Inside My Table #56 | Restaurant listings
Family Affair: Dining With Kids
If you’re a parent, grandparent, godparent or favorite aunt or uncle, sooner or later you’ll need some fresh ideas for dining out with youngsters. Besides the national burger chains, most Tex-Mex and casual Asian restaurants are family friendly, too. Here are more local restaurants that have made a point of putting out the welcome mat for kids.
Avalon Diner, 2417 Westheimer at Kirby, 713-527-8900, and other locations. A bastion of authentic, greasy-spoon diner food, Avalon has drawn local families to its thick frothy milkshakes and button-popping breakfasts for generations. It is seat-yourself, and weekend brunch is always packed, so come at an off-hour or be prepared for a crowd. Antsy youngsters can hop up and peruse the goodies in the next-door drugstore while parents mingle. $
Benihana, 9707 Westheimer at Gessner, 713-789-4962, and other locations. At Benihana, it’s okay to play with your food. Teppan chefs regale children and adults with knife-juggling theatrics and expert showmanship. Affordable lunch specials include a starter salad, rice and entree prepared at the grill-side table. $-$$
Carrabba’s, 3115 Kirby Dr. at Branard, 713-522-3131, and other locations. Carrabba’s provides a fairly refined dining experience without all the fuss of an upscale restaurant. Food and service are reliably superior; the kitchen caters to junior appetites. Balls of pizza dough—good for modeling by the under-six set—are available upon request. $$
Dave & Buster’s, 6010 Richmond Ave. at Fountainview, 713-952-2233. Somewhat more sophisticated than Chuck E Cheez, Dave & Buster’s is casual and family-friendly. Parents can enjoy decent bar food and cold beer while children hone their Skee Ball pitch. This 24,000 square-foot facility features dozens of games, raising the issue of how to drag the kids to the table to eat. $
Downtown Aquarium, 410 Bagby St. at Prairie, 713-223-3474. Families traveling to the Downtown Aquarium ought to make a day of it. Houston’s first public aquarium features 500,000 gallons of visible underwater tanks, including an acrylic tunnel with live sharks swimming overhead. After a long day of underwater adventure, visit the Marina Matinee cafe or the Aquarium restaurant for a meal of—you guessed it—seafood. $
Hard Rock Cafe, 502 Texas Ave. at Smith, 281-479-7025. Relocated from its Kirby site, the Hard Rock Cafe is a glitzy new attraction in downtown’s Bayou Place. The menu includes huge portions of American fare, such as burgers, fries, ribs, chopped salads and milkshakes. Kids love the rock ‘n roll memorabilia and can entertain themselves studying the displays until their food arrives.$
Kenny & Ziggy’s, 2327 Post Oak Blvd. at Westheimer, 713-871-8883. What’s not to like at this wonderful New York-style deli? Sandwiches are as big as your head, and there’s a variety of soups, salads, franks and, oh yes, desserts, from carrot cake to seven-layer chocolate cake to cheesecakes. The menu is a good read, and Kenny and Ziggy themselves keep the atomosphere hoppin’.
Putt-Putt Funhouse, 806 E. NASA Rd., Webster, 281-333-0579. The newly constructed 17,500 square-foot entertainment center has something for kids of every age. In addition to the new kitchen and extensive menu, there’s theatre, laser tag, bumper boats, batting cages, a special kiddie play area for much-younger children and, of course, miniature golf. $
Skeeter’s, 5529 Weslayan St. at Bissonnet, 713-660-7090, and other locations. Part casual family grill, part gallery for budding artists, Skeeters encourages diners to doodle while they eat, providing crayons and butcher paper table covers. Exceptional drawings are displayed on the walls. The grub is the stuff that tastes marvelous after a junior soccer game, and rowdy team dinners are welcome. $
Luby’s Cafetertia, many locations. Never mind the no-nonsense interior, Luby’s makes blue Jell-O cubes. The family-friendly menu offers low-priced kid’s dishes. The little ones seem to love coasting through the line in their rolling high-chariots and enjoy the power of selecting their own meal. This is the ideal place to take the kids when the idea of whipping up a meal brings on a migraine. $
Lupe Tortilla’s, 318 Stafford St. near Highway 6, 281-496-7580, and other locations. Known for its beach resort-like atmosphere, Lupe Tortilla’s provides a sandbox and play area for tots while parents can kick back and sip on a chilled margarita. Stacked-high chalupas, homemade guacamole and sizzling fajitas are among the menu’s highlights. $
Star Pizza, 2111 Norfolk bet. Greenbriar & S. Shepherd, 713-523-0800. The Norfolk location has a funky-house feel to it. They serve lasagna and big crisp salads, and the above-average pizza is made-to-order. Watch a movie on the big-screen TV for merciful distraction after a long day. $
Joe’s Crab Shack, 6218 Richmond Ave. bet. Fountainview & Hillcroft, 713-666-2150, and other locations. At Joe’s Crab Shack, not only can the kids rest their elbows on the table, they can climb up and do a soft-shoe, too. At the sound of the siren, waiters mount the tables in unison and coax unsuspecting diners to join them in a rendition of the “Macarena” or “YMCA.” Affordable crabs come out steaming on huge trays. Mallets are provided, but you do the rest. $-$$
Goode Co. Hamburgers & Taqueria, 4902 Kirby Dr. bet. Bissonnet & Westpark, 713-520-9153. Goode Co. has established itself as a Houston institution without the aid of gimmicks or pretense. The food is just plain good. But it usually takes more than that to keep kids amused, and at the taqueria, all it takes is the big wishing fountain. Children can spend hours plunking coins into the basin or chucking them up to the higher echelons. $
