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I'm Debbie, mother of two delicious kids, 9mo and 2.5yr, and I love to travel. That's my daughter in the backpack and my son in Paris on halloween. I write about traveling with little kids and my city guides list activities for kids, family friendly hotels, child friendly restaurants, and shopping for kids of all ages. We live in Seattle, Washington. Please send questions, tips, and suggestions via email

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Favorite Restaurant Guidebooks

One of my great joys before any trip is to leaf through books that help me learn about the food I will be eating at my destination. Sometimes I just look at the pictures and pick a few restaurants or bakeries, but if am motivated I'll even cook a few new dishes before we go. When I return, I often have a few regional specialties packed in my suitcase so that I can recreate some of the dishes I enjoyed.

Earlier this week, I wrote about my favorite online restaurant guides. Here are some of my favorite printed resources for finding great food experiences around the world.

General Resources

Lonely Planet's World Food Guides are a great resource for learning about a region's food before you go. The guides have lots of pictures and even include a few simple recipes.
Fodors Gold Guides include clear, accurate restaurant reviews and their authors seem to seek out great food at every price. In larger cities, Fodors often lists one or two child friendly restaurants. Look for the "Gold Star" recommendations (which can be in any price range). Supplement this guide with a great map.
Style City Guides are a great way to find out about a city's new and interesting restaurants, bars and shops (as well as the historic and traditional places that remain unique and fashionable. StyleCity guides aim to mimic a fashionable friend's recommendations in each city they cover. These guides also feature clear maps and beautiful photographs of each destination.

Seattle
Best Places Seattle does a thorough job of listing great food choices (and giving you a good sense of what to expect). The guides also have extensive hotel, shopping and activities listings.

New York
Nosh New York is not a traditional restaurant guidebook. Instead of listing just the authors favorite Manhattan restaurants, it is more of a neighborhood by neighborhood guide to the diverse food experiences in New York City. The book includes restaurants, bakeries, markets, food stands, interesting details about who lives in each area, and even a few recipes. This is a book for someone who wants to graze and stroll through New York. This book is perfect for me. While I love New York's fine dining establishments, and I count Daniel and Balthazar among my favorite restaurants anywhere, I think that what makes eating in New York truly special is the diverse international offerings. I once ate in a restaurant that specialized in Chinese food prepared in the style of a Chinese restaurant in Bombay (more okra, more fried offerings, different spices and no beef). In New York I can have Falafel for a snack, cuban sandwiches for lunch, and a fresh made donut for dessert. I'm in heaven. Paris

Clotilde's Edible Adventures in Paris, By Clotilde Dusoulier was written by the author of the popular blog Chocolate and Zucchini. The book lists Clotilde's favorite restaurants, bakeries, and food shops in Paris. She includes details about what to order and what makes each place special. Clotilde, is focused on affordable experiences (though there is the occasional extravagance) which makes her recommendations often suitable for families. What I like best about this book, though, is that it includes many international choices (Japanese, Middle Eastern, etc) that most guidebooks ignore

Italy
Italy for the Gourmet Traveler by Fred Plotkin is a great resource whether you're taking a road trip through Italy or focused on a few major cities. The book lists the author's favorite restaurants and markets whether they're mom & pop bakeries or Michelin starred jacket-required restaurants. The book also helps you learn about the regional specialties in each area you are visiting.

The Splendid Tableis widely recognized as the best reference on Northern Italian cooking. This cookbook not only has fantastic family recipes, but it's a great way to learn about the food of Emilia Romagna. If you've ever dreamed of cooking a Ragu all day or making a perfect lasagna, this is the cookbook for you.

Save to del.icio.us | | Posted on May 16, 2008 | 0 comments

Welcome LA Times Readers

The LA Times Travel Section is one of a handful of US newspaper travel sections considered to be leaders in travel reporting. So I was surprised and delighted this morning to see new visitors from the LA Times Travel Blog today.

The Times linked to our story about a Toddler Lost in the Vancouver Airport. If you have opinions on this story or helpful advice to other parents traveling with young children, please visit the article and let us know in the comments!

