Carosello Restaurant

     The kids of P.S. 146 in Howard Beach, Queens had a half day of school the other day.  Great for the kids--not so great for the parents who have to find something to keep the kids occupied for an extra three hours or arrange babysitters if they are working parents.  Kids get bored so quickly don't they?  Luckily, I did not have to arrange for a sitter (I wasn't working then).  A friend of mine called earlier in the day and asked me if I wanted to join her and her two children for lunch at Carosello on Cross Bay Blvd.  in Howard Beach.  The reason she chose Carosello over the large number of other restaurants found on Cross Bay was because Carosello was running a fundraiser with the Parent Teacher Association of P.S. 146.  We decided it would be a great idea to get the kids out for a while and we liked the idea that 10 % of our check would go to the school. 

     We arrived at about 11:30 and the place was somewhat empty, but it quickly began to fill up with the lunch time crowd.  As you walk through the main entrance you are greeted by a wonderful carnival/circus painted mural.  From the second you open the doors, you know that you are in a kid-friendly environment.  The tables and seating sections are divided by movable striped walls so, if needed, the staff can section off a more quiet area for business lunches and still serve the giggling gaggles of kids and their parents.  The lunch menu was quite extensive offering lots of choices at great prices.  Being a mom, I quickly scanned the kid's menu and I found 5 or 6 choices there--all of which were my kids' favorites:  hot dogs, hamburgers, mac and cheese, chicken fingers, and penne with Vodka Sauce.  All of which are my favorites too--I am not much of a food sampler.  For the more refined tastebuds, like those of my husband and our adult friends, Carosello offers a wide variety of pasta dishes and seafood.  The prices are very reasonable; all of the children's meals were (If I remember correctly) under $5--I love that! The food was brought out pretty quickly to the joy of our kids who just couldn't wait to finish eating so they could go to the arcade room.  The portions were larger than I have come to expect from children's meals at other establishments and there were lots of leftovers for dinner or lunch the next day-which I also love =).  I ordered the penne and vodka sauce, Ryan ordered mac and cheese and Mikey had the chicken fingers; all were DELICIOUS.  Mikey, who isn't a great eater, sat there and ate quite a bit (to my surprise and that of my friend).

     As part of the fundraiser with the school, when we finished eating and had paid our bill, we were given a bag of tokens for the arcade room for each child.  I believe it was $5 in tokens.  JACKPOT!  The kids could not contain their happiness and the four of them spread out in every direction!  Luckily the room is small enough for parents to keep an eye on each child without having a stress induced breakdown (which can happen in some of the larger arcades).  The tokens lasted a good deal of time, but the kids were having so much fun that we decided to buy another $5 in tokens.  We ended up hanging out for about 2 hours (including lunch) and had a great afternoon.  Ryan finished the day with 390+ tickets and Mikey earned about 190 which they quickly took to the redemption center for prizes.  Spending time with friends in a safe environment (as they say in the commercial):  PRICELESS.

     On a scale of 1 to 10 Ice Cream Cones, I give Carosello 10 Ice Cream Cones.  Ryan gives it 100 Ice Cream Cones and wants to eat there "EVERYDAY!" 

     P.S.   Carosello also has party rooms!  Give them a call or stop by to see what they have to offer!  There is also a bar for the adults and a great selection of wine. 

Carosello accepts all credit cards.

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