Benjamin Sternberg has brought his own bottle to fine-dining temples with top wine lists across New York City and around the world — corkage fees be damned.
That’s because Benjamin is just 1 year old. With a sippy cup of milk in tow, he’s been to more Michelin-starred restaurants than most — from Tribeca sushi temple Ichimura to Copenhagen, Denmark’s Noma, heralded as one of the world’s best restaurants — alongside his parents, Jason Sternberg, 38, and Julie Sternberg, 36.
“When Julie was pregnant, we would ask at the end of each meal: ‘Hey, do you think we can bring our baby?’” says Jason, who works in insurance and lives in Long Island City. “We were amazed at how receptive restaurants were.”
Wealthy young parents are no longer forgoing fine dining, slumming it at mediocre “kid-friendly” cafes or hiring a babysitter. They’re insisting on bringing junior along with them to top restaurants, which are increasingly accommodating in an effort to be competitive and avoid the wrath of mommies on social media.
“I’m French and I love good food,” says Elinor Beltrone, 31, an Upper East Side mom who works in advertising and regularly takes her 2-year-old, Nella, to elegant restaurants such as Ai Fiori and Morini.
“Our daughter had her first avocado roll at 8 months. We wanted her to be open to food and understand taste,” she says.
Beltrone runs a popular Facebook group, Foodie Parents of NYC, which provides advice to nearly 1,000 members who share restaurant recommendations and information on topics such as whether Gramercy Tavern will modify dishes for toddlers (short answer: yes).
To prepare Nella to dine out, Beltrone enforces rules at home. “We sit at the table until the meal is complete,” she says.
Jason Sternberg also has special techniques. His family primarily books lunches and early dinners, and always makes sure the restaurant is aware that Benjamin is coming. They also arrive early, so they can get him used to the surroundings and feed him a bottle before heading to the table. And they make sure they have an exit strategy.
“If Benjamin gets fussy, one of us is out of there with him in 30 seconds,” says Jason.
But overall, he says Benjamin is well-behaved and seems to enjoy going out and being doted on by servers — more so than staying at home with a sitter. He’s even been to the hottest spots in Copenhagen, where Mom and Dad took him at 4 months old. They went to nine gourmet restaurants in six days, often for meals that stretched to three hours.
The sophisticated tot, however, doesn’t get to enjoy the fancy food. “He generally eats before we arrive, or we’ll give him some rice to nibble on,” says Jason.
If Benjamin gets fussy, one of us is out of there with him in 30 seconds.
Other kiddies get to reap the benefits of their parents’ food obsessions. Fourteen-month-old Williamsburg tot Olivia has tried the tasting menu at Blue Hill Stone Barns and Brooklyn’s two-Michelin-star Blanca, where she dug into snow crab leg with bottarga sauce.
“We want to expose her to different food groups and culture,” says mom Sarah Thai, an investment manager in her late 30s.
Many restaurateurs say they’re happy to indulge pint-size guests.
“As a parent with young kids at home, I feel it’s important to be able to have great food and wine, and not sacrifice quality and proper ambience for time with family,” says Ahmass Fakahany, CEO and owner of the Altamarea Group, which includes Ai Fiori and Marea.
It also makes business sense: Family foodies often snap up unwanted early reservations and are exceedingly loyal when they find a restaurant where the staff loves their child as much as they do. And scorned parents are quick to express outrage on social media over a restaurant that is less than family-friendly.
On the over-22,000-member UES Mommas Facebook group, J.G. Mellon’s no-stroller/no-high-chair policy is a subject of frequent complaint.
Midtown’s vaunted Le Bernardin, meanwhile, has softened its no-kids policy in recent years. A Le Bernardin spokesperson now says young guests are allowed so long as they behave “in such a way as not to disturb other guests.”
But parental pressure doesn’t stop some from taking a firm hand with the high-chair set.
Tamarind, an upscale Indian restaurant in Tribeca, explicitly states on its Web site that it has a no-children-under-8 policy.
“Our tables are very close together,” explains Tamarind’s general manager, Christopher Corda. “So noise travels, and a lot of our clients are Wall Street types having meetings. Have a child crying and it’s just not fair. We want the experience to be enjoyable for all our patrons, who are easily paying $400 for a meal with wine.”
To ensure that unruly tots garner a warm welcome, Melissa Elders, a 35-year-old Williamsburg resident and mother of 18-month-old Serena, launched Nibble+squeak, a dining club for parents and young kiddies. Three times per month, the group holds events at fancy NYC restaurants.
“I realized there was power in numbers, and I felt a lot less self-conscious if I had other new parents with me,” she says.
Last month, the club took over all of Per Se for a sold-out event. Nearly 50 parents paid $270 each for a three-course meal featuring rib-eye steaks, ravioli and wine pairings. Tots dined gratis on chicken fingers, roasted fingerling potatoes and, in probably a first for Per Se, Goldfish crackers scattered across the table.
A lot of our clients are Wall Street types having meetings. Have a child crying and it’s just not fair.
“When parents come to a Nibble+squeak event, they know it’s okay if their child doesn’t sit perfectly still,” says Elders.
But childless restaurantgoers say they’re not reaping any benefits by being seated next to a kiddie table.
“It’s disrespectful to fellow diners, who are paying in large part for ambiance, not the possibility of a screaming baby,” says Jon Williams, 36, a private school teacher who lives on the Upper West Side and loves eating out at Michelin-starred restaurants such as Public in Nolita and Aska in Williamsburg.
Sternberg shrugs off such complaints, and chalks it up to New Yorkers’ obsession with status.
“Honestly, most of the time we get huge smiles. We’re attentive to Benjamin, and if he’s restless, we’re out. So if we do get a look, I think [it’s] less about us and more about them,” he says. “They think, oh, we’re seated in Siberia next to the baby.”
courtesy of Jason Sternberg Instagram: h20gony
courtesy of Jason Sternberg Instagram: h20gony
courtesy of Jason Sternberg Instagram: h20gony
courtesy of Jason Sternberg Instagram: h20gony
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