Thanks for all of these suggestions! Sounds like Coronado is fairly family friendly and I love the idea of happy hour with the kids. We will need it after our busy days at the zoo, SeaWorld, etc.!

Thanks Steveprez! I did see their website before but couldn't tell if it was more of a "bar" and not a good choice with kids. Will definitely put it on the list!

We will be staying at the Hotel del Coronado next week and are looking for some kid friendly options for dinners. There are nine of us (five adults, 4 kids ranging in ages from 7 to 2). We are open to almost all types of cuisines and we typically like a full service restaurant (so no counter service) with good drinks and good food. Thanks in advance!

Thanks Slick!

Thanks txgrl! I did see that Uchi offers reservations via opentable but maybe they don't release many tables? Appreciate your advice!

Hi everyone-

I'm meeting up with a girlfriend in Austin and Uchi is on the top of our list of places to try. I'd love to sit at the sushi bar since it's just the two of us but didn't know how difficult it is to get a seat there for dinner. We'd go on a Thurs, Fri, or Sat night. If it's really a hard get, then thinking making table reservations might be the better way to go. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

Thank you! I think this sounds like something we'd all enjoy. Smaller is fine- probably less overwhelming for my daughter.

Right- we aren't opposed to locally owned restaurants, but all the searching I did for kid friendly restaurants in Chicago yielded results like Bubba Gump. Just not our thing.

Do you have any sushi places you'd recommend? I thought Sai Cafe looked good and not too "trendy." Trying to avoid a big bar/lounge scene for obvious reasons, although we'd go early enough to avoid that in most spots.

-----
Sai Cafe
2010 N Sheffield Ave Apt 1, Chicago, IL 60614

Thank you andicus! Gino's sounds like something my daughter would love-- will add it to our lunch list. And so does Portillo's for lunch. I'm not opposed to local chains. Just no Cheesecake Factory, etc. And she would love Rainbow Cone. Thanks for the suggestions. We will miss Taste of Chicago though. Getting there on July 8th.

-----
Taste of Chicago Restaurant
3170 S Ashland Ave Ste H, Chicago, IL 60608

Thank you, nsxtasy. We won't be there for Taste of Chicago but I am intrigued by your Chinatown suggestion. Are there other things to do there besides just go to dinner? I'm curious if it would be worthwhile to go before dinner to walk around...how does it compare to SF's or NY's Chinatown?

-----
Taste of Chicago Restaurant
3170 S Ashland Ave Ste H, Chicago, IL 60608

Hi all-

My mom, daughter (age 5), and I will be having a girl's weekend in Chicago in early July. While we have the requisite meal at American Girl already reserved, I'd love recommendations for other spots that are kid friendly and that will also satisfy my mom and me.

Specifically, any good lunch or dinner places near the Ritz? Am willing to cab it if needed. No chains please. We are coming from Minneapolis and Dallas so we have our fill of chains at home. My daughter is a somewhat adventurous eater with good manners. She loves sushi/Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and Italian.

Thanks for your help!

Clepro- I have not been; it's on my list of places to go. But I have friends (Korean Americans like myself) who love the ccham-ppong there as well. It's noodles similar to the cha jang myun noodles in a spicy broth with seafood (usually shrimp, calamari, mussels, etc). *That's* the dish I dream of on a cold winter's night!

Hi Wolfe-
Our flight got in late so we just headed straight to Napa with a quick stop at Subway. Not a great way to start the trip but we made up for it once we go to Napa!

We always go to Queen of Cakes in Edina. I've had some crazy requests for them in the past and they have delivered every time- love them!

http://www.queen-of-cakes.com/

My mom and I had a lovely trip to Napa last weekend. A big reason that it was so great was all the help I received reading the chowhound posts. I thought I'd "pay it forward" with a trip report...hope this is helpful!

FOOD

Redd (Dinner)
My favorite of all of our meals. We did the five course tasting/wine pairing. I love how we each got a different course/pairing. It was so fun to steal bites of my mom's dishes and vice versa. Every dish was delicious- not a bad one in the bunch. And the wine pairings were spot on. Service was friendly and attentive- highly recommend.

Bouchon (Dinner)
I wasn't quite sure if I would like Bouchon- I have heard mixed reviews but it seemed to be a Napa institution. I loved it. It reminded me so much of Paris and their menu, although "simpler" than Redd, was full of French classics. Everything we had was executed wonderfully (oysters on the half shell, pate, mussels & fries, duck breast). Service was very friendly and the atmosphere lively.

Bottegga (Dinner)
I had such high expectations for Bottegga and although I really liked it, I didn't love it as I did our other two dinners. Everything was good- no complaints about the food, service, or atmosphere. I did really enjoy the octopus appetizer.

L'Auberge du Soleli Bar/Bistro (Lunch)
We stopped here for lunch after our tasting/tour at Chappellet. The views could not be beat and we had a lovely 2 hour lunch with a carafe of wine, charcuterie plate, and cheese plate. I'd say it was overpriced but we enjoyed the views and the chance to unwind so much, that I can't complain. Service was very friendly and we were able to walk in and have a table out on the terrace with no reservations.

