Dinner with a 9 year old boy? Good food too?

My friend and his sweet little boy will be in town tomorrow for the Cubs game. They are staying at the Amabassador East and I am taking them out for dinner. I know that the sweet boy would choose ESPN Zone, Rain Forest Cafe, or some other such purveyor of dreck. I can't do it. I've considered R.J. Grunt's or pizza. Does anybody have any ideas? I am willing to drive for good food. Is there a place that provides great food along with the circus? My palate thanks you.

I'm not sure about great food plus great circuses, but great food plus kid friendly is South Water Kitchen. I think Greektown is a good option with kids, flambed cheese & plenty of mezze to eat with their fingers usually does the trick.

Near the hotel there's Grand Lux Cafe & Ed Debevic's, which I find less grating in terms of the circus element. For pizza I'd suggest Lou Malnati's, or consider something like Al's or Portillo's - kid friendly & italian beef etc. etc. & apt after a Cubs game.

Is he the kind of child who might like Chinese food? Going to Chinatown (Lao Sze Chuan) might be a good choice, along with walking around the neighborhood. This might make his visit to Chicago special - as well as seeing the Cubs lose (how are they doing? I'm in England). Dim Sum can be nice because then you can see your food before you order it. LSC is not quite a "circus" (in terms of running about), but Chinatown has some of that specialness that the places you mention attempt to provide.

I have a 7-year-old who loves Greektown and going to Chinatown. If the weather is nice, I would recommend taking the water taxi to chinatown, grabbing a bite to eat and spend the afternoon shopping and walking around the area.

http://www.chicagowatertaxi.com/docks/chinatown/

I'd say Chinatown too. After your meal, some things to do with a 9 yr old boy when you are walking around:

point out the bbq ducks hanging
go into a candy store for some interesting finds
have a sesame bun at a bakery (YUMMMMM!)
Bubble tea!!!
Go into one of the "general" type stores for those "popper" things. The things that pop when you throw them at the ground
Find a store with swords
get him a fancy pair of chopsticks to take home.
See if he'll try an aloe vera drink from a store's cooler.

As far as "circuses" go, Sparky (eight) loves Korean BBQ (fire on the table, what's not to like) and liked the flaming cheese at Greektown. Chinatown is one of his favorite places (the mall is the best place to take kids, and there's a lovely little park right by the river a few blocks behind it, under the train bridge, which is where the Water Taxi stops - I second the Water Taxi as an incredibly cheap, fun event - it only runs there on weekends.)

All of these require a somewhat adventurous palate, or at least the willingness to eat plain white rice in a setting that smells richly of food: you might want to inquire if the kids are at all interested in that sort of thing - it's no fun to drag kids along to while they roll their eyes. If not, you might settle for a Chicago-style hamburger or hot dog stand; my first thought would be Superdawg but that doesn't seem exactly convenient.

seebee wrote:I'd say Chinatown too. After your meal, some things to do with a 9 yr old boy when you are walking around...
Find a store with swords

CW Mei's on Wentworth sells all sorts of martial arts gear and paraphernalia at very reasonable prices. They sell nice kung fu and tai chi uniforms for around $20, slippers for about $6, plus they sell those wooden practice swords and bo staffs. They also have lots of cool knives and stars, as well as some amazing collectors' swords that cost up to $500. Maybe not the place to take a "sweet little boy", but boys will be boys.

Cw Meis Gift & Jewelry Corporation
(312) 225-1933
2219 S Wentworth Ave
Chicago, IL 60616

Chinatown is a great idea. As a kid, I always loved looking in all of the shops. It seemed so exotic. I live near Greektown but I think Chinatown will offer more in the way of circuses. Now, I wonder what the kid will think of "maw" in the hot pot at LSC? Thanks to all.

CM2772 wrote:I have a 7-year-old who loves Greektown and going to Chinatown. If the weather is nice, I would recommend taking the water taxi to chinatown, grabbing a bite to eat and spend the afternoon shopping and walking around the area.

http://www.chicagowatertaxi.com/docks/chinatown/

I completely agree with this suggestion. Do check the water taxi schedule though-- we tried to ride it a couple of weeks ago and were told they don't start going to Chinatown until 'summer'. That would be after Memorial Day, I reckon.

Cheers, Jen

NAV BOY likes rainforest cafe.

Here's my post on the Chinatown Water Taxi (used to be a good way to get to Maxwell Street as well)

Well, said 9 year old is a big Cubs fan, so after being presented with options, he wanted Harry Caray's. I'm fine with that: a martini, a slab of well-marbled beef and a glass of red wine beat out ESPN Zone every time. Thanks for the help.