Eat with your hands

Photograph by Lane Johnson

While sushi is an obvious, if decidedly upscale, finger food, colorful comfort zone Sushi Samba 7 (87 Seventh Ave South at Barrow St; 212-691-7885, sushisamba.com) goes out of its way to offer a smorgasbord of other items that you can eat utensil-free. Peruvian anticuchos (grilled skewers) beckon alongside an array of tempura options; for grown-ups who prefer a traditional raw bar to the rice-topped stuff, there’s also one of those, featuring shrimp, king crab legs and oysters galore. Being avid sushi fans, Gabriel and I had no need for the menu, each of us opting for our tried-and-true faves, which didn’t disappoint: avocado and eel-and-avocado rolls for him, à la carte sushi and rolls for me (sashimi eaten with one’s hands was a bit too weird). Madeleine, who came mostly for the company and for whom chocolate trumps all, struck pay dirt when we finished: Chocolate Fondue for Two, with Rice Krispie balls, marshmallows, apple slices and strawberries for dipping.

Less exotic fare awaited us at Moustache(90 Bedford St between Barrow and Grove Sts, 212-229-2220), a small, moody European-café-like spot with communal tables. I learned long ago that pita and hummus are one of the best ways to introduce a PB&J-obsessed tot to “foods of the world,” and no place does mashed chick peas better than Moustache. And that’s just for starters: Mediterranean specialties like falafel, spanakopita and chicken kebabs make choosing difficult, sharing advisable and utensils unnecessary. Should you hit no homers with these, Moustache also serves the city’s most inventive and delicious pizzas—try the Moustache Pitza, topped with roasted peppers, tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, onions and parsley, or the Lahambajin Pitza, with ground lamb, onion, tomato and parsley.

For our last stop, we hit the mod, Jetsons-esque Thai spot Spice (60 University Pl at 10th St, 212-982-3758) and went entirely the small-plates route, choosing five of the 12 appetizer options, all of which were perfectly finger-friendly. Since only the sauce accompanying the Spice Crispy Calamari was piquant and not the calamari itself, the dish scored points with my heat-averse kids. Two other winners were the Emerald vegetable dumplings—soft, round and plump—dipped in a luscious black plum sauce, and Martini Crispy Shrimp, a martini glass filled halfway with a sweet-and-sour mixture and stuffed with five or six tall rice-paper-wrapped fried shrimp. Less successful was a salad served with Asian ginger shrimp and bathed in a spicy dressing Gabriel and Madeleine couldn’t abide. If you bring your kids here, I advise ordering the dressing on the side. As for how to go about convincing the kids that they can’t eat every meal with their hands from now on, you’re on your own.

Your kids want to eat:

Mac and cheese | Chicken fingers | Lemonade | French fries | A hot fudge sundae | Tacos | Hot chocolate | Grilled cheese | A milkshake

Patty time! | Table talk | Eat with your hands | Dinner theater