Bringing kids to a white-napkin restaurant is like hosting a tea party in a tornado. No one’s having fun when chicken nuggets are flying, a wine glass just swan-dived off the table and your 3-year-old is screaming for her lost stuffed animal.
Chef David Baeli and his wife, Elise, feel your pain. With a youngster of their own, the couple have created a restaurant they tried, but failed to find. The Burrow in downtown Healdsburg offers a chef-driven menu for parents, a kid-tested menu for the little ones and a kitted-out play area with toys and books to keep the peace — or at least peace of mind for everyone.
The small café, located at the former Wurst restaurant, is off to a solid start after its June debut. On a recent weekend, the patio was filled with enthusiastic children eating chicken fingers, mac and cheese and burgers. Parents didn’t seem fazed when a stray scream or fussy baby interrupted the stink eye-free zone.
Baeli co-owned Hops and Hominy in San Francisco, known for its Southern-style cuisine (now closed). The couple moved north to Elise’s hometown for a more family-centered life with their 3-year-old son (the chief taste-tester for the kids menu)…