Taking Dad to Dinner

None of these restaurants would reach the more hallowed Zagat's ratings, but all have a nice neighborhood-ly atmosphere that makes for a relaxed meal even when you're NOT taking Dad to dinner. I've "tested" all of them many, many times, both with and without various guests. Unfortunately, the secret of these restaurants is out -- most aren't too crowded at dinner, but watch out for endless lines at weekend brunch.

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As befitting neighborhood restaurants, the list is heavily skewed to my own stomping grounds in Brooklyn. But all are in interesting areas of "brownstone Brooklyn" and worth a visit even for people venturing out from Manhattan. I've tried to note subway stops in the individual descriptions.

Every New Yorker has one absolutely beloved weekend brunch spot, and for me it's Banania Cafe. The menu is short and simple, with only a handful of "breakfast food" choices (goat cheese omelette, scrambled eggs with rock shrimp, banana pancakes, eggs benedict, and one or two that I'm forgetting....), but every dish is done well. The egg dishes are accompanied by the world's most addictive potatoes (I don't even want to KNOW the butter content) and a small amount of greens, and every meal comes with a basket of croissants and French bread. Best of all, the prices are extremely reasonable -- entrees are $6-8, and even with coffee and orange juice I've never spent more than $12 on a meal. The decor is warm French bistro, with outside seating in warmer months. The staff is friendly, if sometimes a bit overwhelmed by the crowds.

I've taken a variety of guests to Banania Cafe, and they've all declared it to be a wonderful spot for brunch and a good Brooklyn memory. One caveat, though -- at dinner the restaurant turns into just the type of experimental continental restaurant that "Dad types" will try to avoid. I took my (non-New-York) boyfriend there for dinner once, and we wound up elsewhere after one look at the menu. New Yorkers would probably enjoy the evening ambiance, and the dessert list always looks great -- it's just not the kind of food I'm highlighting in this list.

Two more warnings: They don't take credit cards, and, like all the restaurants on this list, they become very busy between 11 and 1 on the weekends. (Between 10 and 11 is the golden hour for getting a quick table -- but don't all show up and take MY place!) If you want to eat earlier or can't wait out the crowd, a second restaurant, Cafe LuLuC, is across the street about a block down and is owned by the same people.

By subway, take the "F" to Bergen Street or Carroll Gardens or the "G" to Bergen Street.

Despite the TriBeCa location and the restaurant reviews that highlight the supposed celebrity clientele, Bubby's is a surprisingly low-key place to get a good meal. Sure, there are a few beautiful people around, but you don't need to BE one to get seated or served. And I wouldn't know about the celebrities because I've never looked up from scarfing my food long enough to check out the other diners.

The food is your basic American staple food, though often with modern touches. Meatloaf, for example, comes in a brown mushroom-y gravy rather than the ketchup stuff that Mom put on top. There's chili, but it's vegetarian. The mac 'n cheese (which is supposed to be wonderful) comes with (ew!) a salad. And so on. But traditional, modern, whatever -- boy, is it good!

Bubby's is also rightly famous for its brunches ... but then again any food tastes good after you're famished from waiting an hour for a table. After a few tries (some successful, some not) I've given up on brunch, but I've never had a wait at lunch or dinner.

I took my parents to Bubby's a few days before Christmas, and as usual we enjoyed our food. On that occasion I discovered, however, that I had been living only half of the Bubby's experience. Yes, on that occasion I discovered the PIE. Apparently Bubby's began as a pie company before it was a restaurant, and turns out they serve some of the best pie my parents and I have ever had. The crust is incredible and is really more of a pastry than the thin, sad little crusts I've had on other pies. We were given certificates for free pie on a return visit, and my parents spent the rest of the Christmas weekend begging for that return. They were obsessed. (Who am I kidding? So was I!)

Bubby's has a sort of farmhouse decor, with white wooden benches along the outside walls. The wait staff can be a bit hit or miss. Be sure to check the chalkboards posted on the walls for the daily specials, as well as the list of the day's pie. Bubby's also boasts a small bar, as its own destination or a place to hang out while you're waiting for your table.

