Zoggs is a great “near the beach bar and restaurant” with the party atmosphere you want but with a friendly atmosphere for kids. Zoggs is located down an alley and upon your first visit may seem a little “divey” for kids. Don’t be fool and/or scared. We have visited a number of times and it is the place to go during the day to take a break from the heat. Because of its appearance, it is never busy during the day, particularly inside. There are outside tables but we generally sit inside to escape the heat.

The dining area is pretty “bar-y” but given the lack of people during the day, you don’t have to worry. The staff is friendly and have always been welcoming of the kids. (I did see a high chair once too.) They have a number of televisions, video games and a pool table which can keep the little ones occupied.

The menu is fairly traditional with a focus on fish sandwiches and great black bean chili which is used on any number of selections. You have your traditional kids meals. I have always been surprised by how good the food is. It is by no means gourmet food but it is a unique menu.

Zoggs to me is really what this blog is about. A place that families may shy away from given its appearance. We find that places like Zogg’s are some of the best places for families with kids because they are never busy when we go (early) so the kids can mess around with bothering anyone. Also, because families are unique to Zoggs, the staff always goes overboard to provide great friendly service.

Everyone is welcome to submit Restaurants that would fit the kind of places the Kids Menu Project is looking for.  Please just forward your review via a comment and I will get it up. Thanks

Dos Locos, Rehoboth Ave, Rehoboth Beach DE is a great tasting Mexican based menu with full bar.  The 22oz Margarita is a must for mom and dad (please call it the “big girl” although its name was changed for the sake of political correctness).  Everyone who tries one says its the best they have ever had and we have had a few to confirm. 

The restaurant recently opened a new location with a more clean and modern atmosphere.  The dining area is separated from the bar area and smoke is not an issue.  We will many times go in the afternoon or on off times and sit in the bar area so the kids can watch the televisions.

Like most restaurants on Rehoboth Ave, Dos Locos can get busy at night and on weekends.  However, it is open almost year round, so feel free to stop in off season.With the new location, Dos Locos appears to serve a larger number of families with children. 

Upon arrival, be sure to immediately order the complimentary nachos and salsa – however, you parents knew that already.  To be honest, I am not a hugh fan of Mexican food.  However, my wife loves the black bean burrito.  The kid’s menu is not expansive but they do have at least two different types of French fries – regular and smiley.  So, you should be okay.  Also, traditional American fare is also available.   

We have been going to Dos Locos for years and the real draw for us has always been the staff.  The owners and the wait staff have always been very friendly and accommodating – remembering our names and coming over for small talk during our meals.  One of our tenants is that the most important part of any restaurant and bar is the staff – particularly for family diners.  Dos Locos has always been the example of how important a friendly staff can be. 

Fish On, Lewes, DE is a unique restuarant with great tasting food with a full bar for the adults.  The Restuarant is a little off the beaten path for those of you visiting the Rehoboth./Dewey beach area.  It is right of Highway One - in the Village of Five Points. Although it may be a drive for those of you staying in Rehoboth, it is one of our favorites and is a great restaurant for families. 

The atmosphere at Fish On is sophisticated but not stuffy.  The dining area has a very modern look with interesting pictures on the walls.  When the restaurant is busy, the high ceilings and sparse design give the restaurant a pleasant noise level perfect for kids.  There is outdoor seating but last I checked there was no dinner service on the patio area - just drinks.

The restaurant opens at 5:00 but does not get busy until later – when there can be a wait.  Each time we have eaten at Fish On, we observed a number of other families with children and the staff is very accommodating.      

Be sure to immediately order the complimentary bread upon arrival.  It tastes great and will definitely keep the kids happy while you get settled in.  The kids will enjoy the kid’s meals which include the old standards – Mac and Cheese, etc. - and root beer floats are a special treat. 

As for the parents, the food is wonderful and, maybe more importantly, is really unique.  I love the Shrimp and Grits but you really can’t go wrong with anything. 

If you are like my wife and I, you probably enjoy going out and sampling local restaurants and bars – particularly if you are traveling somewhere new.  Unfortunately, too many times, once children come along, families relegate themselves to fast food and/or national “family friendly” chain restaurants.  Lets face it, these restaurants provide an easy, safe, clean environment where children are welcome – but they are boring.  By routinely going to these fast food/chain restaurants, I think families miss out on a number of locally owned restaurants that can in fact be very family-friendly and provide a great alternative to the chain restaurants.  This blog is designed to identify and review these locally owned restaurants that at first glance may not seem family-friendly but are in fact a great place for the family to eat.   Please feel free to submit any suggestions from your town or the places you visit. Thanks

I recently received another suggestion for a family friendly restaurant here in the Harrisburg area. Dockside Willies in Wormleysburg. Here is what I received: Another…Dockside Willie’s - Wormleysburg. Ate there last evening (Thursday) for the first time. Sat outside so I can’t comment on the inside. But there is a bar area and a dining area. Anyways, they have a kid’s menu, crayons and a coloring menu. They have specials every night. Thursday is $2 clams/dozen! Outside was crowded and the food arrived a little slower than should have but nothing to complain about. Server was great! A vast menu. We had clams, pizza, chicken sandwich and fries. I am no expert, but food was delicious. Comparable to similar bars/restaurants in the area. Will be going back again 

It was good timing as I had just taken my family to Dockside Willies for dinner and I really echo what the reader submitted.

