Since adding the baby to our little family we have been searching the city for a new type of restaurant. We used to be looking for a bar with food somewhere with drinks and a good menu or damn good drinks and an ok menu either way we were not concerned so much with the atmosphere. As long as we did not feel as though we might leave the place with blood spatters on our clothes (though that can make for one hell of a story) we were pretty much good to go. Now however things have changed just a bit. The places we frequent for food and drink must be kid friendly. They don’t have to be kid oriented like Chuck E. Cheese but they need to at the least allow children through the doors. They get double points if they actually have high chairs in stock.

Finding these places in a city known for its drunken debauchery can be a little challenging. Ok maybe debauchery is a little far but New Orleans certainly hasn’t been known for its kid friendly aspects. That being said I also find a lack of high chairs in restaurants. We live in the Marigny and sure there are actually quite a few restaurants that we can even walk to that will allow the baby inside but if they don’t have a high chair then it is a logistical challenge to enjoy a meal there. Anyone with kids will tell you it is a bit of a challenge to enjoy a meal in a restaurant with the little one(s) in tow under the best of circumstances so making in harder on me by frequenting non highchair venues is not top on my list of things to do.

I am on the look out for unique (read not Oliver Garden or Beneginns), good (read tasty) kid friendly establishments in New Orleans. I am going to share a couple places I have found with you so far and will share more as I discover them.

VooDooBBQ - They have a few locations in the area but last week we went to the one of St. Charles Ave. in uptown. The front room was pretty busy and looked like it was going to be hard for us to stay out of the way with the baby but there is another room in the back that at this time had hardly any people were using. The staff helped us find one of their highchairs and we moved to the back room. You do have to stand in line in the front room to order and pay, they give you a number and when your order is ready they bring it to the table you have selected so you don’t have to worry about wrangling the kids and the carrying the food, points for that. They have a bar so can order a drink if you like, points again. Our food was ready within minute of sitting down at our table and it was delicious. I had a pulled pork platter and my husband had a half rack of pork ribs, it was juicy and tender and full of BBQy goodness. Though the baby is still too young for his own order they have a few kids options one of which is a BBQ pork or beef sandwich, another plus for actually having BBQ on the kids menu rather than just a burger and chicken tenders (those are there too for the picky eaters in the crowd). Since we had the back room pretty much to ourselves (and this at lunch time too) we were not as worried about the baby annoying anyone just in case he screamed or threw a French fry in a random direction which has happened on occasion. The place definitely has a bit of the franchise feel to it but the food is good and reasonably priced, they have the option for a drink, the décor is entertaining (see picture) and they have highchairs, I predict all-in-all they will see our little family again soon.