If you are new to DeliciousBaby, you might want to check out some of our other useful links and resources.

Save to del.icio.us | | Posted on May 15, 2008 | 0 comments

Toddler Lost in Vancouver Airport

Today's news included the story of a family who lost their 23 month old son at the Vancouver airport. The family had split up in the airport, and didn't realize that neither group had the toddler until until their ongoing flight to Winnipeg landed. Luckily the boy was found and cared for, and Air Canada flew the father round trip to pick the boy up in Vancouver and return with him to Winnipeg.

I don't want to comment too much on this story because a) I don't know the full circumstances, b) my heart goes out to this poor family who must have been absolutely heartbroken and in shock when they realized the error, and c) it must be exhausting and overwhelming to clear airport security with a young child after a long international flight, especially if English is not your native language.

That said, I think this serves as a good reminder for anyone traveling with extended family. It is easy to let your guard down a little when there are a lot of other people helping keep an eye on your child. The problem is, if everyone is in charge, then actually, nobody is in charge. This story is in the news because it's such an extreme case, but the truth is that a lot of avoidable accidents happen when everyone thinks that someone else is watching the kids (but nobody actually is).

My recommendation: whenever you're with a large group, make sure that there is one trusted person who is in charge of your child, and make sure that you verbally tell them "you're on point." Those three simple words can make a world of difference in the amount of attention that a parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle is paying to where the child is and what they are doing.

Save to del.icio.us | | Posted on May 14, 2008 | 2 comments

Picture of the Week: Toothpick Tapas In Barcelona

Taverna Basca Irati (pictured) is one of several upscale tapas bars in Barcelona that displays its tapas on a big self-service bar. Each dish is skewered with a dainty toothpick. You help yourself to whatever looks good, and at the end of the meal your toothpicks are counted and your bill is totaled.

Not only is the food great, but we think this is a great way to dine with kids. Even picky eaters can choose exactly what they want and there's no waiting for a server or trying to decipher a menu to find kid-friendly options.

Save to del.icio.us | | Posted on May 14, 2008 | 2 comments

Favorite Online Restaurant Guides (US and International)

Our focus this week is on eating out with your kids when you're traveling. First we dispelled the myth that you must eat in uninteresting international chains when you travel with kids, then I shared my top tips for choosing a family friendly restaurant with fantastic food.

One recommendation was to start with a list of great restaurants and then narrow it down to the family friendly choices. In this article, I will share my favorite Internet resources for finding great restaurants around the world (regardless of whether you are with your kids).

Websites

New York Times has great recommendations, many of them up-to-the minute.
Concierge.com is CondeNast Traveler's website. I'm a fan of the annual HotList guide to the best new restaurants around the world and the "Insider's Guides" available for most major tourist destinations.
Fodors restaurant reviews are clear, accurate, and up to date above the other guidebooks we've tried. In larger cities, Fodors often lists one or two child friendly restaurants. Look for the "Gold Star" recommendations (which can be in any price range).
Epicurious.com, Bon Appetit's website, has a limited selection of restaurant guides for major cities, but they do a great job of selecting the very best in each city. We've had especially good luck with their budget restaurants, which tend to focus on excellent food in a casual atmosphere... perfect for kids
Bugaboo's Daytrips are beautiful, artist designed maps of cities around the world, complete with Bugaboo's recommendations for the best activities and food for families. Their recommendations tend to focus on offbeat local favorites more than fantastic food, but the choices are reliably good and family friendly.

Online Forums and Communities
EGullet and Chowhound can be great places to get restaurant recommendations or to ask opinions about place you've already selected. Don't expect that the members will automatically know what makes a restaurant kid friendly though... instead focus your questions on finding the best possible food.

What's Next?In my next article, I'll share some of my favorite Guidebooks for finding fantastic food abroad. Later in the week I'll also be writing about breast-feeding, pumping, and bottle feeding when you travel.

What are your favorite resources for finding restaurants when you travel? Please share them in the comments.

