Tag: beer

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Fr8yard – Full Review

My 1 year old daughter seems to think the car is some sort of torture chamber.  Since birth she has protested consistently and loudly every time she gets even close to her car seat.  This has obviously made long car trips, (or any car trip really) PAINFUL.  I mean getting to the grocery and back can be therapy inducing.  That being said, when we get the ridiculous notion to take a long car trip with the kids, we must stop often.  We have found that it is good for everyones moral if we take nice long leisurely stops about every 2 hours.  So recently, on a crazy expedition to Savannah, we stumbled across one of the coolest beers with kids places!

I usually try to research some potential stop locals before we begin our travels, but on this particular trip, when the baby was screaming, I just whipped out trusty google and came upon Fr8yard in Spartanburg, SC.  I wasn't sure what exactly to expect as it was described as a beer garden built in old shipping containers.   I was totally impressed.

 

The lower area of Fr8yard has tons of super long picnic style tables, perfect for my little red chair.

There are large umbrellas for plenty of shade and giant fans that I would assume really cool the place down on a hot day.  They weren't on when we were there because it wasn't too warm out.

Downstairs has multiple ping pong tables, corn hole, giant blocks that could be used for Jenga or for a 3 year old boy to build tons of towers.

Also there are multiple huge TV screens for any sporting event viewing.

As far as good goes, the menu was a crowd pleaser for both kids and parents!

The hot dogs and brats that we tried were excellent, as well as the soft pretzel.  The French fries were these cool twisted wedge fries that I have never seen before but LOVED.  There were no complaints from anyone.

The beer options were plentiful, as well as some wine and liquor options.

Upstairs had more seating, an extra bar that wasn't currently open and some more giant jingo sets.

The only real drawback that kept Fr8yard from getting a perfect score was the complete and total lack of changing tables in either bathroom.  I have no problem changing my girl on an outdoor table, but I can't imagine that makes all the patrons thrilled.

Overall the food was great, the beer was great, and there was plenty of room for little people to run and play all their car energy out.  The staff were super kid friendly and there were tons of kids there on our random Thursday afternoon.  I expect that we will keep Fr8yard in mind whenever we travel through South Carolina in the future.

 

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Wicked Weed

Wicked Weed

website

Overall 3.5/5**

  • Outside and Inside
  • High Chairs & Booster Seats
  • Changing Tables both bathrooms
  • Alcohol - TONS of beer, draft and bottles, wine & cocktails
  • Food - Good, full menu
  • Kids Menu - No
  • Activities - None
  • Staff Kid Friendly - Tolerant
  • Patrons Kid Friendly - Tolerant
  • Dog Friendly - Extremely

Good to Know

  • Outside area has large corner with fire pit that is mostly fenced and great for running around

**This is purely a rating with kids, this place is really great without kids

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Abridged Beer Co.

Abridged Beer Company

website

Overall 3/5**

  • Outside best but inside available
  • High Chairs - no
  • Changing Tables - Women's bathroom
  • Alcohol - Draft beer (in house bottled)
  • Food - Great small menu with burger specials
  • Kids Menu - no
  • Activities - small kids shelf inside with toys that can be taken outside
  • Staff Kid Friendly - yes
  • Patrons Kid Friendly - some yes, some no
  • Dog Friendly - outside

Good to Know

  • No smoking allowed!
  • outside area had 3 unfenced corners

**This is purely a rating with kids, this place is really great without kids

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Round 6 – Full Review

I love a good brewery and Round 6 does not disappoint!!

I have driven past this place a million times and seen the little beer garden lights and always been super curious, so we finally decided to check it out.

Round 6 is slightly hard to find, even though you can see it from Alcoa Highway, you have to turn on like 3 side streets to actually get to the parking.  I advise phones GPS, as always….I actually don’t know how I’d live without it.

We walked into a super empty bar (like 4 people) with zero kids and were at first thinking we would grab a beer and head on, and probably wouldn’t bother adding to the website…boy were we wrong!!  

This was in the corner of the bar

I’m pretty nothing says bring your kid to the bar like a corner dedicated to them!

Also in the bar is the magical popcorn machine!  The popcorn is free, fun for kids to watch and my son may or may not have eaten 7 bowls of it...hey, it was Friday.

