Child-Friendly Restaurants

[Sundae in the Park]

Any suggestions for good weekend eats while towing about two children (aged 3 and 4.5 years)? I think the Rittenhouse farmer's market and Reading Terminal Market are options, but am also looking for sit-down suggestions. We's about 2 blocks from the Reading Terminal Market on Arch street. Thanks!

 

Wow, eating out with 2 toddlers, even with 3 adults, is a...challenge. To say that it limited our options is an understatement, but we still managed to scrounge some tasty eats - we just had to find them some chicken first.

We ate lunch at the Reading Terminal Market for lunch both days. There are so many things to eat there that the grazing is good and children can be satisfied. The fresh-squeezed OJ from the middle eastern place is fantastic and a great value. There are a lot of oranges going into my 32oz family juice! The pastries there are great as well. We tried a mushroom cheesesteak from By George's and the verdict is that we do NOT like whiz. Good, but next time, back to provolone!! The fresh-baked variety of "samosas" (lazy man's samosas, I think, in phyllo pastry) from the indian place include a spinach and cheese (it's actually a pretty good version of hand-held spanikopita), chicken (nicely spiced but dry), and potato and veg (soft and almost creamy veg. Kids like these!). The roast turkey place is salty and boring, and you get an amazing amount of meat (a good thing) in the sandwiches from Hershels. The Singapore noodles from Golden Bowl are decent and surprisingly well-curried, and you have to wait a long time to get crepes from the Creperie, but they are nice. We tried a variety of rotisserie, fried, and roasted chicken, but none came close to any of our Peruvian chicken shops.

For dinner we played it safe and stayed in Chinatown. Their Penang is part of the East Coast chain, but the menu was different and had a lot more Chinese-style dishes. The food was fine and familiar, but a lot saucier that usual. We also tried Nan Zhou Hand Drawn Noodle House, which is a small, nondescript, classic hole-in-the-wall eatery that reminds me a lot of our pho houses down here. There noodles come drawn or shaved, and both types are great - fresh and chewy. The broth is pretty much the same for every dish, but you can get lots of different meat and seafood toppings or just eat the noodles plain (perfect sickness food!) with broth. The broth is clear and light and not spicy, but delicious, and you can dress it however you like for kicks (also like a pho house). It is dirt-cheap and very quick and great for eating with kids or in general!