Once in a while, a man’s thoughts turn to home cooked meals. You know, the kind that you prepare yourself. My family generally prefers the “hunt and gather” meals versus the “nuke and thaw," so trips must be made out of our cushy area to … the grocery store. With multiple children and multiple jobs, my wife and I never get time to ourselves, so when it’s time to grocery shop, we occasionally make it a date. And Wegmans is our date location of choice. Almost everyone in the valley knows about Wegmans even if you don’t live close to one. It’s not our regular grocery store (too expensive), but …

After a few weeks of hot dogs and fast (but tasty bakery eats), this week, we went a little upscale. I mean, just because you have kids doesn’t mean you have to give up your desire to eat at a place with tablecloths and French food you can’t pronounce, right? Waving my “parent’s are grownups too” flag high, I bundled the entire posse into the car and headed (on a tip from a reader) to the Buckeye Tavern in Macungie for a taste. Parking: It was a dark and stormy night…So DD missed the parking lot the first time around. But once we got to the right place (thanks to my co-pilot/wife) the parking…

Recently I took my family (all of us this time, plus my father-in-law) to the Promenade and decided to try out Red Robin.  It's definitely one of those restaurant chains that pose as a sports bar except instead of having tons drunken sports enthusiasts screaming at a television there are tons of kids screaming at their parents. But with an 8 year-old and an 8 month-old in tow, I felt that I fit right into the pack. I was pleasantly surprised to see wide aisles for fast-treading parents with strollers, no matter how big or small. Even if you opted to haul your carseat in without the latest 4 …

You know how sometimes, food is better the second day? That’s the feeling I had while eating at Louie’s Bakery in Emmaus. And while that sounds like a vague insult, remember that I am a dad of two, and my life is leftovers. So these are darn good. Parking Off street parking awaits in the back of the cheerful stand-alone building, as long as you don’t miss the turn-off. The building is essentially across from the Yocco’s on the outskirts of Emmaus, and the turn-off is before the building. Keep your eyes open.  Family Perks #1. The back door-Thank god for a door in the back. Don’t mock the man …

Editor’s note: Another new feature for the Bethlehem Patch is Dining Dad, with local foodie and father Kristian Ball giving us his insights into local restaurants, both for the quality of cuisine and the level of kid-friendliness. If there are any restaurants you would like us to review, let us know in comments. One recent weekend afternoon the fam and I decided to hit up Bethlehem Brew Works for a light bite. We shot for baby naptime, so we could see how the place stacked up to a sleeping infant/car seat scenario. Parking Bethlehem Brew Works is in the both fortunate and unfortunate corner …