Sticky Rice

As noted previously, my daughter loves sushi. Today, after a playdate with her best friend Mr. President, we all headed over to Sticky Rice in Fell’s Point. Now, I happen to be a big fan of this place, even if it costs a little more than other sushi restaurants I frequent, and I know some people are over it but I'm happy to keep coming back for the time being.

Looking at the restaurant, one wouldn’t necessarily think of it as a kid friendly establishment. The main room contains a bar and today they were playing some awesome classic rock. However, there are two main draws for me here. 

One is the sweet potato tots. 

Sweet Mary, these things are delicious and I am in no way a big tater tot fan (though I did out myself as a sweet potato addict a couple posts ago). I actually make fun of my husband for his love of something called a Tater Tot Casserole. To me, tater tots were always part of the ‘bad’ lunch day at school. But these sweet potato tots have won me over and when I win the lottery, I will have a constant fresh supply in my house, delivered by little hipsters vying for my attention.  My daughter, who somehow takes after her father with his disdain for sweet potatoes, will actually eat them too, so big bonus there. I know how to keep my kids fed on healthy foods!

The other draw is what I call (and maybe other people do too?) the Jesus Room. 

It’s a tiny little alcove of a room with light up pictures of Jesus and Mary and a TV. It makes me feel less guilty when my kids are having a loud day and if I have to resort to the TV so that we can finish our dinners in peace, it’s an option. Though honestly, the art and the sushi are enough of a distraction that I haven’t had to use it yet. But believe me, an L and Mr. President day will always be an extra loud day and, even in the Jesus Room, I was getting a little nervous and tempted to ask them to turn on Sprout or Nick Jr. !

The waiter was attentive and didn’t seem annoyed by our children despite being an indie hipster type guy, so yay. Side note: I know the owner is a father himself and actually has gone out of his way in the past to accommodate families. We immediately ordered a bucket of sweet potato tots for the table and then took a minute to look over the menu.  I settled on a South Roll, which was sweet potato tempura and got L a California Roll. What I failed to realize was that I had a huge bucket of sweet potato tots in front of me and I just ordered sweet potato sushi. Oh well, I just ended up  trading a couple of my pieces for L and felt less like a glutton. Except she wouldn’t eat the South Roll and wanted more sushi, so I ended up getting a second California Roll for us to split. I actually think the California Roll might have been tastier than my sweet sweet potato, so I’m glad we got a second roll. I brought B some baby food packs and he ate some sweet potato tots and everyone was happy. Except Mr. President who wanted pizza.  Sadly, there isn’t  a kids menu per se, but they do have plenty of tasty noodle and rice dishes that I’ve had in the past that many kids would enjoy if they don’t eat sushi.  L has enjoyed a delicious soba noodle dish in the past, and she is not what I would call an adventurous eater (except for the aforementioned sushi). 

The restaurant wasn't crowded, food was fantastic, service was fast, the kids enjoyed playing with the beaded curtain and getting to roam around the little alcove, the babies didn’t throw all their food on the ground, and it was a pretty swell time all around. Mr. President’s mom and I even got to have some adult conversation so I consider that fact alone to be the sign of a great lunch! My advice is go early in the day and not when it’s a crowded bar scene and try to get the Jesus Room. 

Kid Friendliness: 3.5/5 (because it's really best to only bring kids during certain times)

Service: 4/5

Prices: 3/5

Taste: 4/5