On Monday night, I ventured to Austin for a birthday party. During the drive down, I wondered to myself if I was actually traveling a great distance to do something which has become, well, less than my favorite thing to do.
I love my friends and their kids. The kids are funny and full of life and there are many activities in which I delight in them. In particular, I like playing with them on the grandparents' playground. That's their element.
Engaging in conversation around the dinner table, well, they're not there yet. So dining out with these little people becomes a battle. And I calculated the number of kids that were sure to be at the birthday party and I was more than a little concerned that my little trip might be a mistake.
Luckily, the birthday girl was way ahead of me. She had chosen a restaurant on South 1st Street in Austin that features shaded outdoor seating adjacent to a playground. Also in attendance at this birthday party was WacoFork co-founder Cory Webb, so we discussed whether our town has this kind of ideal playground setting at an actual real grown-up restaurant (as opposed to a fast food joint that includes a playground).
We do. Sort of.
Taqueria Arandas serves up all the taqueria standards with a few interesting twists including lots of cactus. They also have a playground.
Granted, it's not the fanciest playground I've ever seen. But from what I can tell, any old playground will do for the toddler diner. Any playground at all prevents the kids from crawling under the table as a makeshift playground.
Do I sound like a grumpy old man yet?
Along with the actual playground, I found a menu item which turned out to be a playground for my taste buds. Alambres, as photographed, is essentially a fajita-kabob. The skewer alternated fajita beef, bacon, onions and bell peppers. It was served with tortillas, guacamole, beans and rice. The waitress brought out green sauce as well. In other words, a bunch of irresistible options.
There's not a ton of outdoor seating, just a couple of booths. But Taqueria Arandas is worth a shot for parents looking for more dining-out options.
