RR: Chuck E. Cheese’s in Danbury

Ok, this place is a restaurant, but I didn’t eat there!  I did want to post a review of what I did experience.  I took my 4-year-old there for her birthday today.  She and her friends had a ball!  This new CEC’s opened on Backus Ave. near the Danbury Mall.  I knew I was going to take her and signed up for the “Chuck E-Club” to see if I’d get any coupons.  Sure enough she got 20 free tokens for her birthday!  They also had some other coupons available to print from their website www.chuckecheese.com.  And, you can always find coupons in the Sunday paper.  It is definitely worth it to use coupons as each token ends up being about $0.25, which means each ride or game is only a quarter!

We arrived and an attendant stamps both child and parent with a number to identify them as a matched set.  No child is allowed to leave without that parent.  The place is very spacious and clean.  We went at 10:30 in the morning and it’s not crowded at all at that time!  I’ve been to these places on the weekends and, believe me, you want to steer clear at those times!

Each game or ride is one token.  There are many games to suit different age ranges.  There is a climbing tube/slide combo that is free.  When we first went to a CEC we took a very young child.  We got away from the place without spending a dime because of the free climbing tube and because a young child thinks he/she is playing the games even when they’re not!

I lost a token in one of the games and told one of the attendants.  He gave me two tokens in its place!  Many of the games give tickets to exchange for prizes.  As usual, you need lots of tickets for good prizes, but we were able to get a plastic ring and two large Tootsie rolls.  My only gripe about the day was that we had 56 points and used 50 and weren’t given the opportunity to use save our 6 points for another time.  I thought this was very “cheesy!”  A friend’s child didn’t have enough points to get the same thing so I told the attendant to use our leftover points for her.  She gladly did it, but I see that it may be their policy to not give away as many prizes by cheating people out of a few points here or there-they would add up over the course of a day if they did that with everyone!  Overall, I was very pleased with the experience and plan to go back this summer with my two kids!

When we left, we headed over to the food court at the mall for a Happy Meal and then hit The Christmas Tree Shop.  Oh boy, is that place fun!   We got a lot of outdoor summer games and some crafts to tide us over during summer vacation.  We headed home with just enough time to get in the pick up line at Hurlbutt!

RR: John’s Best

1. John’s Best, 361 Post RD, Westport; www.johnsbestwestport.com

2. Dined 6/10/2010

3. 2 adults, 2 kids in our party

4. high chairs, kids menus available

5. Changing table in handicapped stall in ladies room-not sure if one in men’s room

6. 10 minutes for pasta to come for one child; about 20 minutes for pizza to come for other child!

7. 4 on a scale of 0-5 means “We’re going back, it was a good experience.”

Tonight we had a late afternoon appointment in Westport and a birthday to celebrate.  One kid wanted pasta and one kid wanted pizza.  My husband suggested John’s Best and I couldn’t argue.  We’ve been there many times and always have a good meal with no wait to be seated.  Tonight was no exception.  We sat right down in a nice booth and placed our order quickly.  The service staff is always the same, which is nice.  We ordered a small pizza, kid’s spaghetti with no sauce, chicken parmesan and a caesar salad.  Bread came out quickly, which is always pretty good, although a little salty for my taste.  We didn’t wait too long for the salads and pasta, but the pizza took way too long tonight.  My husband didn’t like the honey mustard salad dressing so I ate his salad.  I didn’t like it either, but ate it anyway!  I let him eat some of my caesar salad and then I ate the rest.  Everyone enjoyed the meal.  It’s nothing fancy there, but a very kid-friendly place.  Often I notice large groups gathering there after a game or to celebrate a birthday.  They’ve started offering a reasonable lunch buffet.  Maybe we all could meet one day this summer!

RR: Rocco’s Italian Kitchen

1. Rocco’s Italian Kitchen, 36 Pine St., New Canaan, CT 06840, 203-966-2200, www.roccosct.com

2. Dined at Rocco’s on 6/5/10

3. 2 adults in our party

4. High chairs and kids’ menu offered

5. No changing table in either restroom, but there is a low table in the ladies room that could serve as one in a pinch

6. Wait for children’s food N/A

7. On a scale of 0-5:

• 5, We’re definitely going back!

My husband and I had a sitter planned for tonight, but didn’t have anything planned for us to do.  So, when in doubt, we always go out to eat!  We immediately go to www.opentable.com when we’re looking for ideas.  If you haven’t tried that site yet, you can make your dining reservations there and receive points for dining.  We’re just about to get a $100 dining check because we have so many points!

We go to a wonderful dentist across the street from Rocco’s.  This is how I found out about it.  It’s pretty nondescript being right by a Walgreen’s, but don’t let that deter you.  When we first drove up at 6:30 there weren’t many cars in the parking lot and we commented that we probably hadn’t needed a reservation.  But, since we get points, we’ll always make one anyway!  When we walked in there was a shiny, red Vespa in the vestibule.  Too cute!  We were greeted by two hostesses upon entering.  Straight ahead is the bar area and to the right behind a petition is the dining room.  It’s a really warm and inviting space and decorated very tastefully.  We got a booth toward the back.  The place wasn’t very crowded, but most tables had at least one child dining.  Somewhere I read that they prefer families with children to eat early so that people dining without kids can enjoy their meals later in the evening.  They have a kids’ menu and at the bottom it mentions that they “respectfully” request that kids stay seated at all times.

Speaking of the kids’ menu, it costs $8.50 per entrée, which includes real chicken cutlet and fries, mini pizza, grilled chicken salad, mac and cheese, penne or spaghetti, and a plate of three meatballs.  The desserts for kids are $4 and beverages are additional, but prices weren’t listed.

I ordered the appetizer of beets and goat cheese and the chopped salad as my entrée.  My husband ordered the pear salad and lasagna and we shared the asparagus with egg on top.  My beet dish was delicious, but not what I expected.  It was sliced beets layered with goat cheese with baby greens on top and a vinaigrette dressing.  It was very filling.  My husband said his salad was very good.  My chopped salad, again, wasn’t what I expected.  It was quite pretty with the chopped veggies served in a radicchio bowl with an oregano vinaigrette, which I ordered on the side.  The radicchio was too strong for my taste and I didn’t care for the vinaigrette very much, so this wasn’t quite what I had in mind.  Although, I felt very healthy.  The grilled asparagus with the egg on top was really tasty.  The lasagna was served in a cast iron skillet and my husband said was very good.  We decided to forego dessert and walk around New Canaan.  What a cute town.  There are so many restaurants there and lots with outdoor seating.  I know we’ll be back to check them out!

Our server started out very attentive and was good at describing the specials.  The bus staff was excellent and we always had full water glasses.  I was surprised that the server never asked us how the food was at any point during the meal.  All in all, though, we really enjoyed the meal and will go back.  We spent a total of $55.12 for dinner and tax-tip was extra.

RR: Los Cabos Mexican Restaurant

1. Los Cabos-Next to Stew Leonard’s in Norwalk

2. Dined for lunch on Sunday, January 10, 2010

3. 2 adults, 2 kids

4. Kid’s menu that doubles as a coloring sheet and Dixie cups with crayons for both kids

5. Didn’t visit the restrooms

6. Waited about 15 minutes for food to arrive

7. 3-4 rating-we’ll go back if we want Mexican food-prices are high ($40 for lunch and I only had soup!) and food is average-there is a coupon in the Clipper Magazine, but we didn’t spend enough to use $10 off $50.  I had to ask, but had seen in the Clipper that they offer free churros for kids on Sundays.  They were yummy!