Chase is finally potty trained!  Steve and I were so thrilled, we decided to take him out for a special meal, just the three of us. We went to Lockwood restaurant in the Palmer House Hotel in the downtown Loop area. Lockwood is known for their kids menu, so of course, I had to check it out. The food was good, but not worth the price. 

More Information:

Lockwood Restaurant & Bar

Good for a fancy but expensive night out with the kids.

(312) 917.3404

17 E. Monroe Street

Chicago, Illinois 60603

www.lockwoodrestaurant.com

 Highchairs Available

Friendly Staff

Breakfast Buffet: 6:30 am - 11am and 6:30am-Noon Saturday & Sunday

Lunch: 11am - 5pm

Dinner: 5pm - 10pm Sunday thru Thursday and 5pm - 11pm Friday & Saturday

I am big fan of Pinkberry yogurt shop in New York and California and I have been patiently waiting for one to appear in Chicago. The frozen yogurt is unique because it is actually real, healthy yogurt that has been frozen, rather than sugary custard disguised as yogurt. The best part is that my kids love it as much as they love the unhealthy alternative.  Although Pinkberry has not made its debut, three new stores have appeared in Chicago. We tried Starfruit in Wicker Park first. We were immediately disappointed. The yogurt was not smooth and creamy, it was more like a water ice. It tasted like a healthy snack. We tried Berry Chill in Streeterville next. Yum! The yogurt was smooth, creamy and sweet. They have a copious selection of toppings and a festive atmosphere. The last place we tried was Yoberri in Lincoln Park. The yogurt was also delicious, as good as Berry Chill. The store is a little bare and boring, and they don't seem to want to market or appeal to children.

I still miss Pinkberry, but Chicago's own Berry Chill , is helping me get over it!

More Information:

Berry Chill

Highly Recommended: The yogurt was smooth, creamy and sweet and the atmosphere was very kid-pleasing.

(312) 266-chil

635 N. State St.

Chicago

www.berrychill.com

No Highchairs Available

Semi-Friendly Staff

Sunday through Thursday: 8am-11pm

Friday and Saturday: 8am-4am

Yoberri

Recommended: The yogurt was delicious but the atmosphere is not kid-friendly.

 (773) 348-3762

2814 N. Halsted St

Chicago

Highchairs Available

Un-Friendly Staff

Tuesday-Thursday 10 am-10 pm

Friday-Saturday   10 am-11 pm

Sunday 10 am-9 pm

closed Monday

Starfruit

Not Recommended: The yogurt was way too sour and the texture was like water ice.

(773) 328-2900

1745 W. Division St.

Chicago

www.starfruitcafe.com

Highchairs Available

Semi-Friendly Staff

Sunday-Thursday   8 am-11 pm

Friday-Saturday   8 am-2 am

It is not easy bringing one or two kids to a restaurant. So when I say going out to eat with my THREE kids is hard, let's just say I would rather go to McDonalds. Here are ten places that me and my mommy friends recommend as the most child-friendly, least fast food-like in the city:

The Hot Spot
Kid-Friendly Menu Picks--French Toast Sticks, A Short Stack of Buttermilk Pancakes

(773)276-0115
2824 W. Armitage Ave
Chicago

Highchairs Available

Friendly Staff

Monday-Thursday 9 am-3 pm
Friday, Saturday and Sunday 8 am-2:30 pm
Closed Tuesday

Riverside Deli
Kid-Friendly Menu Picks--more than two-thirds of the awesome buffet!

(773) 278-3354
1656 W Cortland St
Chicago

Highchairs Available

Friendly Staff

Sunday Brunch Buffet 9 am-3 pm

Stanleys Kitchen and Tap
Kid-Friendly Menu Picks--the entire awesome buffet!

(312) 642-0007
1970 N. Lincoln Ave.
Chicago

Highchairs Available

Friendly Staff

Saturday and Sunday Brunch Buffet 10 am-5 pm

Bin Wine Cafe
Kid-Friendly Menu Picks--Chocolate Chip Pancakes; Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry Milk Flight

(773) 486-CAFE
1559 N. Milwaukee Ave
Chicago
www.binwinecafe.com

Highchairs Available

Friendly Staff

Saturday and Sunday Brunch 2pm-5pm

Northside Bar and Grill
Kid-Friendly Menu Picks --Waffles, Breakfast Sandwich

(773) 384-3555
1635 N. Damen Ave
Chicago
www.northsidechicago.com

Highchairs Available

Friendly Staff

Sunday Brunch 11:30 am-2 am

Sola
Kid-Friendly Menu Picks --Short Stack of Pancakes, Malasadas (Portuguese Donuts)

