Dining Out With Kids and Daily Candy

I have the best parents around. At least twice a year, they take my 5 1/2 year old son, Thor, on a trip either to their home in New York or some other tony location. Last Friday, they flew him to Palm Desert, California, for a visit with my aunt and uncle. Wasting no time, my husband and I use his time away to visit some of Chicago's restaurant's that are't kid-friendly, or at least shouldn't be.

Last night's plan was dinner at a well-regarded Japanese fusion restaurant, Takashi, at 6:30pm and a movie at 8:00. A delicious dinner with soba gnocchi and scallops, curried eggplant soup and pork belly buns. With a lovely bottle of wine, it should have been a delightful evening. Should have been, but marred by a couple arriving at 7:00pm with stroller in hand and a baby and two-year old in tow. The Japanese techno music was punctuated by baby shrieks and toddler exclamations.

So, in light of this, I thought it woud be a good point to introduce a few tips I gave Daily Candy recently about dining out with kids such as eating out early and selecting restaurants carefully, neither of which this couple chose to do, unfortunately for our table and those around us.

To see the rest of my tips or to download this fun placemat to keep the little ones occupied, click here.