Etoile (Lunch)
Another relaxing and lovely lunch. Started with a glass of sparkling rose. My mom had the tempura soft shell crab and I had the steak tartare. Both were very good.

WINE TASTINGS

Jessup Cellars (Tasting)
Very relaxing tasting in their Yountville tasting room. We were seated with a nice plate of nibbles (cheeses, chocolate, etc) and walked through about 7 different wines with one of the staff. Loved the reds and sauv blanc.

Chappellet (Tour and tasting)
Up on Pritchard Hill- gorgeous setting and just off the Silverado Trail. We had a very knowledgable guide and she led us through the vineyards with a bottle of wine, pouring throughout the tour. Very generous pours and I loved their attention to detail such as providing jackets to those who were cold in their barrel room.

Far Niente (Tour and tasting)
My favorite of our tastings...first class all the way. A little spendier than most ($50 pp) but waived if you ordered 6 bottles of wine. Their grounds are stunning and their landscaping just beautiful. It's in a historic stone house building, with tours of their caves, and the late owner's car collection. Tasting included cheese pairings and ended with a taste of Dolce. Yum. My only complaint would be that I wanted bigger tastings-- the wines were SO good :)

Spring Mountain Vineyard (Tasting)
My mom and I met with Patrick and had a wonderful private tasting in their caves. Patrick was very friendly and the wines were, again, wonderful. The grounds were also beautiful and we were able to stroll around the gardens, which we both loved.

We had a fabulous trip! Hope this is helpful!

-----
Far Niente
1350 Acacia Drive, Oakville, CA

Spring Mountain Vineyard
2805 Spring Mountain Rd, Saint Helena, CA

Bouchon
6534 Washington Street, Yountville, CA 94599

We just spent 3 nights in Yountville last weekend. We had all of our dinner reservations in town as well- it was lovely to walk to and from dinner every night and also, more importantly, not worry about how much wine we were drinking. We went to Redd, Bouchon, and Bottegga. And here are my two cents:

LOVED Redd. If you can, try their 5 course tasting menu. The entire table must order but everyone gets a different course and wine pairing. It was lovely and every dish was delicious. Service was attentive and friendly...my favorite meal of the three.

Bouchon- I have been to Bistro Jeanty (although years ago) and preferred Bouchon. It has such a Parisian feel to it. Although the menu is much "simpler" than Redd, every dish was executed wonderfully. Service also very friendly and the atmosphere lively.

Bottegga-- Of the three, if I had to rank, this would be last. There was nothing wrong with our meal and it was very good but I didn't love it as much as I thought I would. Maybe too high expectations? We didn't have any entrees- just a starter, salad, pasta, and dessert. Again, I have to say, it was very good...but to me, nothing truly special. It was between Bottegga and Ad Hoc and I wish we would have tried Ad Hoc.

Good luck!!

-----
Ad Hoc
6476 Washington St., Yountville, CA 94599

Bistro Jeanty
6510 Washington Street, Yountville, CA 94599

Bouchon
6534 Washington Street, Yountville, CA 94599

Thanks vulber- as much as I'd love to, I think we'll stick to Sea Salt. Our main objective is to get a quick but yummy lunch and make it to Napa as soon as possible.

-----
Sea Salt
2512 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94702

Thank you for all of your ideas. Sea Salt looks great-- they had me at "oyster po' boy" and I think we will hit Slanted Door on our way home since we booked a later flight. Thanks again!!

-----
Slanted Door
Ferry Slip, San Francisco, CA 94111

Sea Salt
2512 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94702

Hi all- My mom and I are going to Napa and land at SFO at 11:30AM. I am thinking about stopping for lunch at either Slanted Door or Hog Island Oyster Co. unless anyone has other recommendations for a spot along the way to Napa? Closer is better since we will probably be hungry!

-----
Slanted Door
Ferry Slip, San Francisco, CA 94111

Hog Island Oyster Co
610 1st St, Napa, CA

Hi Anne-

My daughter is 3 and also has a peanut allergy (she's ok with treenuts but we try to avoid those anyway). My hubby and I love Asian food but our consumption of it, especially Thai & Vietnamese, has gone down a lot since the allergy. I think we could work our way around it but we love going to the "hole in the walls" and we have our daughter with us, we don't want anything to get lost in translation.

That being said, we also try not to limit ourselves completely. I think most restaurants will use some sort of nuts in their kitchen so we just try to take the appropriate precautions. Most places are pretty accommodating.

We (including my daughter) love Japanese food. She'll chow down on california rolls, udon, & edamame. Korean is also a big favorite of ours and (as a Korean-American), I can say that there are virtually no nuts used in cooking. Just ask about peanut oil. They do use a lot of sesame oil though-- make sure she's ok with that since peanut and sesame allergies can be linked.

Another "safe" Asian option is Big Bowl. No language issues and if you specify, they make sure that they cook the meal separately. Their lo mein are stored in peanut oil but if you tell them about the allergy, they will use rice stick noodles instead of lo mein.

We still get Chinese take out but we just make sure to ask if they use peanut oil. USually, they don't and my daughter is happy to slurp away on veggie lo mein with no issues.