(773) 327-3868
3868 N. Lincoln Ave. @ Byron
Chicago
www.sola-restaurant.com

Highchairs Available

Friendly Staff

Saturday and Sunday Brunch 10 am - 2 pm

Breakfast Club
Kid-Friendly Menu Picks --Whole Wheat Pancakes, Cinnamon Rolls, Chicken Sausage

(312) 666-2372
1381 W Hubbard St
Chicago
www.chicagobreakfastclub.com

No Highchairs Available

Friendly Staff

Monday-Friday 6 am - 3 pm
Saturday-Sunday 7 am - 3 pm

Hot Chocolate
Kid-Friendly Menu Picks --Smoothies, Buttermilk Pancakes

(773) 489-1747
1747 North Damen Ave
Chicago
www.hotchocolatechicago.com

Highchairs Available

Friendly Staff

Saturday and Sunday Brunch 10 am-2 pm

Milk and Honey Café
Kid-Friendly Menu Pick--Buttermilk Granola Pancakes

(773) 395-9434
1920 W. Division
Chicago
www.milkandhoneycafe.com

Highchairs Available

Friendly Staff

Saturday and Sunday Brunch   8 am-2 pm

The Bongo Room
Kid-Friendly Menu Pick --Chocolate Chip Brioche French Toast

(773) 489-0690
1470 W. Milwaukee Ave
Chicago

Highchairs Available

Friendly Staff

Monday-Friday   8 am-2:30 pm
Saturday-Sunday 9 am-2:30 pm

Thundershowers in the weather forecast didn't keep the crowds away from opening day on
May 14^th of the Green City Market, located at the southern border of Lincoln Park Zoo. Fortunately, the rain held off and organic devotees came well-armed to fill up their canvas or hemp shopping bags with fresh asparagus, spinach and kale. Regular consumers enjoyed opening day nibbling on the variety of freshly prepared lunch food, like juicy burgers from Green Acres, creative salads and veggie sandwiches from Tiny Greens and melt-in-your-mouth Butterkäse cheese from Prairie Pure Cheese.

Little tykes in tow however were a little less pleased with the lunch choices. Green City Crepes, always a popular choice among the under three feet crowd, ran out of batter before noon. The usual 20 gallon order arrived on-site 10 gallons less than their standard order, at only 10 gallons. The scrumptious and well priced crepes were always a dependable stand-by for picky eaters like Katelyn and Andrew. A plain crepe is $2, butter and sugar $3, maple $3, cherry jam $3, and cheese and herb only $5. When the crepes no longer became an option, hordes of kids pulled their mom's hands over to the Bleeding Heart Organic Bakery stand only to discover that my friend Jenny purchased the last scone for her daughter Lilly. Subsequently, Jenny's friend ran over to Eat Green Foods and scored the last granola bar for her son at 11:40 am.

Plenty of kid-size chairs were available as well as the expected adult chairs and a couple of tables. Instrumental and pretty sounding music played, but the kids didn't seem to know how to dance and jump up and down to the music. In the past years, there was upbeat music for the kids to get excited about which will hopefully come back sometime this summer, as it adds a fun vibe to the venue.

At the information booth, kids can participate in a tasting of the new food of the day. The information booth lady was offering business-size cards that she stores in her index file with the child's name on it. Each time the child visits the booth and tries the food of the day, she hole punches a corresponding number on the card. When you reach number eight on the card, the child receives a free apron. Fun idea, but with items like radishes on the menu, my almost three year old Andrew is a long way from reaching that apron. But there still may be hope for other adventurous little eaters like the little boy next to Andrew, maybe just six months older, who loved the radish and wanted another one.  

In short, check out the Green City market, open on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Just be sure to provision your purse with some string cheese or PB&J sandwich in case the vendors again run out of kid-pleasing food.

