Full Moon Restaurant, 344 Huron Ave., Cambridge

I first heard about Full Moon back when they were located on Mass Ave in Arlington (where Za is now). I was pregnant with my first child and invited a pregnant friend to come and try it out with me. At the time, we thought it was good food but overpriced. A few years later, we tried Full Moon in its new location on Huron Ave in Cambridge with our 3-year-old, and we had the same impression. Yes, the food was good, but not outstanding, and a little pricey. Yes, the play area was nice, but not nice enough to keep our 3-year-old occupied throughout dinner so that we could eat peacefully.

How things change. Today, we tried Full Moon for brunch with our five-year-old, her best friend (also five), and our two-year-old. And it was lovely.

The restaurant was about three-quarters full with lots of other children ranging from 12 months to 12 years dining their with their families. The train table was very popular, as was the play kitchen along the wall. Every dining table was covered with white sheets of paper and equipped with a cup of assorted crayons.

And the menu was excellent. The adult fare was well balanced between breakfast and lunch offerings. My husband ordered the huevos rancheros, and I ordered the curried chicken salad over mesclun greens. The kids' menu was not only varied but more nutritionally balanced than most kid menus I've ever seen. One five-year-old ordered the cheese pizza with fruit. The other ordered the hot dog with french fries and fruit. Our two-year-old wanted chicken fingers with fries and fruit.

Without exception, all three girls ate the fruit first. It was a nice melon salad: cantalope and honeydew. I think there might have been some kind of red fruit in there, watermelon or grapes perhaps, but they disappeared before I could identify them. Our two-year-old demolished her chicken fingers and fries as well as some of my tomatoes and tortilla chips from my husband. Our five-year-old ate all of her fruit one slice of pizza, the bun from her friend's hot dog, one of my pieces of bread, and the few remaining fries on her sister's plate. Our guest ate all the fruit and about a third of everything else on her plate, having inhaled her tall glass of orange juice before her food even arrived.

And then the kids decamped for the play area, leaving my husband and I to eat in glorious peace. I loved the curried chicken salad, slightly crunchy with walnuts and slightly sweetened by raisins. The mesclun salad was also wonderfully fresh - I am very picky about my mesclun, and these were good, fresh greens, if slightly overdressed. The salad was accompanied by two small slices of baguette, claimed by my elder daughter.

My husbands huevos rancheros consisted of two eggs over easy topped with salsa, a link of chorizo sliced in half lengthwise and grilled, a serving of black beans, homemade flour tortilla chips that he loved, and sour cream. I tried the chorizo and liked it a lot. The spiciness crept up on me and hit the back of my throat well after I'd swallowed. It went well with the lemonade.

The service, which I had remembered as being lackluster, was right on today: cheerful, responsive, competent. The kids had a great time, we had a great meal, and it was all reasonably priced. I can't wait to go back.

EDIT: Restaurant ratings:

4 smileys for good service and great kid space

4 carrots for healthy food

2 moos for moderate price