The Comfort Diner, with two locations in Manhattan, is a "theme restaurant" that works. The decor is deliberately 50's and the menu contains dishes like "Soup and Sammy" or "a Nice Healthy Salad," but thanks to the lighthearted spirit and the classic food they manage to pull off the theme perfectly. There are daily blue plate specials, good basic meals like yankee pot roast and turkey with trimmings, decent desserts, and fun beverages like egg creams and cherry lime rickeys. The milkshakes are also reputed to be fabulous, and often come in imaginative special flavors. When my parents ask to "eat at that one place" during each visit, this is the place they mean.

One warning: lines are long during the lunch rush and at weekend brunch, and both locations can get noisy when they're crowded. The midtown location is a few blocks from public transportation (Grand Central Station has the closest subways), but the Upper East Side location has a 4/5/6 line at its door.

Harvest is another casual neighborhood "comfort food" restaurant that cooks well enough to draw diners from well outside the neighborhood. They have the usual contingent of staple foods -- my usual orders are things like shepherd's pie, grilled cheese, pulled pork, or a burger with mashed potatoes. The crayons and paper-covered tables are a nice touch for families with children (or easily distracted adults), and the atmosphere is comfortable and waitstaff friendly. Prices are quite reasonable, with dinner entrees around $10-12 and brunch prices somewhat less.

The definitive "Harvest experience" for me was one summer dinner I shared with Dad near the restaurant's front wall, which opens to the sidewalk in warm weather. The waiter asked us whether we wanted dessert, and a passing pedestrian yelled "Try the key lime pie!" Turns out they didn't have the pie that night, but it shows the locals' familiar, almost proprietary feeling about the place.

Weekend brunches are tasty but can be a pain if you arrive after noon -- the lines are long and it's hard to plan a late arrival because the restaurant closes for a few hours between lunch and dinner. My only other beef is the low lighting at night. It makes for a romantic, relaxing atmosphere but keeps away those of us who like to eat alone and bring a book.

To reach Harvest, take the "F" or "G" trains to Bergen Street and follow Bergen to Court or take the 4/5/6 to Borough Hall and follow Court Street past Atlantic for a few blocks.

Ahhhhh, Junior's. How do you describe Junior's in a few words? It's the type of place that's not just a restaurant but an institution, where the menu goes on for pages and pages, the white-aproned waiters take their jobs seriously, the large dining room is always packed, and the kitchen has been turning out meals for longer than I've been alive. The menu runs the gamut of sandwiches, enormous burgers, and diner fare, and all of it is reliably tasty. (I'm less fond of the brunches, though everyone else seems to love them.) It's the kind of place where you pause in the midst of eating your mayonnaise-and-ketchup-doused brisket sandwich to wonder "What am I doing to my arteries?", but decide you're so happy eating that you really don't care.

If Junior's served only main dishes it would still be famous, but who are we kidding? Junior's does NOT serve only main dishes. As anyone who knows the restaurant will tell you, Junior's is synonymous with "cheesecake." There are many who brag that Junior's makes the best cheesecake in the world. I'm no expert, but I will say it's pretty darn good! If you like chocolate and you're really up for a challenge, try the "devil's food cheesecake," a six-inch-high combination of cheesecake and devil's food cake with fudge frosting. It's so rich you'll feel sick for two days afterward, but it's sooooo worth it.

There's a take-out bakery for those who don't manage to save room for dessert, and they ship cheesecakes anywhere in the country. (My boyfriend once helped me through a long year in Oklahoma with a regular supply of Junior's cheesecakes.) There's even a Junior's cookbook, for anyone who dares to create the magic at home.

Several subway stops converge in the general area -- two possibilities are the N/R to DeKalb or the A/C/F to Jay Street with a walk down Fulton Mall to Flatbush Ave. There's also a second Junior's outpost in the Grand Central Station dining concourse. It's a pale shadow of the original, but works in a pinch (and they DO have cheesecake).