Important Information

(773) 435-0280
1750 N Clark St
Chicago
www.chicagogreencitymarket.org

I've always been a firm believer in the theory that if you can't be original with your birthday party venues make the birthday party itself unique and fun. Kids like the same stuff, gyms, playgrounds, bouncy castles, and any old thing they have done a million times before. For that reason, we did Chase's birthday at My Gym on 1880 W Fullerton. It was a race car theme, we got the cake at Cakegirls ($200.00), a little expensive, but certainly worth the wow factor. Not only was it the most beautiful cake I've ever seen, but it tasted so delicious, not too sweet and unnatural, just homemade. I only did Pizza Hut for the kids; however, I had one of my staff members come in and roll sushi for the adults ($200.00). It didn't occur to me that a sushi chef would be a great commodity until someone called me after the party asking to hire my "Sushi Chef". Anyway, I passed the work onto him and I will put his information at the bottom of this entry so anyone that wants to can contact him.  The goody bags were my favorite part. Everyone got a race car cookie, made by "Cookies by Kay" ($3.00/cookie) She makes her own cookie cutters, which means she can pretty much do anything. The party was a huge success and people are still talking about it!

Important Information

Cake
Cakegirls
(773) 404-3147 (call early!)
2207 W Belmont
Chicago
www.thecakegirls.com

Friendly Staff

Tuesday through Saturday 9 am to 5 pm

 
Sushi Chef
James Whiddon
(940) 206-6666
jwhiddon@gmail.com

Goody Bags
Cookies By Kay, Inc.
Kay Vanasco
(312) 622-0113
cookies@cookiesbykay.com
www.cookiesbykay.com

I just gave birth to my beautiful baby Gabby in January of this year. The birth has been particularly hard on my three year old son Chase. I planned a "special day" for Chase on Saturday. Steve took Ethan and Gabby to soccer and Chase and I headed off to Toast Restaurant in Bucktown for an early brunch. I've never had an extremely friendly reception there when I have brought kids but it is so close to my house, sometimes it is too convenient to pass up. We had a pleasant brunch until the end when Chase took a little extra time to eat his pancakes. The hostess came up to me and said "do you know when you will be finished? I have a seven top that needs to sit down right now." I then pointed to my son who was still clearly eating. When the hostess noticed that I was a little miffed (that is not very good restaurant etiquette) she came over and apologized. She then followed her apology with "When you come to a busy restaurant on a Saturday, there is only a limited amount of time you should eat." I paid the bill, picked up my son and marched out, upset and irritated.

We were having dinner in the Clark Street area on Sunday. It was such a beautiful night, we decided to walk over to Molly's Cupcakes and have dessert. Molly's is the latest of the new batch of cupcake bakeries popping up around Chicago. My husband and I shared the Red Velvet ($2.00) and the Ron Bennington ($3.75), a chocolate cupcake filled with peanut butter chocolate cream, topped with dark chocolate ganache, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and Butterfinger crumbles. Ethan had a chocolate mini ($1.00) and Chase had a vanilla mini ($1.00). The cupcakes were moist and delicious. Like Sweet Mandy B's, Molly's is very kid friendly (toys and games are on the table), and has a colorful atmosphere with a "sprinkle station" and wooden playground swings hanging from the ceiling.

Another one of my favorite places is Cupcakes on Briar Street, although it is geared towards an adult crowd. They have interesting flavors like Chocolate Merlot ($2.50) and Earl Grey Truffle ($3.50).

Swirlz on Belden appears to be kid friendly at first glance, but the cupcakes fall short. All of my mommy friends agree, the cake is too dry and there is not enough frosting, which is the only part of the cupcake Chase eats!

Molly's was the best of the bakeries. It is satisfying to both kids and adults--something the other cupcake places in Chicago have failed to achieve. I ended up ordering 30 minis for Chase's birthday party, which is a big deal for me because I always make my own cupcakes for my kid's parties.

Important Information

Kid friendly Picks:

(773) 883-7220
2536 N Clark
Chicago
www.mollyscupcakes.com

No Highchairs

Friendly Staff

Closed Monday through the spring
Tuesday-Thursday 8 am-10 pm
Friday-Saturday 8 am-midnight
Sunday 8 am-10 pm

Sweet Mandy B's
(773) 244-1174
1208 W Webster Ave
Chicago

Highchairs Available

Friendly Staff

Sunday-Thursday 8 am-9 pm
Friday-Saturday 8 am-10 pm

Not so Kid Friendly, but great:

Cupcakes
(866) 525-0817
613 W. Briar Pl.
Chicago
www.chicagocupcakes.com

Monday 10am - 3pm
Tuesday-Friday 10am-7pm
Saturday 10am-6pm
Closed on Sundays.

Important Information:

Santullo's Eatery
(773) 227-7960
1943 W. North Ave
chicago
www.santullos.com

Highchairs Available

Friendly Staff

Sunday through Wednesday 11 am to 11 pm
Thursday 11 am to midnight
Friday and Saturday 11 am to 3 am
Delivering 7 days a week 11 am to 10 pm