Kids Cuisine

Adults go out to dinner to eat flavorful food and have an enjoyable evening. Why shouldn’t this be the case for children? Well, Chicago-area chefs couldn’t agree more, and they are creating menus specifically for young foodies.

At Bistro 110 , chef Dominique Tougne introduces les enfants to French cuisine with approachable interpretations of traditional dishes. Young diners get to choose between the mini burger brochette, three miniature hamburgers stacked in a tower served with french fries ($9.50); the thin crust pizette ($6.25); or the chef ’s secret recipe macaroni and cheese ($5.50). Brunch selections include Bistro 110’s pigs in a blanket brochette, sausage and pancakes skewered on a kabob, topped with maple syrup ($6.50) and crepes a la Nutela ($6.99). To finish the meal, the Bistro fondu platter with fresh fruit and homemade chocolate and caramel dipping sauces, will please all appetites.

Lucky Strike Lanes is bowling kids over with its family-friendly offerings, with updates on classic comfort foods such as bite-size mac and cheese balls ($7.50), tomato and cheese s’mores, grilled miniature roasted tomato, basil, and mozzarella sandwiches ($7); and the jumbo chicken sampler, with ancho, Key West, asian, and chipotle skewers ($19.50). Dessert offerings include riffs on savory favorites, sweet pom-frites, sponge cake fries dusted with sugar, served with raspberry and lemon sauces ($7); and PB & J, crispy filo shells with warm peanut butter and raspberry jelly ($5.50).

A three-course menu at Sage Grille, a seasonally-influenced American restaurant, starts young guests with chicken noodle soup or a petite house salad. For the entrée, selections include roasted chicken breast with mashed potatoes ($8); spaghetti with marinara or butter and cheese sauce ($7); and PB & J, delectably upgraded to brioche toast ($6). Desserts range from fresh fruit, cookies or ice cream for dessert.

Mon Ami Gabi offers its “Little Frites” menu. The “Little Frites” experience starts as soon as a family sits down in the cozy French Steak House. While parents peruse the list of simple French fare on the adult menu, children choose one of seven kids’ offerings on their own special Le Menu. Selections range from $4.95–$8.95 and include: grilled cheese sandwich, macaroni and cheese, hamburger and frites, cheeseburger and frites, chicken fingers and frites, steak and frites. Le Menu also offers sides of mashed potatoes, spinach or green beans for $2.50 and, of course, a kid-pleasing dessert for $3.95: hot fudge sundae. Shortly after arrival, children are presented with Little Frites’ version of an amuse. The amuse bouche (French for amuse the mouth and defined as “a small bite before the meal begins”)arrives for pre-meal snacking. The ingredients are artistically arranged on a small plate in the shape of a French man’s face: tomatoes for the eyes, grated carrots for the hair and green beans delicately shaped as a smiling mouth.

Just because their children, doesn’t mean they can’t eat out and have fun doing it, too!