 Dockside Willies sits right on the river between the Rock Bass Grill and the old G-Man (I can’t remember its new name). You enter into a nicely redone dining area with a large bar to one side and a smaller seating area on the other. It had a very clean feel and was not smoky when we ate there. The real attraction for me is the deck overlooking the river. It is very large with a lot of seating. Restaurants with decks are hard to come by in this area.  As noted by the reader in his/her comments - the menu is large. It ranges from traditional bar-type food - pizza/burgers - to your steaks, seafood and chicken. As noted, they have the standard family-friendly requirements - highchairs, crayons and coloring paper. The children’s menu was good with a number of selections. I thought the food was good but not great. However, again, the deck really made up for things. We actually went a little later than usual - @7:00 on a Thursday. The crowd was pretty well divided between groups enjoying happy hours and families (many with young children). The deck was not loud or out of hand in any way. We felt very comfortable and enjoyed the evening. RESTAURANT ROW - Last week there was an article in the paper discussing “restaurant row” and all the comings and goings of restaurants. The part that interested me the most was a quote from a couple with a young child in which they declared restaurant row to not be “child friendly,” Apparently, the restaurant at which they ate for some reason refused to make buttered noodles for their child.  Working downtown, I have visited most of the restaurants running from Market Street up Second Street to the Fire House (approximately the end of restaurant row). As I think about each restaurant, nothing really sticks out as being particularly family friendly. Therefore, over the next few weeks, I am going to try to visit as many of the restaurants as possible to determine which if any are family-friendly. Any assistance from the readers would be helpful and I would appreciate any comments about your experiences.

I thought since I missed a week, I would do three quick reviews instead of the normal one.

Theos Bar and Grill, 3315 Hartzdale Dr, Camp Hill, PA 17011 – Theos is located near the Capital City mall and has been around for some time.  The exterior is fairly nondescript.  The interior is clean and well decorated.  The restaurant is divided into three areas.  There are two dining areas separated by a large bar in the middle. 

Theos always struck me as a place where 40 year old professionals went for happy hours and a nice meal.  I don’t mean that as an insult – it is just a nice but low energy restaurant.  The kind of place you might take your elderly parents for their birthday.  When we have gone, there have been other families with children and I would not be afraid to take the family even later in the evening.

The menu is large with all the normal favorites.  There are a few interesting choices and a decent variety of selections but nothing ground breaking.  When we asked if they had a kid’s menu – the answer was:  “yes, but not a physical menu.”   Okay, here is the deal.  They have kid’s meals but no menu describing the meals.  The meals seem fairly standard – my son had the pasta and it was a large portion with a tasty sauce.  In all, we always like our meals but there is nothing spectacular or particularly memorable.

Rich Valley Golf Course, 227 Rich Valley Rd, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050 – One of the family activities we enjoy is golfing.  Rich Valley is a newer course right off Interstate 81 (you can see it from the road).  Rich Valley offers a three hole, par 3 course which is great for kids and families.  It costs $2 per hole per person to play and it is never really busy.  You can rent clubs for yourself or the kids.  The course also is the site of the First Tee which is a program to introduce kids to golf. 

Once we are done golfing, we often head to the bar/restaurant located in the club house.  It is called Nolo’s Grill and consists of a small bar, a small dining area and some outdoor – deck seating.  We have sat in both the bar and the dining area without problem. 

The staff is extremely friendly and we are usually one of the few patrons there.  When we eat in the dining area, we have the television turned to children shows and the dining area has large windows overlooking the course. 

The menu is good and has a decent selection of the sandwiches and meals.  They have daily specials and a good kid’s menu.  One piece of advice – if your kids want a hotdog, get one down at the pro-shop because they don’t have them in the bar/restaurant upstairs. 

My kids love the egg sandwich which is part of the main menu.  

So, if you want to try golfing and get a nice family meal, Rich Valley is the place to try.

   Michaels Café,  54 Benvenue Road, Duncannon, Pa 17020 (Clarks Ferry Area) – 

I encourage every reader of the blog to submit suggestions for family restaurants.  I got one recently for Michaels Café in Clarks Ferry.  I have always wanted to stop by but never have.  Here is what the reader said:

got another one for you….Michael’s cafe in Duncannon.  Again, went at
5:00.  Place was empty but other patrons came once we were there.  There
were 3 kids in total with us.  They have a kid’s menu, crayons, and
coloring pages.  It used to be an old arby’s but don’t let the outside fool
you.  Inside is very contemparary and food was excellent!  Great wait staff
and a nice beer selection.  Worth the short trip.  We will be going back
again soon.  Here’s their website:  michealscafe.com

I will definitely be giving it a shot.

