Monday, December 17, 2007

Elgin Chuck E Cheese and Red Robin - a tail of two child-friendly eateries

Quick blog entry here. This weekend I discovered the value of a truly good neighbor - a snow blower. My good neighbor Paul came over after I had shoveled what seems like 10 acres of snow (really only 1/10th of the driveway) to offer his snow blower. I reluctantly (as guys do) accepted and whizzed through the driveway, side walks, and some of the street with the ease of Hercules. I'm so close to buying one it's scary. But, alas, I will not. I am too scared of Global Warming turning Elgin into a desert and us needing that same $500 for sun screen.

As for fun with the boys, let me just tell you that thanks to a great coupon we received from one of the many mailings we get we had a terrific time at one Chuck E Cheese's place. Mr. Cheese, for those not familiar, is a pizza place (OK but not great pizza) that is designed for kids. Video games for all ages, play mazes, riding things, Skee Ball, video simulators, you name it. It's awesome. We spent a few hours and only $30 on lunch (pretty pricey 'za) and games and still walked away with hands full of tokens. That was the magic of the coupon. Large pizza, 4 drinks, and 100 tokens for $28. I waited 37 years to visit one and now I love to return. We'll be back. A few notes on the layout. It's crawling with birthday parties on the weekends. Stay away from the area near the stages because that is party central. Lots of waitress, other people's kids, and milling parents not moving in the aisles. Make sure you dress your child in something easy to find in a crowded room and 100 feet away. It's hard to find them in the play area. Also, bring some hand sanitizer for pre-meal cleansing. The bathrooms are close and work but it's cold and flu season so why risk it. They mark your hand and your child's with invisible ink. This prevents the perves from snatching one and they are very serious about the security...at least that's what they let you think. I could not for the life of me read the number on my hand. I'm not sure if it worked or not. I still left with my own boys so no blood no foul.

The second place we tried was a brand new Red Robin on Randall Rd in South Elgin. It's right off Randall in the area where a new Best Buy and Home Despot is. I'll spare you the map this time. We haven't been to one in years (decades for me) so I wasn't sure what to expect. First off, if you don't have kids you want to stay away. It's all about the little people. They have balloons at the entrance for you to take. Need I say more? The food is pretty pricey so I won't say it's going into the permanent rotation but the food is good, well portioned, and fast. We love the fast delivery and they hit it out of the park on our first visit and maybe a double during our second. It really depends on the server. Sorry Tyler, you weren't that great. I think they put something in the onion rings. I swear I'm jones'in for them daily. The down side is the boys like the pizza. Why go here for pizza. No....we did not serve pizza for three meals in one day! Only twice in a weekend thank you!

I give them both thumbs up but the star goes to Chuck E's house.

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