Cut to the chase. Take me to the Momsense.
We moved to Glastonbury about seven years ago, and in that time the location at 40 Glastonbury Boulevard has housed at least three different eating establishments, the most recent of which is Maggie McFly’s, a Connecticut-based eatery with three other locations in the state. I’m not sure why nothing seems to stick, but it certainly piques my interest every time a new restaurant moves in.
This one had my attention from the day the sign went up. With a name like Maggie McFly’s and a logo featuring an Amelia Earhart-esque portrait, I had no idea what to expect on the inside of those doors.
To tell you the truth, I was expecting some kind of retro diner vibe: Bright vinyl booths, lots of shiny chrome, milkshakes at a counter. Maybe I got that from the “McFly” reference, conjuring up the 1950’s images from Back to the Future. Anyway, I know in the age of the Internet it would have been super easy to hop online and take a pre-visit peek at their website, but sometimes I just like to be surprised 🙂
And I was.
But let’s back up here for a moment. This story begins with Boo’s increasingly erratic nap schedule. I guess now that he’s 2 1/2 I should be expecting him to start fighting an afternoon nap, but I was not prepared for him to give up so much of it, so quickly. These days, I seem to be lucky if I can get him to sleep for an hour and a half (and this from a kid who used to nap for a full three hours, no problem). And on top of that, he’s managed to push his bedtime back from 7:30 to 8:00 (if we want to avoid a full-blown tantrum during bathtime).
Along with the mostly unfortunate side effects of this change (buh-bye free time), there have been a few perks. One of which is that it is a lot easier to go out to dinner as a family now that Boo wakes up from his nap earlier and goes to sleep later. Going out to dinner has always been one of my favorite luxuries, but after becoming a mom (and essentially waiting hand and foot on one VERY picky customer 7 days a week, 24 hours a day), having someone serve me for a change has been elevated to a new level of personal bliss.
So last Saturday we thought we’d give the kitchen the night off and head down the road to check out Glastonbury’s newest hotspot.
We arrived at Maggie McFly’s at about 5:45, which is admittedly a bit later than we had intended to get there. I knew this place would be busy, so I’d hoped to get there by 5:00 at the latest for the best chance of avoiding a lengthy wait. Of course, Boo picked this of all afternoons to revert to his 3+ hour napping habit, so we didn’t even make it out the door until 5:30.
There are two parking areas at the restaurant, one to the left of the entrance and in front of the building:
And one to the right of the entrance:
We were really lucky to find a spot in that back parking lot. It was packed! But they do offer FREE valet parking, so that is helpful.
Walking into the building, we had a feeling we’d underestimated the popularity of a new restaurant in a small town. It was busy!
As we approached the hostess stand, I could tell that my hopes for a short wait were soon to be dashed. Forty-five minutes. And at 5:45! Yikes. (Next time we will plan ahead and take advantage of Priority Seating.) We decided we’d hang around, see if we could keep Boo occupied with a combination of the scenery and some choice toys we’d had the good sense to bring along with us. I was encouraged to spot lots of other families with young children there. If they could brave a wait, so could we! And worst case scenario, we’d bail and pick up some takeout on the way home. It was worth a try.
The waiting area is a pretty decent size, with nice comfy padded benches. Of course, that’s only if you can get a seat.
No such luck for us, but to tell you the truth, Boo was happier to explore a little anyway. First we checked out the dessert case. Always good to see upfront if you should save room for dessert. This was a definite “yes” 🙂
Thank goodness for the Dr. Seuss’s ABC’s iPhone app. That’s always good for at least 15 minutes (as is the FREE I Hear Ewe app and also the FREE Lazoo Squiggles app–lifesavers, really).
Boo and I spent a little time hamming it up for my phone camera photo booth-style.
And when he got really antsy, Boo and I took a few laps around the restaurant. No one seemed to notice or care.
Now, if I’d been smart, I would have spent some time looking at the menu. You’ll see why in a bit.
All in all, the 45 minutes passed pretty quickly, and I gave myself a big pat on the back for braving a restaurant wait with a toddler in tow.
The restaurant does have high chairs, but Boo has pretty much grown out of the high chair phase. He’s much happier to just sit next to me or daddy. Of course, that is much easier in a booth where we can corral him in 🙂
Maggie McFly’s has lots of booths, and they also have some of those hybrid tables that have booth benches on one side and chairs on the other. That’s what we got, and despite being sandwiched between two other tables, it worked just fine to have Boo sit by me on the bench side. We even had a really pretty view of the picture window with the fire pit outside.
Boo got crayons and a multi-page activity/coloring book. Nice.
There was a great kids’ menu with tons of options at pretty reasonable prices.
We put in Boo’s order for Maggie’s Chicken Nuggets pretty much just as soon as we sat down. And despite how busy the restaurant was, it came out pretty fast.
