t hate to wear the coat, just put it on; I cannot wait until he can tell me what goes on in that cute little head of his). So I was very happy that we could retreat to this bench near the front of the restaurant (and away from all the nice people trying to enjoy their lunch) to bundle up.
Fortunately, he was too distracted by incoming diners (and crazy mommy taking a zillion pictures) to put up much of a fight.
Then it was time to trudge back through the melting snow to our car. I guess I didn’t completely escape the slushy parking lot, but at least I didn’t have to worry about where to return the cart 🙂
Cheers!
THE MOMSENSE:
On The Border
1519 Silas Deane Highway, Rocky Hill, CT
(860) 899-1670
Get directions here:
On The Border has another CT location in Orange, CT.
Hours:
Monday-Thursday & Sunday:11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.; Friday & Saturday: 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m.
Hints & Tips:
- Click here to view the On The Border regular menu and here to view their kid’s menu.
- All kid’s meals come with a free dessert sundae.
- There is some room up front to stash a stroller. If you must, bring one that folds up compactly.
- You can call ahead to put your name on the waiting list if you think you’ll be going at a busier time; call at least 30 minutes before you plan to arrive to minimize your wait at the restaurant.
- On The Border also offers their full menu for take out (because we know even the best laid plans can go awry when there’s a toddler in tow).
COMING UP:
Next Tuesday Mandy brings you part two of her Farmington Library adventure. Plus, if you could build your ultimate dream playroom, it would probably look a lot like this place. See where in next Thursday’s post.