Connected to the bar area is a porch that has a railing on all sides but the stairs.  There are tons of picnic tables and this adorable little fake grass area with tiny Adirondack chairs. 

The grass area has only one side unfenced and it’s super easy to keep tiny humans wrangled.  Bonus, the chairs are plastic and really lightweight and fun/easy for kids to move around without anyone getting their toes smashed.  

A food truck (or more like a food cart) showed up around 4/4:30 and had great food that everyone loved.  The bartender said there is always a food truck by 5. 

There is also a charcuterie board available that we meant to try, but honestly drank beer instead and forgot.

We ate on the little porch and then headed down to the big beer garden.

The beer garden area is across the parking lot and down a ramp.  This giant area has a somewhat covered section with tables, an enclosed bacce court, a large fake grass area and a surrounding parking lot.  Also a little stage for bands. 

There was tons of construction going on, so I’m not sure how much things will change.  The owner told me that they are working on building an enclosed dog park area next to the beer garden, which will be fantastic. 

As for dogs, there were tons.  I actually met the biggest St Bernard I have ever seen at 201lbs!!  (I seriously could not stop hugging him)

This picture does not do justice to the massiveness of this creature

At 3:30 on a Friday we were close to the only people there.  But by 6:30, there was a band playing, lots of grown ups (but not too many) and at least 15 kids running around like lunatics.  We were so caught off guard by how fun Round 6 would be, that we had showed up around 3:30 and planned to leave by dinner, and instead ended up inviting friends and staying until almost 9pm!  This may have been the latest my kids have ever stayed up (I’m a little crazy about early bedtimes).  But all the kids were having so much fun, and so were we!  We just couldn’t make ourselves leave.  

Oh, and about the beer…the beer is MAGICAL.  They make everything, have tons of options on draft and everything we tried was so good.  Growlers are supposed to be available soon.

The only draw backs to Round 6 are that you have to walk a ways to get your beers from the main bar as beer is not currently served in the beer garden (I know, walking 50 feet is not that big of a deal).  Also, smoking is allowed in the outside areas and as a parent, this always bothers me.  

 

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Ode to Triangle Crayons

I’m sure all of those people out there that aren’t parents are rolling their eyes and probably not going to read much further, but for those of you that are, read on.

You all probably know the misery of the round crayon.  I mean, who on earth thought it was a good idea to create a children’s product that is to be used on flat surfaces AND ROLLS. 

Why is rolling so bad?  I want you to go take something round, anything round, set it on a table then watch it roll off and pick it up over and over and over and over.  Now continue this for about an hour or so, and eat dinner during the process.  Oh, and mediate a few toddler fights, run to the bathroom at least once, and dodge any flying food, all while guarding your beer with your life so that it doesn’t get toppled by tiny hands.

Now, I introduce the triangle crayon. 

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I did not know this was a thing until recently, and for those of you who still don’t know this is a thing, THIS IS A THING!  We have run into these at only a handful of restaurants in all our travels and I don’t know why???  Is it more expensive to make a crayon that is shaped like a triangle instead of a circle??  Is the crayon business so overpowered by one company that no one dares takes on their original design?!  I DON’T KNOW.  Should I start a company that only manufactures non rolling triangle shaped crayons??  Maybe one day…All I do know is that when my children are provided with these magical, stay put entertainment devices, they don’t need me nearly as much.  Sure I still have to referee fights, bathroom run, and cut things into pieces that are obviously the wrong shape/size and must be recut 5 times, but I don’t have to continuously get out of my chair and pick up coloring devices repeatedly.

Restaurants, please hear my cry!  These exist!  Find them, stock them, people will come to you just for this reason!  (at least I would)

I must confess…when these are available at a restaurant, I ask for an extra set for the baby (who obviously can’t color) and I keep them in my bag for use at places that have round crayons, or worse, no crayons. This is a whole other topic: things I take from restaurants….don’t judge, they want me to have these things or they wouldn’t put their name on them.

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State of Confusion

website

Rating 4.8/5

  • Outside best
  • High Chairs - Yes
  • Changing Tables - Women's bathroom only
  • Alcohol - beer, wine, liquor
  • Food - Yes, large & unique menu
  • Kids Menu - Yes
  • Activities - Triangle crayons, plenty of room to run
  • Staff Kid Friendly - Yes
  • Patrons Kid Friendly - Yes
  • Dog Friendly - Yes

Full Review to Come

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Hard Knox Pizza Full Review

Where do I even start with this place???  I was introduced to Hard Knox Pizza by a local before I even lived here. Now I return the favor to anyone and everyone who hasn't heard of it.  This is seriously such good pizza!!

