Thursday, March 22, 2007

Dining Out with Little Kids

I have been to Elmo's about 400 times. Now, I love Elmo's, but there must be somewhere else to eat that's as kid friendly, right? And that isn't fast food. My children are adventurous eaters, so it's mostly the environment that we look for. Right now, the baby is 8 months old and the big one is three and a half, so they're both at phases that are good for public outings - the little one can't go anywhere and cheerios keep him happy for hours, and the big one can actually use manners occasionally.

(If you haven't been to Elmo's, both on Ninth Street in Durham and down in Carborro, you should go, and take the kids. It's sort of diner food, and extremely child friendly. If you are there before 10pm and there are no children in the place, something is weird. Get the chocolate chip pancake. Tell 'em my daughter sent you.)

Recommend your secret favorite place to take the kids in a comment.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey, friends! Was just back in Durham for a very brief visit, & remembering some favorite old haunts. Our kiddo was small enough to be fairly easy to control when we moved up to Cambridge, so I probably don't have a sense of all the toddler dining issues yet... but here's one thought that springs to mind. We loved Kim Son, the Vietnamese place up on Guess Rd, just south of 85. The food was pretty good and pretty reasonably priced, many of the dishes come in interestingly interactive forms for the adventurous child (e.g. veggies on the side; make-your-own spring rolls; boba tea, for the above-choking-hazard-age set), and it's usually quite quiet there, so you probably wouldn't feel like your kid was disturbing folks. The staff seem very nice and easy-going, too. Worth a try, anyway! (Hope it's still open-- it has been seven months since our last visit..)

Anonymous said...

El Rodeo in Brightleaf is very kid friendly. The hostess will even entertain my little girl (2 and 3) while we are still eating.

Amanda said...

I have a couple of favorite kid-friendly restaurants near Southpoint Mall.

Mo's is mexican, quite tasty, and set up with a counter where they make the food in front of you (so it's super fast).

Ted's Montana Grill is very kid friendly, and has fabulous burgers (try any of their Buffalo Burgers). They will bring out marinated cucumber slices to nibble on, and even a decent sized sample of their Buffalo Pot Roast or Buffalo meatloaf, which my daughter will munch on until the food arrives.

There's also the food court in the mall, which I'm not as keen on in terms of food quality, but there is a large kid's play area next to the court, which is perfect for letting them get some energy out on a rainy day.

Anonymous said...

We've had good luck with the Mellow Mushroom at the American Tobacco Campus. The staff are friendly, there are usually a lot of other families there, and the ambient noise level is good for us (not too loud, but loud enough that my daughter doesn't feel the need to fill the aural void). The pizza is good and they serve kid's drinks in cute plastic cups with lids and adjustable crinkly straws. They also have plenty of booth seating, which can be nice with kids, and if things get too hectic (I always like to have an escape route), there's a nice walkway and water feature outside for taking time out walks.

Anonymous said...

I live over yonder in Carrboro, and here are some of the places we like to go (besides Elmo's):

Carrboritos is pretty casual, and the food is tasty.

Tyler's, especially around 5. It's so noisy that kids are just another part of the atmosphere.

Pepper's Pizza in downtown Chapel Hill. Yummy and fast.

Our favorite, when it's warm, is the Queen of Sheba (which is soon moving to Durham). Eating outside means spilled food is less worrisome. And kids love to eat with their hands.

Anonymous said...

Some places we go regularly with our 2.5 yr old: Tyler's taproom at American Tobacco Campus. The fountains outside provide great distraction while waiting for food to arrive. They have booster seats & kid's menu. Satisfaction at Brightleaf Sq. is an easy place, too. We really like going to the Armidillo Grill or The Loop on campus. Employees with any campus permit can park in the employee side of the Bryan Ctr garage after hrs for easy parking, and the Duke students seem to like having a kid around to smile at. We tried Carrabba's (15-501 near New Hope Commons) shortly after it opened. Long wait, but they give kids pizza dough to play with. And although I'm ashamed to admit it (we usually go for "finer dining"), it was gloriously easy to dine with her at Golden Corral. Went for the first time recently- what a great cross section of the Durham community! Kids under 3 eat free- plenty of choices for the little one.

Kirstin said...

To second the Mellow Mushroom nomination--it is fabulous for kids. We also like the Red Robin chain quite a bit--very kid friendly and the kids menu is good, but also a lot of variety for adults (incl alcohol). My 17 month old loves the chicken and the fruit. There are locations on US 70 by Brier Creek and on 15-501.

Anonymous said...

Our 2.5 year old enjoys the side order mac and cheese (only$2!) at Brigg's, near the intersection of 55 and 54. They have free crayons and coloring books, great fresh fruit plates and lots of sides that are a good choice for the toddler set (size and pricewise).
Further down 55 at the intersection with sedgewick is a strip mall with a great thai restaraunt. Kid friendly but not a kidde place

KarenN said...

