Good places for Kids to eat Downtown

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MC86
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Good places for Kids to eat Downtown

Post by MC86 »

I've got a 3 1/2 year old and 17 month old and am trying to plan a lunch for this Friday downtown.  We're going to the Clifford deal at Crown Center and wanted to get lunch somewhere.  I know about Fritz's in Crown Center and was just there with my girls a few months back so didn't really want to go back there.  Is there anywhere else that may be suitable for kids in the downtown core?  I'm thinking about maybe treating them to a Bryant's experience.
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Re: Good places for Kids to eat Downtown

Post by KCPowercat »

Crayola cafe would work. Minskys. Pizza Bella.
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Re: Good places for Kids to eat Downtown

Post by KCMax »

In Crown Center there Crayola Cafe and the food court with a number of options and a Panera across the street.

The Cafe in Union Station seems to be open again - it seems kid friendly enough.

I think you could take kids to Grinders West, couldn't you?

In P&L you could take kids to Gordon Biersch or Famous Dave's or Chipotle or Fran's or Ted's Montana Grill or The Mixx.

Kids like pizza - you have Pizza Bella and Art of Pizza.

I would think kids would be okay with Ingredient.
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chrizow
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Re: Good places for Kids to eat Downtown

Post by chrizow »

town topic.

mexican.

bbq. 
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Re: Good places for Kids to eat Downtown

Post by mean »

Los Corrals & Los Thules. There's both a Subway and Quiznos on Broadway if you're into that. The Peanut is kinda divey, but I've seen plenty of kids in there eating BLTs and such during the day. Red Dragon?
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Re: Good places for Kids to eat Downtown

Post by chrizow »

mean wrote: Los Corrals
their cheese enchilada dish with the runny eggs on top is seriously addictive.  i'd eat five plates of it right now.
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Re: Good places for Kids to eat Downtown

Post by MC86 »

Thanks for the replies.  I think it's going to be the Crayola Cafe.  I'm still going to push for Bryant's, though.
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Re: Good places for Kids to eat Downtown

Post by cknab1 »

at least with Crayola you will still be in the same complex, no loading or unloading of kids.
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Re: Good places for Kids to eat Downtown

Post by droopy »

MC86 wrote: Thanks for the replies.  I think it's going to be the Crayola Cafe.  I'm still going to push for Bryant's, though.
I think most options have been touched on.  I've been to Crayola a bunch with my kids.  They like it, I think it's lousy but expesive food (on par with Fritz's for quality).  But it is convenient and the 3.5 year old will like it.  My kids love just running around in Union Station's main hall.  If the cafe is open, that is a good option for a quick bite and some more play (if you need it after Clifford).  The walkway between Crown Ctr and Union Station is entertainment in itself as well, along with the waterfall in the hotel on the way.
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Re: Good places for Kids to eat Downtown

Post by MC86 »

droopy wrote: I think most options have been touched on.  I've been to Crayola a bunch with my kids.  They like it, I think it's lousy but expesive food (on par with Fritz's for quality).  But it is convenient and the 3.5 year old will like it.  My kids love just running around in Union Station's main hall.  If the cafe is open, that is a good option for a quick bite and some more play (if you need it after Clifford).  The walkway between Crown Ctr and Union Station is entertainment in itself as well, along with the waterfall in the hotel on the way.


I wasn't impressed with Fritz's at all.  Very crowded, service and food were pretty awful.  I guess the allure of the train keeps people coming back?  I'm not expecting greatness from Crayola but it can't be much worse. 
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Re: Good places for Kids to eat Downtown

Post by cknab1 »

droopy wrote:   The walkway between Crown Ctr and Union Station is entertainment in itself as well, along with the waterfall in the hotel on the way.


Just an FYI, the walkway from Crown Center to Union Station is closed at the halfway mark.  They are still remodeling the old harvey house area for new tenants.
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Re: Good places for Kids to eat Downtown

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MC86 wrote: I wasn't impressed with Fritz's at all.  Very crowded, service and food were pretty awful.  I guess the allure of the train keeps people coming back? 
We tried C.C. Fritz's last week (3y.o. & 18m.o.) and the food was terrible.  I had been to the KCK Fritz's many times over the years and never thought it was that terrible.
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Re: Good places for Kids to eat Downtown

Post by KCMax »

No one goes to Fritz's for the food. My kid loves it there.
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Re: Good places for Kids to eat Downtown

Post by grovester »

KCMax wrote:
I think you could take kids to Grinders West, couldn't you?
Just be careful which table you sit at.
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Re: Good places for Kids to eat Downtown

Post by trailerkid »

cknab1 wrote: Just an FYI, the walkway from Crown Center to Union Station is closed at the halfway mark.  They are still remodeling the old harvey house area for new tenants.
People are going to have to walk on (GASP!) sidewalks in the Crown Center/Union Station complex?!?!
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Re: Good places for Kids to eat Downtown

Post by Major KC Fan »

The cafe in Union Station is a great atmosphere for kids.  The Harvey House did move into the old Union Cafe space in the middle of the Great Hall.  It has the same menu as when it was in the old Harvey House space--burgers and such.  It's two levels so the kids would like sitting on the upper level.  To get there from Crown Center you only need to go on The Link to the corner of Main and Pershing where you can go down the elevator to the street level.  From there you simply use the crosswalk button to get the light to cross Main Street to the Union Station property.  Using the street crosswalk will give the kids a feel for a real city--not an encased, climate-controlled bubble.  Have fun!
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Re: Good places for Kids to eat Downtown

Post by warwickland »

Downtown KC needs a hot dog place with a rotating sign.

Crap i just gave it away.
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Re: Good places for Kids to eat Downtown

Post by slimwhitman »

trailerkid wrote: People are going to have to walk on (GASP!) sidewalks in the Crown Center/Union Station complex?!?!
We tried to use the bridge last weekend, only to get to the very end and it was blocked off.  We then had to backtrack and the door was locked to get into the elevator.  So...more backtracking all the way back to Crown Center.
Sure...you joke about people having to walk outside, but the Pershing & Main zone is an unbearable streetscape.  Highway-wide streets and brutal exposure to the heat.  Not fun with the 3 y.o. and 18m.o.  It's not like a pleasant walk in Westport or the C.C. Plaza.  Storefronts?  No.  Just a brutal highway-like streetscape.  I want my climate controlled bridge back.
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Re: Good places for Kids to eat Downtown

Post by trailerkid »

slimwhitman wrote: We tried to use the bridge last weekend, only to get to the very end and it was blocked off.  We then had to backtrack and the door was locked to get into the elevator.  So...more backtracking all the way back to Crown Center.
Sure...you joke about people having to walk outside, but the Pershing & Main zone is an unbearable streetscape.  Highway-wide streets and brutal exposure to the heat.  Not fun with the 3 y.o. and 18m.o.  It's not like a pleasant walk in Westport or the C.C. Plaza.  Storefronts?  No.  Just a brutal highway-like streetscape.  I want my climate controlled bridge back.
perhaps Main/Pershing and Crown Center would have a chance of being more pedestrian-oriented if there weren't skywalks everywhere.

by your logic...why not not build "climate controlled bridges" all over the city and turn every street into a highway? that same highway runs next to the Plaza, Westport, Union Hill, et al. i'm sorry you had to deal with the reality of the mess created in Kansas City instead of Oak Park Mall.

I can't think of a more depressing view of Union Station than entering on the mezzanine level of the shuttered Harvey House through a fucking skyway.
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Re: Good places for Kids to eat Downtown

Post by aknowledgeableperson »

It would appear that you do not have experience taking care of two kids younger than 4.  Especially with the heat.
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