Mmmm. Chicken nuggets.
We also ordered Boo a milk. It came in a cup with a lid and a straw. Boo still gets a little confused with these cups and thinks he has to tilt it back like his sippy cup to get the liquid out. So we have to help him out a bit 🙂
While we were waiting for Boo’s meal to arrive, hubby and I tried to figure out what we wanted to order. Remember when I said I should have spent some time looking at the menu while we were waiting for a table? Yeah. Here’s why. This thing is like a phonebook! It gives The Cheesecake Factory a serious run for their money in the competition for longest menu ever.
They have everything from burgers to burritos to steaks, pasta, pizza, salads. You name it, it’s probably on this menu (there are more than 180 items). Now that I think about it, it’s very international. Maybe that’s where the whole airplane/pilot theme comes in. They also have a special Sunday Brunch menu.
I ordered the Chinese Chicken Salad. Good choice!
Hubby had the Bleu Cheese BLT Burger. He rated it right up there with his current favorite burger, the Blue Cheese Burger from Plan B. And that’s a big compliment. He’s quite the connoisseur when it comes to blue cheese burgers 🙂
My salad was delicious, but I still couldn’t get that chocolate Black Out Cake from the display case out of my mind (see full dessert menu here). So we ordered some. Now that is one hefty slice of chocolate cake!
There was plenty to go around. In fact, we had to get a to-go box and stash half the cake in there just to keep Boo from finishing the whole thing!
Before we left, I checked out the restrooms. I can only vouch for the women’s room, but there is a baby changing station located in the handicap-accessible stall (and to tell the truth, I much prefer it be in a roomy stall like this rather than right out in the open where it’s inevitably in the way and everyone gives you dirty looks as you try to change a stinky diaper, so this place gets bonus points).
Despite the long wait and the crowded quarters, I was really glad that’d we’d had a chance to try out this new restaurant. It’s definitely a unique addition to the Glastonbury scene (if we can really call it a scene 🙂 ) and I’m already looking forward to going back and trying something else off that ginormous menu. Plus, it was just fun and exciting to be “out on the town” with all the other restaurant goers for a change. However, next time I’m thinking we’ll forgo the crowds by stopping in for a really late lunch or a really early dinner 🙂
40 Glastonbury Blvd, Glastonbury, Connecticut
Phone: (860) 633-1104
Find them on Facebook.
Get directions here (to the Glastonbury location):
Other locations include Brookfield, Middlebury, and Southbury.
Hours:
Monday-Saturday: 11:30 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. (with a special Late Night menu served from 10:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.)
Sunday: 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. (with a special Sunday Brunch menu* served from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.)
*Regular menu also available during Sunday Brunch
Tips & Things to Bring:
- This is a moderately-priced restaurant. There are too many menu items to compare them all, but to give you an idea, prices range from about $9-$12 for a burger, signature sandwich, or pizza; $12-$19 for pasta dishes; $17-$25 for steak or ribs. So there’s definitely a wide range of prices to suit different budgets. Click here to see the full menu.
- Click here to see the Kids’ Menu.
- This place was very loud. That always works for me because I like that no one else can hear Boo when he throws a mini-tantrum. Of course, it was a little difficult to carry on a conversation with hubby across the table. Although, when you’re out to dinner with a toddler, who has time for adult conversation, right?! 🙂
- GO AT “OFF” TIMES to avoid or at least lessen a wait. I can’t stress this enough. This restaurant is immensely popular right now. It’s only been open for a few months, and the curiosity factor is really high. For now, I would recommend going for an early or late lunch or a very early dinner (the restaurant is open straight through from lunch to dinner so you can go any time during the afternoon), especially if you are going on the weekend.
- Another option to decrease your wait time is to take advantage of “Priority Seating”. The Glastonbury location does not accept any reservations (according to the staff member I spoke with, although the main website makes it seem like they do–a bit confusing). Instead, they offer Priority Seating, which is a slightly more organized adaptation of call-ahead seating. Priority Seating works kind of like a reservation. You call in advance (preferably a day or more), tell them what time you would like to come in, and then when you arrive at that time, your name will be put at the top of the waiting list (if there’s a wait). So you still may have to wait for a bit, but the amount of time will be drastically reduced.
- Don’t confuse Priority Seating with the call-ahead seating you might be used to at other places. You can’t call 20 minutes before you show up at the restaurant and expect to have your name moved to the top of the list (hey, that wouldn’t be fair to the folks who have been waiting at the restaurant). You need to plan in advance.
- If you do end up waiting, use the extra time to look over the menu. You’ll thank me when you get to your table and have some idea of what you will order from the more than 180 menu items!
- Don’t try to bring a stroller in here. There’s no good place to stash it.
- High chairs are available.
- FREE valet parking available.
- The entire menu is also available for takeout.
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