I don’t want to start off on a negative note, but when I mess up, I own it. If you read about our last adventure, you may remember how Alex was wanting more unique restaurants to visit. I found Watershed Distillery and it seemed unique and had what I thought was an appealing menu. However, it didn’t turn out as I had hoped.

Everything started off really well. The inside of the restaurant was very warm and inviting. The kids really liked how it looked inside. We were ushered to the back, where there was a glass wall separating the restaurant from the distillery. We had a table right next to the glass and saw them giving a tour as we ate.

We started off with drinks and appetizers. Being a distillery, they didn’t have normal soft drinks so the kids got a bottled lemon lime soda that they had. Alex liked it but Chloe was not a fan. This is a bit of foreshadowing as to how the night is going to go unfortunately. I went a little too far from the “norms” of food children like apparently. More to come on that. For the appetizers, we went for the Midwest Chips and Dip (Chloe’s choice) and the Pickledillies (Alex’s choice). Chloe didn’t want any of the Pickledillies so Alex got two of them and I got one. They were delicious! I wish they gave you more. They both thought the chips were too salty, but everyone enjoyed them and the dips.

While enjoying the appetizers, I had to enjoy a cocktail from the Distillery. When in Rome as they say. They had a barrel right behind our table that they pull the whiskey out of for each individual drink. I started off with an Old Fashioned which although it was light on volume, it was still very tasty.

And then it was time for the entree’s. I walked through the menu with both Alex and Chloe and really thought they would like several options on the menu. They both went with the Hay-Smoked Ribs. I went with the Braised Short Ribs which is similar to when I see Lasagna at an Italian restaurant in that when I see Short Ribs on a menu it’s hard for me to go with something else. On a positive note, I loved both meals. Alex said he like the ribs too and ate 1/3 of his. But unfortunately, Chloe didn’t like hers at all. So I gave her some of my short ribs in hopes we could just trade but she didn’t like them either. Unfortunately, this was a failure in my mind for this weeks Dining with Dad. The only good thing was I got to eat all of Chloe’s ribs, plus mine!

Since we were on to the second course and the Old Fashioned was so small, I decided to go for one more adult beverage. I asked the server to choose one for me; to pick his favorite. He went with the “Just moved to Greenpoint”, which was Bourbon, Blanc Vermouth, Maraschino Liqueur, and China-China. He had me at bourbon! I’m not into too many of the bourbon mixed drinks, but this one was pretty good.

With the failure of being able to feed the kids with a decent meal, I offered them dessert as a substitute until we could get something else. They both went with the Milk and Cookie. Since they were going for dessert, I of course had to try something as well. I’m a huge fan of Apple Fritters, of the doughnut kind, so I went for their Apple Fritters. So did Chloe like the cookie? Nope! She ate about half of it but again, wasn’t a fan. Alex ate all his and the rest of Chloe’s and drank some of the milk. He ended up playing with the rest! The apple fritters were delicious!! They had small chunks of real apples and the dough wasn’t overly fried with tons of oil. I’d definitely try those again!

In summary, this wasn’t the most successful Dining with Dad. While I enjoyed it and will definitely go back with other adults, it apparently wasn’t a good selection for children. Live and learn as they say. I’ll have to be more diligent about the menus next time and balance the atmosphere/uniqueness with food I know they will enjoy. To Chloe and Alex, I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy this one as much. To everyone else, I encourage you to give the Watershed Distillery a try as the food was delicious and their drinks are plentiful!