We take our son (19 mo.) lots of places to eat. One place that we've found to be very accepting of kids is Cracker Barrel. He even did well for 2 hours (what were we thinking!) at Outback just a few weeks ago. We usually don't order him anything special since he doesn't eat all of it.

Anonymous said...

We take our 4 year old daughter and meet several other families with kids--all at the same time--ranging in ages from 3 months to ours, the oldest to Pizza Palace on Guess Road. MUCH cheaper than Mellow Mushroom and better, we think--just a good, old fashioned pizza parlor, with a juke box and dance floor that the kids love. Somehow the staff have never winced when they see four families with kids outnumbering the adults walking in, they graciously move a bunch of tables together and we hurry and order some cheap pitchers of beer....for those who are old Durhamites, Pizza Palace used to be on 9th st, where Grasshopper now is--and moved out on Guess Road...

Anonymous said...

We've found that almost any restaurant in Durham, barring the very high-end ones, are kid-friendly if you go early enough in the evening (before 6p or so)!

For dinners out, Bullock's BBQ off Hillsborough Rd family style is great--they bring things out in big bowls. Go early to avoid the line! They also do carry out. We also like Foster's Market on Durham-Chapel Hill Rd--delicious dinner specials and a la carte items, and they have outdoor seating. There's a Chapel Hill location too.

For Sunday brunch we like Vin Rouge, across the street from Elmo's--they have outdoor seating also, and a sort of classic French breakfast menu--our kids love the eggs benedict and the french toast, of course!

Unknown said...

My wife and I have had very good luck with either of the Red Robin locations, and the Southpoint California Pizza Kitchen is also set up to work well with families. We've been to the Mellow Mushroom with him once, and had a good experience there, too (except for when he was trying to touch the electric sockets near the bathrooms after we were done eating).

Other places that we've been with him include a Cracker Barrel (in San Antonio, TX), for which I'll give an extra plug just since it was founded in my mother's hometown; The Q Shack; and the various Camille's Sidewalk Cafes.

Anonymous said...

SouperSalad, off Hwy 54 near Southpoint, was a revelation in baby-friendly dining for me. It's an all-you-can-eat salad bar that includes bread, pizza, pasta, and baked potatoes. They have rolling high chairs placed at the head of the line by the trays, so you grab one of each and cruise through. And you can go back as many times as you want for whatever your babe is eating that day. Ok, it's not fine dining, and I probably wouldn't go there without a kid, but it's cheap, potentially nutritious, and shockingly convenient.

Anonymous said...

The people at Sitar love kids, just love them. I guess your kids do have to be fairly adventurous eaters, but we always have a good time. And the buffet (Fri & Sat nights) offers a lot of selection.

Anonymous said...

mad hatters - totally awesome chicken fingers which we end up eating, and a decorate your own cupcake dessert!

Hong kong - chinese buffet off 15/501 in chapel hill

K+W!!!! cheap-o! they ring a bell and someone helps you with your kid/tray. I want that bell for other parts of life.

whole foods-chapel hill.

Anonymous said...

I think we've been to most of the establishments already listed and they have all been really kid friendly. I agree with the statement that barring the fine dining places, most restaurants are accepting of small children.

There is a great breakfast and lunch place on Hwy 55 near RTP called Benetis, just down the street from Briggs (also great). Helpful staff because they try and get the kid food out first to appease hungry children and plenty of food options. This place is starting to get crowded on Sunday morning but much better than trying to fight the Elmo crowd for a table.

Anonymous said...

There are a couple of restaurants that our kids (2yo twins) really like. One is Sitar India Palace, on Shannon Road, and the other is Spartacus on Durham-Chapel Hill Boulevard. Both have buffets, which means you don't have to wait for service. They both have some "plain" food, like bread and rice, for the picky eaters. The sky's the limit for the adventurous ones!

Another place our kids like is Twisted Noodles on University (near Saladelia's). It's a Thai place; I think it just opened about a month ago. There's no buffet, but the service is pretty good, and there's a fishtank to look at while you're waiting.

Anonymous said...

There are a couple of restaurants that our kids (2yo twins) really like. One is Sitar India Palace, on Shannon Road, and the other is Spartacus on Durham Chapel Hill Boulevard. Both have buffets, which means you don't have to wait for service. They both have some "plain" food, like bread and rice, for the picky eaters. The sky's the limit for the adventurous ones!

Another place our kids like is Twisted Noodles on University (near Saladelia's). It's a Thai place; I think it just opened about a month ago. There's no buffet, but the service is pretty good, and there's a fishtank to look at while you're waiting.