Save to del.icio.us | | Posted on May 12, 2008 | 0 comments

Weekly Link Roundup: Travel Food, Saving Money and Instilling Goodwill

I've been writing a lot about food this week, and here's a few more articles: Hillel Cooperman, over at TastingMenu writes about Supermac New York City. Supermac specializes in Macaroni and Cheese (though they also serve salads and some sides) and Hillel says they do it well. You can dine in at the casual midtown restaurant or they'll deliver right to your hotel or vacation rental. If that's not kid friendly dining on a budget, I don't know what is! I also loved this campfire recipe over at WeeLife for Muffins made inside an orange peel. What fun!

Worried about breaking the budget by taking a vacation? Linsey over at WiseBread writes about how taking a vacation can actually SAVE you money in Wanna Put Away Some Cash? Take A Vacation. She's right, if you vacation on a budget, and track your expenses, it can cost less to be out of town. On our (pre-kid) 6-month around-the-world trip we spent more money maintaining our lifestyle in Seattle (mortgage, insurance, utilities, etc) even though we weren't here than we did on our airfare and day-to-day travel expenses.

Over at Traveling Mamas, there's an interview with Kayt Sukel who has traveled with her toddler to nearly 20 countries I love her minimalist approach to travel gear and keeping her son Chet entertained.

It's always good to instill goodwill in the your fellow air passengers before the plane leaves the ground. I love this picture over at DaddyTypes of the goodie bags one family (and their infant son) gave their row-mates on a long haul flight from San Francisco to Sydney What a great way to set a good tone for the rest of the flight.

Thinking about a road trip this summer? Check out Gearing Up For a Family Road Trip over at Orbitz. The article has some good ideas about how to organize your trip, what to bring, and how to keep the kids entertained. Our kids are starting to get old enough that we'll probably do some real road trips this summer. I'm a little bit enthusiastic and a little bit nervous.

Save to del.icio.us | | Posted on May 10, 2008 | 0 comments

Are You Going to BlogHer '08 in San Francisco?

I just made my reservations to attend BlogHer '08 in San Francisco. This is the first trip I'll take without the kids since E was 9 months old (and the first time my husband will have both kids for an entire weekend).

I'm looking forward to meeting everyone there, and I'd love a chance to get to know you or catch up on your blog before we meet in person, so if you're going to BlogHer, please leave me a note in the comments.

Save to del.icio.us | | Posted on May 9, 2008 | 2 comments

How To Find a Kid-Friendly Restaurant YOU Will Enjoy

An important part of our travel experience is dining in local restaurants and enjoying local food. The fact that we travel with our kids doesn't mean that we want to give that up and eat in uninteresting, poor-quality kid focused restaurants. Instead, we do some advance work to ensure that we have food experiences we can all enjoy. Here are my top tips for finding your own "kid friendly" restaurants when you travel.

Plan Ahead
We choose a couple of restaurants in (or near) tourist areas before we leave home and note them in our guidebook. While we leave our day-to-day schedule pretty open ended, it's nice to be able to navigate quickly to a good restaurant rather than searching desperately after everyone is already tired and irritable.

The Itiniaries in our Family Friendly Travel Guides feature printable maps with tourist attractions and excellent family friendly restaurants all ready for your adventures. Want an example? Check out this itinerary for A Half Day in Historic Rome With Kids

Start With the Great References
The first step to finding a great place to eat is to start with a guidebook or online reference that recommends great restaurants. It sounds obvious, but you'd be surprised at how many people start with a list that is geared towards kids and are disappointed that all the offerings are burger places, pizza places and chain restaurants. It's a little more work to start with a guide that's geared towards adults and then narrow it down to a kid friendly restaurant, but you will be rewarded with a better meal, and that's what counts. Of course all the recommendations on DeliciousBaby are for restaurants that serve excellent food and work well for families with kids. Check back for a list of my favorite resources (besides DeliciousBaby) for finding great food in a few days.

Look for Codewords That Mean "Kid Friendly"
Now that you're reading some great restaurant reviews, look for keywords that indicate the restaurant is kid friendly. Here are some tip offs: casual, outdoor seating (especially in countries where smoking is allowed), noisy, bustling, comfort food, local favorite, working person's, takeaway. Some guidebooks (Fodors for example) will note a few restaurants that are great for both adults and kids.

