5.02.2005

Restaurant Searching....

Having kids is changing the dynamics of our restaurant choosing in terms of enjoyment, price, and time. We can no longer just freely pick where we want to go and what to eat. Our criteria for picking a restaurant (when we go with the kids that is) are:

1) What can Jadon eat?
2) Is it loud enough (to drown out the girls' cries)?
3) Do they have "Kids Eat Free Nights?" (or something close to that)
4) How far is the restaurant? (we usually limit about a 10-15 mile radius)

So what did we come up with? Here is a list of some restuarants that we seem to be going to on a regular basis:

-Rain Forest Cafe: It's extremely loud and has a lot of distractions with the animals and decor. Plus every now and then they have a balloonist. They have "Kids meal for $1.99 Wednesdays." Considering that they typical price for kids is $5.99 to $6.99, that's not too bad. Unfortuately I find their portions slightly on the small side and Jadon gets a little scared of the ambiance. The past three times we went, he won't sit in his high chair. He ends up sitting on my lap the whole time (that means having a 30+ lb kid on me for about an hour.) . Distance wise, it's just under our limit (about 10 miles).

-IHOP: This is always a favorite of ours. Portion size if good. When we go, there place is sparce with patrons so that compensates for the sound (or lack thereof). I am not sure if they offer a kid's program (I'll have to look into that). The best thing about the place is they offer coupons quite frequently in the newspaper (or coupon book mailers), and it's extremely close to us.

-Dave N' Busters: This place is pretty loud. Loud enough where I can't even hear one of the girls cry. =) Food prices are slightly on the high side for us but they have a decent selection to eat. I don't believe they have a kid's program. Distance wise, it's about 10 miles (maybe less).

-Oscar's (formerly Pat & Oscars): Kids eat free every Tuesdays. Loudness is adequate and distance is close. Can't really go wrong with this place.

-Pasta Bravo: Not sure if they have a kid's program but it's right next to Oscar's and so we frequent this place too.

Other Notables:
-Marie Callendar's
-Island's
-Rubio's fish tacos.
-Ruby's Diner

There was this Japanese restaurant that Fiona and I use to frequent a lot called Minami. It was this cozy restaurant that had a total capacity of 30. We use to go at least once a month (enough to be considered regulars). We no longer can go there because we would take up a good chunk of the restaurant, plus it's too quite.

I would like to go back to some buffets (like Souplantation) but having to take care of three kids and trying to grab food seems a little overwhelming. I guess we'll have to take the grandparents with us for that.

I've done some web searching for "kids eat free" programs but those sites are limited so maybe I'll start a list.

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

That's a good idea! There aren't many listings for family friendly places...here's one link I found http://www.digitalcity.com/orangecounty/bestkidfriendlyrestaurants/ I'll keep that in mind for when Sunny and I have kids.

11:53 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for the list. Now I know what places to avoid ;-)

12:12 PM  

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