Italian is alwasy safe as well, for us. Other places we frequent are Mexican places and kid friendly places like Edina Grill, Convention Grill, etc. Mostly, we are careful with bakeries and desserts, since they seem to use nuts pretty liberally. For instance, Patrick's uses almond extract in almost everything. I don't think it would be a big deal for my daughter b/c she's not allergic but just FYI.

Good luck!!!

I don't think most Korean restaurants sell it. Desserts are pretty scarce in Korean cuisine...it's just one of those things that they may offer to you at the end of the meal. You could ask them about it specifically though b/c I've noticed sometimes they don't offer all the same things to non-Koreans.

As for a Korean market, you could probably find cans of it in the refrigerated drink aisles. Hmart, KoMart, etc should carry it. Happy hunting!

Ha ha- love that you are replying to this. Of course we would find each other on Chowhound. Can't wait to see you next week and redeem ourselves after that horrid night at Kenichi!

No worries :) Thanks again for the recs-- will definitely try Natsumi after...yum!

Thanks pizzaQTpie for the recs. We're headed to VT b/c we have a family member who works there and wanted to check it out while we are in town. Not looking for a big scene or anything- just want to have a couple of drinks and then head out for dinner.

Thank you both for the suggestions! Everything looks delicious and I think we'll probably go with Tei Tei. I've always wanted to try it but haven't been able to yet. And I think it will be a nice change after all the food from Turkey Day!

Hi all-

We're in Texas over Thanksgiving week and I need a recommendation for dinner. We are having drinks at Victor Tango and would like to eat dinner nearby.

I've been to Hibiscus and would like to try something else. We are considering Trece but I'm reading mixed reviews. We're open to all price points and all types of cuisine except for Italian and steaks since that is plentiful here in the midwest. We have a car so anything near Knox-Henderson would be fine. Thanks!

I went with some girlfriends Friday night and we were happily surprised by moto-i. We were 6 starving young moms who basically go hungry all day while appeasing our toddlers so we tried a lot on both the drink and the food menu.

We all were impressed by the 3 sake choices- loved that you could do a flight of them. We aren't sake experts by any means but we enjoyed them all- smooth, and each had it's different appeal. I've had some tasting flights where you could barely tell the difference between each so this was a nice variety. Also enjoyed the MN beers- especially the Kayak Koish.

As for the food, my favorite was the Thai Beef Jerky-- peppered just right and loved it with the sriracha sauce. Lotus chips were light and crunchy- great way to warm up our appetites. I liked the octopus as well - ours was not chewy at all. Overly sesame-ed maybe but still tasty. We all enjoyed the dumplings- chicken curry and the pork. We tried all three buns and I was the least impressed with the tofu. I think it's b/c I was expecting the tofu to be crisp and warm (think tofu appetizer at Rice Paper) but rather, it was cold and a little chunky. Did not like the bulgogi- meat needed to be thinner and in smaller pieces. We were knife-less and trying to pull apart huge chunks of beef. Predominant taste was soy sauce rather than a balance of sweet/salty/smoky. Kimchi lacked kick- more vinegar than spice. I'm picky though about Korean food since that's my ethnic background.

As with most restaurants, we liked the small plates more than the large. Ramen broth was a little bland. Thai Fried Rice had a nice smoky taste which I liked but very different from other versions of TFR I've had- not quite sure what made this version "Thai." Yakiudon was probably my favorite though we didn' get the Drunken Noodles. And was not impressed with the Singapore noodles...ordered a lot more but it got to be a blur after a while!

Had the donuts for dessert-- I was afraid I wouldn't like them b/c I am not a fan of five spice/star anise but they were pretty good. Dense though...they might have been helped with some kind of sauce??

Overall- despite some misses, we liked the atmosphere and I'd definitely go back. It is a nice addition to Mpls. They were reasonably priced and the portions for the large plates were pretty generous.

Just a clarfication- Shikhye is sort of a cloudy drink with rice floating in it. It shouldn't have cinnamon in it. The cinnamon one (sometimes garnished with a dried persimmon) is called sujeonggwa. Here's a recipe I found for the cinnamon one:

http://www.asianfreerecipes.com/asian...

My mom used to make both and they are pretty time consuming-- especially the rice based one. You could easily pop into Hmart and get some pre-canned...not as good but instant gratification...

I also vote for Bryant Lake Bowl- we always have a great time there and I don't think it's too young of a crowd.

Other ideas-- I've always wanted to do a party at Mandarin Kitchen. They have private rooms and you can rent a karaoke machine. And I love their food.
http://www.mealmeal.com/main/member_main.php?action=cover&mid=17

Last year, we went to a 40th at Mancini's Char House. It's a "classic" supper club- -not a lot of food variety but we had a fun time. Checked out the bar afterward and loved the "mature" cover band singing Eagles covers, mirrored disco bar, brass rails, and the mixed crowed. Everyone from regulars to people out celebrating whatever occasion. I'd say the food is not the attraction- I just loved the stuck in the 70s/80s vibe of it all!
http://www.mancinis.com/default.htm

Cafe Lurcat has, I believe, a private room above their bar as well as a closed off room in between their dining room and bar.