Lunchtime With Tillie: Maggie Brown

“Must … get … food. Somehow, someway … must eat.” Those, my friends, are the words of a hungry man whose daughter is transitioning to a later naptime.

Hey everyone, It’s Van and Little Miss New Nap Schedule Tillie, with more “Lunchtime” adventures. I was almost afraid we’d have to change the name to “Dinner With Tillie” since she’s sleeping now from late morning to early afternoon. But we made it out before Happy Hour and went to Maggie Brown on Myrtle Avenue for our latest excursion.

So our day, like most LWT days, started off pretty regularly: There was nothing major on the agenda, except for a little playground action, which we knocked out in the morning. We came home and I tried to put her to sleep, thinking she’d be up at a reasonable hour for lunch. Well, turns out that plan of mine wasn’t what she was looking to do, which she made pretty clear to me by jumping up and down in her crib. I took her out of it and brought her to her little play area with the idea of that winding her down. But by the time she started showing some signs of exhaustion, it was 12:30! That’s around the time we go out! I guess she’s good, but what was I going to do? The only thing I had for breakfast was a snack pack of Lorna Doone cookies!

I could’ve fixed something or ordered delivery, but that would’ve been pretty lame: “Lunchtime With Tillie’s at Van’s House.” And this was the only day this week we were going to be able to go out, working around our busy story-time and play-group schedule. So I buckled down and got ready for the test of my endurance. After two hours and some change, just when I started hallucinating and seeing visions of pizzas dancing around my head, she woke up! Sure, it was 2:45, but I figured we could make it out quick enough. Good thing I packed up her stroller with her food while she was out.

We’re walking down the street to our original destination, and all I can think of is “food, here I come!” Then Tillie starts coughing and the next thing I know, she spits up all over herself! So we took a U-turn back to the house, threw on some fresh gear and were out once again.

As it was now about 3:15 and I was about to start eating Tillie’s Goldfish crackers, I figured we should go somewhere a little closer to the house. Maggie Brown, which is almost across the street (and makes one of the best burgers around), was the way to go.

We got there and the dining room area was completely empty. It was a nice day, so everyone must be outside, I thought, so we might as well join them. There was only one other table seated, to my advantage, as there would be fewer obstacles to getting a quick meal.

I took a look at the menu to make sure there was nothing new to veer me away from my usual: a Maggie Brown burger with bacon and cheese. (I know I write about them a lot, but I promise there’s more to my diet than bacon and cheese!) I placed my order, then took out Tillie’s food: some elbow macaroni with spaghetti sauce, zucchini and spinach I made the day before for her. Tillie’s mom and I thought this would be a good way to get the baby some green veggies in her system. I got called out the day before by TM for the lack of vegetables in the pasta and I was all defensive, telling her I just cut them small; that’s why it doesn’t look like a lot.

As I fed Tillie this serving, though, I realized her food was pretty skimpy on the spinach and zucchini. So after calling Tillie’s mom and apologizing for being indignant, I went back to feeding Tillie.

Before T got halfway through her food, mine came out (I guess there’s something to be said for late dining) and it was one of the most beautiful sights my eyes had come across all day (after T and TM, of course)! I ate a couple of those golden-brown fries to appease my appetite as I still had Tillie-feeding to do. I gave Tillie a couple of more bites of her light-on-the-veggies pasta before taking a bite of my big, juicy burger, which was just perfect. Maggie Brown does the bacon cheeseburger right: Melt the cheese over the bacon, then you don’t have rogue pieces slipping out and you get the winning combination in every bite. Amazing!

After that first bite, I knew I needed more right away. I didn’t bring any finger food for Tillie to eat, but luckily, I could slip her a fry or two or eight to manage while I worked on the burger. Then I could work in more macaroni for her, too. It was a delicate operation, but we pulled it off! She had half a banana for dessert and then we started to pack up.

I would say the whole experience was worth the wait. We got to sit outside on a lovely afternoon, I had a great lunch with excellent service and Tillie was in a pleasant, well-rested mood. My meal wasn’t the cheapest on the block at $12.50 (adding bacon and cheese will get you every time), but was well worth it. If you have the inclination and time to spare, I recommend going. It’s a perfect spot for the post-nap crowd!