Jamie and I can’t deny it – we’re a couple of foodies. We love trying new foods and new restaurants when we travel as well as in our own home city of Denver. As we’ve continued our ongoing “restaurant tour” around Denver, we’ve enjoyed many ethnically more diverse dishes, and we’ve found that several of them would be great places to take kids to expand their palettes. These restaurants in particular cater to kids, make their dining experience more fun, and/or offer great menu options that encourage kids to branch out on flavors and textures. Here are our top 5 that I would recommend to parents to promote more adventurous eating. Side note: A good rule of thumb for parents with picky eaters is if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again! In other words, make them taste everything, then revisit at a later date, make them taste again, and repeat.
1. Ace Eat Serve – This happening place is perfect for an adult night out, but one that you can feel comfortable bringing your kids to as well. Grab a drink at the bar and challenge your kids to a game of table tennis in their giant ping pong room while you wait to be seated. The drinks are fun – I love the High Roller for something light and fresh to sip on. The menu offers delicious pan-Asian options like Prawn & Lobster Ramen, Thai Crab Fried Rice, and Korean Fried Chicken Bao Buns. We enjoyed the Bibimbap along with the Gyoza and the Brussels Sprouts & Shishitos (SO good!). The kids meals come out in a bento-style tray with sticky rice, fresh fruit, and veggies in addition to the main entree (I would recommend the Pork Belly Bao Bun… it’s a fun textural experience for kids). For dessert, Ace Eat Serve even offers shaved ice on the house for kids.
2. Biju’s Little Curry Shop – Biju’s is a bright, casual spot for south Indian food. You order through a line and pick out what you want on your bowl, so no waiting required for the kiddos. I love their Coconut Curry Chicken bowl – it’s fresh and spicy and loaded with all kinds of goodies. There is a kids version of the Coconut Curry Bowl for your littles, and they will love the mango lassis.
3. Sushi-Rama – Who doesn’t get excited about conveyor belt sushi?! Kids will love getting to watch all the different types of sushi pass by, picking out what they want, then then stacking the plates up by color and counting how much of each they have. It’s a colorful, fun vibe and a unique experience for both kids and adults. Because the sushi is plated in small amounts, it’s a wonderful way to try lots of different kinds.
4. Tocabe – This American Indian eatery is a perfect place to take kids as they’re learning about Native Americans in school. Tocabe is one of the few Native American restaurants in the world, which is pretty fascinating. It’s another fast-casual restaurant where you order through a line, and the build-your-own Indian tacos, posu bowls, and fry bread plates feature natively-grown items like wild rice, bison, hominy, pumpkin seeds, and sweet corn. The kids meals includes an Indian taco with choice of meat or vegetarian. Encourage your child to try the shredded or ground bison for something a bit different, and they will be sure to love the hot fry bread. The combination of flavors is so good, and in a world of globalization, it’s a great spot to show kids the food that’s native to the United States.
5. Jerusalem – When I moved to Denver, Jamie introduced me to this quaint little gyro restaurant that’s been operating in our city for over 30 years. It literally feels like you’re stepping straight into a little restaurant into the city of Jerusalem with all the colorful tapestries, and I immediately fell for it just like he had. It’s amazing food for a great price. We always get the same thing, the Beef & Lamb Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce, which come with curry rice, cucumber salad, and hot homemade pitas. To be honest, I don’t know if they have a kids menu (maybe they do – I just have never inquired), BUT I still had to add Jerusalem to the list because those gyros would be a great way to introduce kids to Middle Eastern/Mediterranean-style food. Plus they have beautiful, tasty desserts like Baklava, fancy Lady Fingers, Nammoura, and more.
What restaurants do you take your kids to, in Denver or elsewhere, that help expand their horizons? I’d love to hear!
P.S. Eskimo ice cream, and a Chinese New Years dinner.
I love the candidness of Parisians. There were so many other thoughts and words of wisdom from the book that I would have loved to share, and it includes cool photos too. This book would be a great gift for any Francophile! I thoroughly enjoyed the little snapshot on life from the Parisian point of view.
Red envelopes are an important part of the Chinese New Year tradition. They are stuffed with money and are exchanged for good luck. Children receive the red envelopes from their parents and grandparents, and once they’re married, they’re expected to start giving red envelopes themselves. If you’re giving red envelopes, it’s important to use crisp bills and avoid coins. It’s lucky to give even amounts of money and start or end the amount with lucky number eight, but avoid amounts that start with four because that’s an unlucky number in Chinese culture.
Whole chicken is a popular dish to serve on the Lunar New Year because it’s a sign of family togetherness and unity. Traditionally, you would serve it completely whole – head, talons and all! But Jamie and I figured that a rotisserie chicken was whole enough for us! Whole fish with head and tail attached is also a very common and symbolic food to serve on Chinese New Year. The head and tail represent a good beginning and end to the year, and the word “fish” in Chinese, “yú,” sounds like the words for both wish and abundance. We didn’t have the time to cook a whole fish (and didn’t want to spend the money to do so for just the two of us), but I think if I ever have a Chinese New Year party, I will definitely have to do that.
The Chinese word for shrimp, “xiā,” sounds like the word for laughter, so shrimp is another symbolic food eaten on the new year. We had a stir-fried shrimp dish with rice.
Long noodles represent longevity, but we couldn’t find any uncut noodles so we got a simple lo mein dish. Egg rolls symbolize good fortune because their shape looks like gold bars.
The Cantonese word for lettuce sounds like rising fortune, so it is common to serve lettuce at a Lunar New Year dinner. Lettuce wraps are a great option, but I decided on a simple romaine salad with pistachios and a dijon vinaigrette.
And of course you have to have dumplings! They are my favorite. Dumplings are often made to look like Chinese silver ingots, which are oval and turned up on the edges, so they represent wealth. Legend says that the more dumplings you eat during the Chinese New Year celebrations, the more money you will make in the new year.
We finished the meal with fortune cookies (of course). It turns out that they’re more of an American tradition than a Chinese one – they started in California with the Chinese ’49’ers who worked on building the railroads. But they are a fun treat for both kids and adults! I wouldn’t serve a Chinese New Year meal without them.