Got two weeks in a hotel in Killeen, just south of Ft. Hood. Long days working with the Army, but at least I'll be eating out every evening ?!?

so where am I going ? Mexican and BBQ would be the first suggestions, but perhaps a local can expand my horizons somewhat ? Living near intersection of Ft. Hood Road and I-90...found a Starbucks enroute to front gate for every morning drive-thru...now for AFTER work.

thanks

might be too late for you, but I'd offer the following: Destin's got Guglielmo's for adults....expensive and not worth it IMHO...Cafe Italia is in FWB, on the water, small, faimily owned, adequate and would be fine for kids; somewhere in teh middle (also in FWB) is Pranzo's...our favorite local Italian. heading west on Hwy 98, turn right before crossing Brooks Bridge, and Pranzo's is on left, across from Pandora's (same family owns both)....nicer than Cafe Italia, not nearly as pricy or pretentious as Guglielmo's....nothing specific to call it a "kid-friendly" place, but everyone's nice, it's got a satisfacotry menu, room enough for a kid to move around a little...good luck

read this string prior to a trip to Orange Beach, The Wharf, Amphitheater to see a concert...can't recommend Hazel's Nook for breakfast highly enough...absolutelysuperb for southern diner breakfasat...inexpensive, tacky, fun, friendly, great food. But we went to Cobalt based on recommendations, including here, and had a unique experience...impossible to find - absolutely no signs whatsoever, a long way east from Orange Beach, but after GPS and a phone call, we finally found the restaurant tucked away under the east end of the big bridge nearer Perdido Key than Orange Beach. no reservations taken, so walked in on a Saturday night and (rahter than wait 45 minutes) we ate outside - a little warm, but okay. beautiful view, charming marina, adequate live music and an attentive waitress (so we thought...) after some discussion about the menu and the nightly specials my bride ordered from the menu and I opted for a special "whole red snapper with a house-made salsa including poblanos and pineapple over brown rice"......waitress cautioned me - "this is a whole fish, y'know." Yeah, I know. drinks came, appetizer came, alternate waitress showed up with meals....wife's was correct; mine was not...thick white fish, panee'd, over risotto...didn't look bad, but definitey not what I ordered. minutes passed and our waitress wandered by enroute to another table....I waved to her and she came over, asked if our meals were okay...I said, this isn't what I ordered and she replied - are you ready ??? "Yeah, we were out of the special, so I thought you'd like this." HUH ? never happened to me before...I was shocked... I ate it, it wasn't bad, but never had a waitstaff randomly select something for me from a menu. all in all, a good kitchen, nice setting, a little over-priced for the area, but seriously in need of some server training. and as we left we overheard another waiter offer the same red snapper special to a nearby table...so either our waitress lied to us, and turned in the wrong order; or they're so badly managed that over an hour passed without the waitstaff knowing that the kitchen was out of a nightly special...we won't be going back.

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Cobalt
28099 Perdido Beach Blvd, Orange Beach, AL 36561

haven't been in a while (almost a year), but I'd heartily recommend Canada's Le Celllier....very good (maybe not GREAT, but very good) beef - and cheddar cheese soup is outstanding...Marrakesh is fun (belly-dancing floor show) but if you've eaten Middle Eastern food, it's only okay for authenticity. Concur with Biergarten comments - great, fun show for kids; food is big on quantity, okay on quality. upstairs at France is expensive,and food is just as good downstairs...Canada and France are at good corner for laser show, so plan accordingly for time...