Cross Reference Your Top Choices
Once you've selected a few great sounding restaurants, search for them online and see where else they turn up (and what other reviewers have to say). You'll weed out restaurants that sweet talked themselves into a single guidebook or that have lost their touch.

Ask Around
Ask family, friends, your Twitter followers and anyone you know who has visited the destination recently. You'll be surprised to learn what detailed records some people keep of their favorite meals. Before we went to Spain, I sent email to a few expats living and blogging in Spain with their kids. Locals always seem to know about the coffee shop with a toy box in the corner or the cafe with a little patch of grass. They're also great references for finding playgrounds.

Check The Schedule
Dining hours vary from country to country (for example in Barcelona dinner is usually served at around 9pm, and many restaurants are closed until 7 or 8. Nobody will have a pleasant meal if your child is exhausted and famished before the meal begins, so make sure that your dream restaurant is open when you expect to be hungry.

Look for Ethnic Restaurants When we're traveling abroad, we're usually focused on enjoying the local cuisine, but when we're in the US and Canada, we think it's fun to seek out restaurants run by the local immigrant population. They tend to be set up for whole families to enjoy dining together. For example, I at my most mouthwatering fried chicken ever at Phnom Penh in Vancouver, BC. There's simply nothing like it in Seattle (our home town). Ethnic restaurants can be a great break too when you've gotten tired of the local food. In Paris, L'as du Fallafel serves the best Fallafel that even an Israeli would adore in a bustling, kid friendly restaurant.

Be Creative about Tailoring The Menu for Your Kids
If you are traveling to a country where you'll expect your kids to eat a lot of new foods, prepare a few typical items before you leave home and get your kids familiar with them. Once you arrive, you can usually build a kid-friendly meal out of just about any restaurant menu if you know what to look for. For example, our kids ate lots of Paella in Spain and Cassoulet in France.

Not sure what to expect? The DK Eyewitness Travel Guides and Lonely Planet's World Food Guides are both great resources with lots of pictures, and they'll help you learn what you'll see on local menus before you go.

Don't Eat In a Restaurant
Don't expect that your kids will be able to eat every meal at a restaurant. We typically eat breakfast in our hotel or rental apartment and often eat lunch at a park. Luckily, local markets are one of the best places to get a sense of what people eat in their homes. They're also a fun way for kids to explore the local food and pick out things they'll be willing to try (they might surprise you).

Visit the local market and pick up food for a picnic or takeaway items to cook in your vacation rental apartment. Paris, in particular, has a long healthy tradition of "traiteur" or "takeaway" shops selling upscale food that you can heat and serve at home.

Make Sure it Passes The Crowd Test
My dad's time honored rule for finding a great meal when we're out exploring is to look for the place with a huge crowd. He's right. Locals know what's good, and they're willing to wait in line for it. Even if you are eating outside of the busiest hours, there is often one restaurant or cafe that has more guests than the others.

What are your favorite tips for finding a family friendly restaurant when you travel? Tell us in comments.

Save to del.icio.us | | Posted on May 8, 2008 | 0 comments

Welcome Chicago Sun-Times Readers

Our picture and short story on baby food in Spain was picked up by the Chicago Sun times today! Check it out Picture of the Week: Baby Food in Spain

If you are new to DeliciousBaby, you might want to check out some of our other useful links and resources

Save to del.icio.us | | Posted on May 7, 2008 | 0 comments

Picture of the Week: Baby Food in Spain

I'm strangely obsessed with checking out the baby food selection in every country we visit. Something about the choices we make for those first meals reveals a lot about the culture. In France, we saw chocolate flavored rice cereal and formula. In Italy, the mad cow scare meant that there were lots of "alternative" meats (rabbit anyone?). In this picture we're checking out the HUGE selection of babyfood at the Cortes Ingles in Barcelona... a testament to the idea that no matter where you go they have babies and someone sells all the things babies need.

Save to del.icio.us | | Posted on May 7, 2008 | 1 comment

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