D'Note--Baby Boogie

We met some friends at the D'Note on Sunday. For those of you that don't know, the D'Note (in Olde Town Arvada) has what they call "Baby Boogie" on Sunday afternoons. Basically, what it amounts to is that they play a mix of some of the better cuts of kids music and grown up music and they put out a bunch of mostly musically related toys. Kids can run amuck while grown ups drink beer. The D'Note is one of those places I really want to like a whole lot--it is owned by some brothers who are basically living out their long-held dream of owning a cool music venue. At least one of the brothers has kids the age of my kids. The whole Baby Boogie thing is a nice idea (although generally I am very much opposed to the idea of restaurants with play areas for the kids--I think kids should learn from a young age to sit at the table for the entire meal, even if it means that for some developmental period you only eat 20 minute meals at Chipotle and call it a "restaurant." For some unknown reason, the "dancing restaurant," as my daugther calls it gets a pass in this area). However, once again, I left the D'Note with mixed feelings.

Pro: they have a good selection of beer. It seems a few years ago, you could get a nice hoppy but not too hoppy beer like Stone IPA on draft nearly everywhere. Now most places have replaced that spot at the tap with PBR. D'Note still has good beer.

Con: the pizza is really inconsistent. I have had a few pies that I've liked there over the years, but it's just not dependable. This time, we got a pizza that was half cheese (for the kids) and half roasted red pepper and basil. Unfortunately, someone forgot to actually chop up the roasted red pepper. That half of the pizza was literally covered with pieces of red pepper that were the size of about a third of a good sized red pepper. On the up side, you can't fault them for skimping on the pepper. But seriously, it was just too much. It was hard to eat. It overpowered everything else.

Pro: The waitstaff should be sainted. They run around dodging small children with smiles on their faces. I have never seen them drop a pizza on a kid. I used to wait tables. I would not have enjoyed this shift.

Con: The whole implementation of the Baby Boogie thing has gone a bit downhill. We went during one of the first weekends they had it. At that time, the musical instruments were all brand new (of course), they had a bubble machine, balloons, juice boxes, dishes of goldfish around. That was probably at least 2.5 years ago. The toys are a little worn out now. I miss the balloons--such a simple, cheap thing that entertains kids so much. On the upside, I hear that they have a children's music teacher that comes during the first hour to entertain the kids. That is cool, but I think that is at about 2 or 3 p.m. (aka prime nap time & too early for dinner).

So, as I said, I really want to like the place. We'll probably go there again and again, maybe even on a non-baby boogie night. It is a great music venue and I've also heard it is a good place to go & take Salsa lessons. I just wish I could get more excited about the food. It is pizza! I guess I feel like it just shouldn't be that hard to do well and consistently! On the other hand, on a snowy Sunday afternoon, it is a good way to get the kids out of the house and let them blow off steam and my kids really have fun. Maybe I should just quit my whining and have another beer.