Dining Out with Kids

As any regular reader knows, we're always on the prowl for reasonably priced and, above all, good family-friendly restaurants in Marin. One thing that's nearly impossible to find in the North Bay is real barbeque. By "real" I mean genuine Southern-style slow cooked smoke barbeque (AKA "Q"), not (and no offense meant) grilled food, of which there's plenty to be found in the Bay Area. That's grilling, not barbeque. We used to be big fans of the now-defunct Rob's Rib Shack in Sonoma, so when we heard that Frank's Bar-B-Que was going to open in Novato, we got pretty excited.

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A new play space and café for kids and their parents has opened in downtown San Anselmo! Playdate Café is a kid-friendly café with a play area where kids can play in while their parents or caregivers get a well-deserved break. The 1,300-square-foot fenced play area is suitable for kids ages 0–6 years, and features a two-story ship, a medieval castle with kitchen and puppet theatre, and a climbing mountain with a slide. They also have a soft play area for infants and crawlers. There will be a variety of weekly classes and special events for the entire family.

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Brunch is a popular option for celebrating Mother’s Day. Here are a few unique options that are family friendly:

• Peacock Gap County Club in San Rafael will being having their 37th Annual Mother's Day Champagne Brunch Buffet on Sunday from 10 am to 2:30 pm. We go there for Easter brunch and it's very child friendly. They will be having omelets, a waffle station, a chef's carving station, and a large dessert and pastry selection. Adults are $29.95, seniors $27.95 and children (under 12) are $18.95. Early reservations suggested at (415) 453-3111. Peacock Gap Golf and Spa is located at 333 Biscayne Drive.

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When you're just too fried to cook dinner but don't want to deal with the whole restaurant experience, that old standby, the rotisserie roasted chicken, is often a great choice, especially since its something that everyone in our family will eat. While most of the supermarket versions are, to put it mildly, unappealing, there are at least two great places in Marin that specialize in tasty roasted birds.

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Like many families these days, we find ourselves grabbing lunch or dinner on the go probably more than we should. Since restaurant meals are often loaded with excess fat, calories, and sodium, we try to find places to eat that offer healthy food, or something close to it. Fortunately, two of the places we like to go to offer either free or reduced-price dining for small children, which is great for the wallet!

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We live in Marin's northernmost outpost, Novato, which is not exactly known for its fine dining opportunities, let alone decent restaurants where you can take children. So we were really happy  when we finally made it to El Encanto Restaurante y Cantina, located in downtown Novato on 7th Street between Grant and Novato Boulevard. El Encanto offers Mexican food, and is relatively new—it's been open for a little over a year—and occupies the space the once housed a Lyons, followed by a string of other unlucky, short-lived, and now-forgotten restaurants.
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I grew up in Marin and, amazingly, have never been to the revered Phyllis’ Giant Burgers until yesterday. Phyllis’ has been in Marin seemingly forever. Every time I drove through San Rafael’s Miracle Mile, I would pass it, but never stopped to try one of their so-called giant burgers. I always heard that their burgers were wonderful, so I though it would be a good time to try one. Now that they opened one in Novato, in addition to their long-time location in San Rafael, so I thought this is the perfect opportunity to try it out. I don’t eat a lot of hamburgers, so when I do it’s something of a treat and I want it to be a good one.
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For many years, I've driven past Jimbo's Hot Dogs, located on the frontage road paralleling 101 near that big business park just south of Lucas Valley Road in San Rafael. When I write "many years" I mean many, many years. Having grown up in Marin, Jimbo's is one of my local childhood landmarks, and one that is still there, unlike the wooden statue of Don Quixote that used to stand near the Marin Civic Center and the magically refilling neon beer glass that used to grace the top of the Hamm's brewery in San Francisco. Anyhow, Jimbo's has been there for me through the years, except that I had never actually been there. As a child, I asked my parents to take me there on numerous occasions, and it never happened. So when I had kids of my own, I made a solemn vow that I would take them to Jimbo's and go there at last. Yesterday I decided: it's time to go to Jimbo's.

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