Dining out with kids is always an adventure, to say the least.  Between finicky toddlers who have the patience of a gnat and babies who always seem to fill up a diaper as soon as you sit down, it's enough to make a parent wave the white napkin and surrender to ordering in (or - gasp - cooking!) each and every night of the week.  To these parents, I say don't give up quite yet, as there are indeed restaurants that can make eating out with kids a deliciously pleasant experience.  Petaluma is just one of those restaurants.

Located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, Petaluma Restaurant is a neighborhood trattoria specializing in Italian-American cuisine.  The restaurant has been in the neighborhood for 27 years, and it is incredibly welcoming of families, with plenty of room for stroller parking, booster seats and high chairs, and an extensive children's menu.  My family was thrilled to be invited to visit Petaluma for Father's Day dinner, especially since we hadn't been out to a "real" restaurant as a family since baby Ben arrived three months ago.

As soon as we walked in the door, we were warmly greeted by the hostess and ushered to the table of my 4-year-old daughter Sadie's choosing (she makes sure to let restaurants know who's in charge immediately upon her arrival!), where Sadie proceeded to get to work coloring with the crayons provided by the restaurant.  I was immediately impressed by the variety of options on Petaluma's children's menu, which includes standbys like the ever-popular chicken tenders (Sadie's selection), as well as some of Petaluma's signature items such as pizza made in their wood-burning oven.  Sadie's chicken tenders came out right away, and they were absolutely delicious (hey, I had to taste them in the name of research, right?).  As I sipped on one of Petaluma's specialty cocktails, I perused the dinner menu, which is chock-full of yummy-sounding pastas, pizzas, and meat and seafood entrees.  Really, you'd be hard-pressed to not find something you like on Petaluma's extensive menu.  From a roasted vegetable chopped salad to grilled octopus to prosciutto pizza to cod, each item sounds even more delicious than the next.  I consider myself a bit of a Caesar salad aficionado, and Petaluma's version did not disappoint.  My husband and I both loved the fresh
Buffalo Mozzarella layered with ripe, marinated tomatoes topped with just the right amount of olive oil. 

It's always such a treat to see fresh, homemade pasta on a restaurant's menu, and even more so when that pasta is topped with an outstanding sauce.  Such is the case with Petaluma's homemade fettucine, which comes layered with a traditional meat sauce of pork, veal and beef.  The pasta was so incredible that I practically licked the bowl clean, and could have eaten another portion of it if I weren't trying to lose some baby weight!  My husband and I shared the Branzino fish special, which was cooked to perfection and accompanied by a refreshing corn salad that added a really nice crispness to the entree. 

At some restaurants, dessert is merely an afterthought, leaving you to choose from a pedestrian chocolate cake or too-frozen sorbet.  Not so at Petaluma, where they've clearly put a great deal of thought and effort into putting out truly splurge-worthy desserts.  My husband raved about the tiramisu (I had to take his word for it since he loved it so much that he devoured it too quickly for me to get a bite in edgewise), and my strawberry shortcake was the perfect ending to a truly delicious meal.

My one quibble with Petaluma (other than the fact that they don't have a changing table, but of course I can't hold that against them since most restaurants don't) was that the service was a bit slow.  In fact, the service was so relaxed that we ended up having to take our desserts to go, rather than enjoying them at the restaurant.  The slowness of the service was particularly curious because, although it was a holiday, the restaurant wasn't that crowded at the time we visited.  Admittedly, we were likely overly sensitive to this because we were dining with an antsy toddler and a newborn, but families might want to alert their server in advance if they anticipate needing their food a bit more quickly. 

What Petaluma lacks in speed of service, however, it more than makes up for in its food and in the friendliness of its staff.  Our appetizers, entrees and desserts (enjoyed at home) were absolutely delicious, and our server could not have been nicer and more accommodating.  In fact, we're hoping to return to Petaluma in the very near future to sample their brunch offerings, which sound absolutely incredible (A lobster omelet? Yes, please!).  Petaluma is located at 1356 1st Avenue, at the corner of 73rd Street.  For more information, visit their website, and for reservations, call (212) 772-8800.

Disclosure:  My family was provided with a complimentary meal for purposes of preparing this review.  The opinions expressed herein are, as always, entirely my own.