 

I know, I know...I'm not doing food reviews here.  So, let's talk about going here with kids.

Hard Knox is in a shopping center that is trying to make itself less strip mall-ish, but is still pretty strip mally.  But that is totally ok with us because that means plenty of easy parking!!

Hard Knox is a smallish restaurant, mostly inside with a few tables out from on the sidewalk.  So, so sad though, I cannot hook the little red chair to these outside tables.  But that's ok because we usually sit inside and they also have tons of high chairs.

As far as kids activities, they provide crayons and super cute coloring sheets....I wish, beyond wish that all restaurants would invest in triangle shaped crayons (that's a post for another day), but that's just me getting flat out picky.

The staff are sweet to kids and the place is generally filled with them and the food is amazing, so everyone is happy.

Several craft beers on tap.  Pitchers available too if you so choose.  Also, Monday night is family night and comes with certain discounts and special additional kid stuff.

But the pizza is the true star of this show.  It's amazing and fresh, and the menu is pretty big.  There's a different special every month and they are generally phenomenal.

Also, shout out to the great salads...

Overall, go here to eat AWESOME pizza and drink good beer in a place where it's totally encouraged to bring your kids.

Side note...great for carryout too!!

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Hard Knox Pizza

Hard Knox Pizza

website

Rating 4.3/5

  • High Chairs - Yes
  • Changing Tables - Women's bathroom
  • Alcohol - Draft & canned craft beer
  • Food - AWESOME pizza, salads
  • Kids Menu - No
  • Activities - Crayons & coloring sheets
  • Staff Kid Friendly - Yes
  • Patrons Kid Friendly - Yes
  • Dog Friendly - Only outside, limited space

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Bearden Beer Market Full Review

When we initially moved to Knoxville and had our son, we rented a small house in the Bearden/Sequoya Hills area.  One of the first places we discovered and loved was The Bearden Beer Market. However, I had not been back there in probably three years.  For some reason, I decided today was the day.

Don't be fooled by the name, the Bearden Beer Market is way more than a beer market. It is a large outdoor gathering spot, complete with every type of table, kids riding toys, a full sized basketball goal, covered areas, uncovered, areas, giant Jenga, about a million corn hole sets, and so on.

There is only one entrance, so kids are fairly contained.  But beware that that one entrance leads to one of the busier streets in Knoxville, so I wouldn't get too distracted from the kids.

There are three unisex bathrooms, the middle of which has a changing table.  The bathrooms are located inside a sort of sitting area that has a foosball table, some mismatched couches and a TV.  (From past experience, this area doubles as a fantastic nursing room.)

The beer selection rotates and is usually fantastic.  Today they had a Bearded Iris IPA on tap that I LOVE.

As far as food...they do have food trucks that frequent, and a list of what truck is there on what day at the entrance.

I'm pretty sure just one truck a day and it doesn't show up until the evening during the week.  Luckily its right across the street from Hard Knox Pizza so we generally just go there to eat or pick up food and bring it with us.

I absolutely love this place.  It's great for a sunny day or a cooler evening if the fire pit is lit.  I don't think I'd choose it for a hangout when the weather is too bad though. My biggest complaint is that they allow smoking everywhere, but hey, I'm sure this makes my smoking friends happy!

If you're bored with your kids and want a beer, definitely give Bearden Beer Market a try.

 

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Bearden Beer Market

website

Rating 4.4/5

  • High Chairs - No
  • Changing Tables - 1 in middle unisex bathroom
  • Alcohol - Multiple craft beer taps and cans
  • Food - Mostly No, one food truck a night but not until evening
  • Kids Menu - No
  • Activities - Kids riding toys, giant Jenga, corn hole, full sized basketball goal, plenty of room to run
  • Staff Kid Friendly - Yes
  • Patrons Kid Friendly - Yes
  • Dog Friendly - Extremely

Good to Know

  • mostly outside, but great plastic enclosed outdoor bar with TVs
  • Giant fire pit

 

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