Paninis!

Arrival of Daylight Savings Time totally doesn't help alter this toddler's New Yorker lifestyle. Taiyo now easily sleeps past 11am. Some mothers may envy that, but that means he's up past midnight! It gives me less of my personal time. On Sunday we attended "Shorts for Tots" program at New York International Children's Film Festival. The theater was full of bubbly tots, sometimes screaming and crying. Taiyo sat so quietly on my lap through the film. The night before, he sat through "Princess Mononoke," animated Hayao Miyazaki feature, which is two hours and fifteen minutes. It wasn't even a kids' movie either. The story was quite complex and deep, but he refused to stop, even during the end credit. So this beautiful and quirky mix of short films was easy to digest for him. We saw some wonderful films that we may never see otherwise.

After the movie Lynne brought us to a hidden gem in NoLita, Prince Street Cafe. It looks like a tiny place with a few tables from the street, and with a big step up from the street level, I would've never gone there with Taiyo and a stroller. But the floor actually extends to the back of the building, a quiet bright room with skylight. Nice selection of salads, sandwiches, burgers and pasta would be easy to accommodate anyone. Our choice was Butternut Squash Soup and Prosciutto Panini. First Taiyo went right to a Blueberry Muffin. Then soup arrived and first taste made him laugh. Then he had at least the half of Panini. Eventually the group at the next table left and Taiyo had the whole length of cushy bench to walk back and forth! I was getting a bit nervous after he took maybe five trips, but waitress only smiled at the sight. In some other restaurant he may be advised to sit down. It was very nice place to eat with a little person. Recommended.

It was another summer-like day on Wednesday, and we stopped at 'inoteca on Rivington and Ludlow. This hipster joint had all the side panels open, and it was fairy empty for late lunch. They are usually crowded for dinner or weekend brunch, but this seemed a perfect timing for us. We went to the bathroom to wash hands but it was so dark Taiyo was not happy. I was not happy not being able to see how sanitary the environment was. Back to the table, we were thinking of pasta, but they didn't have any. So we went for beets salad with pecorino, oranges, and hazelnuts, and prosciutto and mozzarella panini. Immediately Taiyo knew he loved the panini when it arrived. I cut him a piece, and he carefully dipped it into tomato sauce, and started munching. I kept cutting him a piece off the Panini and he pretty much ate the whole plate. He tried some hazelnuts from the salad, and he liked them, but Panini was the winner; he didn't even care for oranges on the salad. Service was quick and friendly, and Taiyo got a glass of water with a straw. Food was wonderful and fresh, we loved the laid back atmosphere of Wednesday afternoon, but probably best for weekday lunch with a small one. Recommended, especially for the food.