Cookie & Gourmet Magazines' Kid's Restaurant Week June 21-28

Forgive me if this is already posted somewhere, but this is a terrific deal!
http://www2.eventier.com/ge/gwckids/

Enjoy special fixed-price menus, early dinner seatings and fine dining for the whole family
Everyday, from June 21–28 (when school’s out and family fun is number one) for seatings from 5:30pm - 6:30pm

Kids 11 and under pay their age; everyone else, $20.08 when accompanied by a child

Here is the list of top Chicago restaurants and chefs participating in Kids' Restaurant Week:

Big Jones 773.275.5725
bin wine cafe 773.486.2233
Blue Water Grill 312.777.1400
The Café at the Ritz Carlton 312.266.1000
Coco Pazzo Café 312.664.2777
Frontera Grill 312.661.1434
Ina's 312.226.8227
Isabella’s Estiatorio 630.845.8624
May Street Market 312.421.5547
Olo 312.733.0573
Onesixtyblue 312.850.0303
Osteria di Tramonto 847.777.6570
Osteria Via Stato 312.642.8450
OTOM 312.491.5804
Prairie Grass Café 847.205.4433
Topolobampo 312.661.1434
Uncommon Ground 773.929.3680
Vie 708.246.2082
Zealous 312.475.9112

When I first heard about this, I was very excited. For us though, it seemed less of a deal after some thought. My boyfriend has an 11- and 9-year-old. When I checked, I was told that it's kids under 11 who pay their age. Eleven and up pay the $20. That wouldn't be so bad, but we had decided on OTOM. The fixed menu sounded fine enough to me--the spinach salad, pork belly and milk & cookies--but I didn't think the complete lack of choice would go over so well with the kids (given that we've already turned them into very discriminating future LTHers who like to decide their own menus!). The OTOM meal, with the menu substitutions we predicted--even if there were just one or two--would have added up to basically the cost of a regular meal with three or four adults.

I hope Kids' Restaurant Week is successful and that some LTHers share their kids' reactions here. We've canceled our reservation and will instead visit some of the GNRs we haven't tried yet, but I think the restaurant week is a terrific idea.

Yeah, it's a very fine idea. However, my 11-year-old son would be extremely disappointed if we took him to a restaurant at which he wasn't able to order what he wanted from the regular menu. That said, I get the feeling that this event isn't really geared toward families whose kids who already frequent restaurants. So, if it allows some some kids to try foods to which they would not have otherwise had access, and dine in restaurants that they would have not otherwise tried, that would be a great thing.

=R=

I hear you both, OTOH, it's doubtful we'd ever otherwise get to Vie with a seven-year-old, so I made reservations for next weekend. They have not yet set the menu, but I was told it will involve trout.

It will be a little odd sitting together without eating off of each other's plates.

Menus for this event (from the restaurant's websites:)
Vie
local lettuces, herbs, peas, radishes,
pickled spring onion vinaigrette

buttermilk soaked and fried gunthorp chicken,
green acres carrots, nichols farm potato puree,
local milk gravy

prairie fruits farm fresh chevre mousse, klug farm strawberries, vanilla cookies

Big Jones
Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and greens; and Strawberry shortcake for dessert

May Street Market seems to be offering the best option, with a 12 and over menu, and an 11 and under menu:
12 and over
First Course
yellow corn veloute, parmesan cheese flan
~or~
spring salad, organic sprouts, fennel, radishes, roasted beets, orange segments, citrus vanilla dressing
~or~
maytag blue cheesecake, poached rhubarb, arugula, spiced pecans, rhubarb sorbet

Second Course
turkey burger with avocado, chipotle aioli, french fries and smoked ramp ketchup
~or~
skirt steak, pea shoot salad, onion rings
~or~
vegetarian idaho potato gnocchi, pea puree, hen of the woods mushrooms
~or~
cioppino italian seafood stew

Dessert course
trio of mini cupcakes
~or~
trio of ice creams
~or~
fresh strawberry shortcake

Two Course Menu for Kids 11 Years and Younger

First Course
turkey burger, avocado, french fries, smoked ramp ketchup
~or~
cheddar risotto, bbq chicken, watercress salad
~or~
vegetarian idaho potato gnocchi, parmesan cheese and fresh tomatoes

Dessert Course
trio of mini cupcakes
~or~
terry’s toffee ice cream milk shake

Unfortunately, of the entire list of restaurants, only these three have menus listed on their websites - IIRC only one or two more even have information about the event on their websites. I think this could have been a terrific event and fundraiser for Green City Market had it been marketed a little better. I don't mind the prefix menu, even that everyone seems to be offering chicken, (yes, it would be nice if there were a few choices, so everyone in the party didn't have to eat the same dish,) but, considering the restrictions, it would be better if menus were listed on the event website. I'll be curious to see how this works out - truthfully, while I appreciate that this is a fundraiser and not really what the restaurants are set up for, I have to admit, I'm having a tough time with $47 for 3 servings of fried chicken and mashed potatoes.

BTW - did anybody try this? After finding out the menu at Vie, we opted not to go - not because of the pricing, really, but because of the drive out to Naperville combined with the menu restriction. I called May Street Market, but they had apparently filled up quite quickly.

I was looking at this event, the Night of 1000 Clean Plates - sounds much better organized, and you get to eat MAG and GWiv's food!