NVM Review

By Warren Rojas

Becoming an actual pillar of the community is no small feat for an aspiring restaurateur.

Yet Foxfire Grill owner Terri Fox and her crew make it seem effortless, treating every guest like a cherished regular—be they adult, infant or anywhere in between.

The tranquil suburban restaurant showers patrons with plenty of natural light (the collaborative efforts of the surrounding windows and mirror-polished blond hardwoods spray sunshine into every last square inch of the dining room).

Staff are hyper-friendly and perfectly at ease with young children, going so far as to distribute complimentary Wikki Stix (fully poseable and totally reusable wax-like twists that will provide much more entertainment mileage than a box of cut-rate crayons) the average parent would be wise to pocket and re-deploy whenever boredom threatens to sour any future eating outing.

The kids’ menu features multiple, vegetarian-friendly dining options, including a personalized hummus and pita plate, cheese quesadillas (served with barbecue sauce, by request), traditional mac and cheese and crunchy carrot sticks.

Baked whitefish filets are unapologetically fishy (no disguising the main event beneath breadcrumbs, cheese or anything untoward) but perfectly satisfying, while fruit kebabs flanked by honeyed yogurt grant children the sweet endings they crave sans all the processed sugars.

Daily specials like half-price burgers (reinvest the savings in gourmet add-ons like sauteed onions and tres tangy blue cheese) and discount wings help take the guesswork out of ordering for adults.

Meanwhile, staff takes the bite out of scouting easy-to-sip wines by maintaining a list of 20 wines for under $20.