When I started the Kid’s Menu, I was hoping to not only convince other families to try some of my favorite restaurants but to also identify some new restaurants for my family to try.  One of the first suggestions I got was Teds Bar & Grill, 6197 Allentown Blvd, Harrisburg.  Being from the west shore, Teds was not someplace I had been.  So, I packed up the family and made the long trip to Allentown Boulevard.  To be honest, I was nervous when we first saw the place.  It is a square, non-descript building with few windows and a definite “bar” look.  However, when we went in, we found a clean, family friendly restaurant proving again that you can’t judge a book by its cover. 

The interior of Teds is divided into three areas – a bar, a smoking dining room and a non-smoking dinning room.  I assume it has a pretty good bar crowd in the evenings and I saw signs for Karaoke.  So, the rules about going early and during “off hours” is likely applicable. 

It is hard to describe the décor at Teds.  If pressed, I would say that it is “Mediterranean.”  It has fake ivy on the ceiling and Wal-Mart pictures on the wall.  To avoid any smoke, you can sit in the non-smoking dining room which is in fact a separate room.  While there were a number of people smoking in the bar and the smoking dinning room, the non-smoking dining room was fine. 

Teds has a full bar and the menu at Teds is expansive.  Choices range from pizza and hamburgers to steaks and other entrees with an Italian or Greek flare.  The kids meals are good and has the standards – hotdog, pasta, etc.  Other than the vast number of choices, the thing that struck me was the prices – Teds is very reasonable.  Kid’s meals were under $5.  My son had the pasta and it was a very large portion with a great-tasting tomato sauce.  The main entrees were similarly very reasonable and came with a number of side dishes.  Teds has numerous daily drink and food specials.  My other son had the Honey BBQ wings (a special that day) which were very good.  In fact, everything we had was very good and we will be going back to explore the menu some more. 

            The service at Teds, while not Applebee’s efficient, was good.  Our waitress was very friendly and clearly had worked at Teds for some time.  I am sure she is a favorite among the regulars.  I always think that friendly service can really make a restaurant particularly when dining with children.

             Teds is a great example of a local restaurant which from the outside may scare off some families but is really a great family restaurant.  I hope if you haven’t tried it that you give it a shot – particularly those “westshorers” like us who don’t cross the river near enough to enjoy the dining on the east shore.       

With the holiday and my work schedule, I did not have the time to try some of the restaurants suggested by the readers of the Kid’s Menu.  So, I decided to review one of my family’s favorites in Camp Hill - The Appalachian Brewing Company - Camp Hill, 3721 Market Street, Camp Hill, PA. 

ABC has a number of locations.  The original location is on Cameroon Street in Harrisburg in what I believe was the old Water Works building.  The Camp Hill version is located in the building formerly housing Ko Ko Mos.  ABC is, of course, known for its beer but does have a full bar and a fairly substantial food menu and children’s menu.

ABC did substantial renovation to the building including pouring a stained concrete floor to match the original building on Cameroon.  It is divided into a large bar area and a dining room area.  The bar area has high-top tables and a number of televisions.  The bar is a smoking area but I have never found it to be too bad.  The dining room is fairly unremarkable and, quite frankly, kind of boring.  We generally sit in the bar area because our kids enjoy the televisions and it has a much more lively atmosphere. 

ABC is a little more upscale then Your Place and is not quite as “bary” as some of the other places reviewed.  It is very clean and nicely remodeled.  I imagine the bar gets busy during happy hour but I have never seen the place real busy – especially during the lunch. 

The food includes traditional brew pub food but also includes a number of interesting entrees many with a lean towards German food.  We always start with the Pretzel Logs – three large soft pretzels with spicy mustard.  Kids love them.  If you feel adventuresome, order a cup of the cheese soup to dip the pretzels in.  The pizza is also very good and there are a number of interesting sandwiches.  I like the chili.  The entrees are wide ranging from steaks to pasta and chicken and fish.  I have always found the food to be good but maybe not great.  Of course, when coupled with the ABC’s great micro-brews, I have always had a good experience.

The children’s menu is fairly standard with a number of good choices.  Our kids enjoy the “make your own pizza.”  It’s a cheese pizza with a plate of sliced sausage and pepperoni for the kids to sprinkle on.  The kids all get a free plate of cheese, crackers and oranges upon arrival which is a nice touch.   

ABC is a nice spot perfect for families and we enjoy the variety in food and beer it offers.  I hope you will give it a try.