While staying at Mt. Olympus in Wisconsin Dells, the only food options on-site were a coffee shop in the main lobby and a fast food counter at the water park. Both had limited hours. We had to go off-site to eat. We skipped Paul Bunyan’s this time because there’s usually quite a line and it was awful last time since the kids have such a hard time waiting. It’s also very noisy and crowded in there and the seating is community style, which doesn’t really suit families like ours. Our kids end up crawling under the table, picking off other people’s plates and generally annoying everyone in the restaurant.
We had a great meal at Sprecher’s on Wisconsin Dells Parkway. They have a $5.00 kids menu with all the usuals like burgers, chicken and fries. We had fried cheese curds for an appetizer, which the kids loved. I had the schnitzel and my husband had the meatloaf, both excellent. My husband tried their version of Irish Stout, which tasted just like fresh Guinness in Ireland.
One afternoon, we stopped for lunch at the Rail Dog at 223 Wisconsin Avenue, which is just off Broadway, which is the main road downtown. The hot dog stand is a converted train caboose. We were served personally by the owner, a very nice Polish man, who kept giving the kids fries to keep them happy while he made our food and told us the story of converting the caboose into a food stand. At his recommendation, my husband and I shared tamales and a “Polish taco,” which is Polish sausage wrapped in a tortilla and deep fried – so good! If you ever plan to go to the Rail Dog, bring cash, as he does not accept credit cards.
Our favorite place was the buffet at Chula Vista. There were so many food choices, plenty for myself, my husband and my picky eater kids. Good quality food, too. We were able to get a large booth. Our current “system that works” in going to restaurants is to get the largest booth possible, have the kids sit on the inside and us on the outside. One of us gets up to get food for one kid first, then the other child. While they are busy eating, we take turns getting food for ourselves. I think next time we go to the Dells, we will stay at Chula Vista. It’s away from the downtown area and main strips of the Dells, but there’s enough to do at the resort that you wouldn’t really need to go into town, or just pick one day to drive into town.
On the way home, we always stop at the Tanger Outlet Mall. I really didn’t find any good deals on children’s clothing or shoes, but I found a new “work bag” for myself at Wilson’s Leather – originally $130.00 marked down to $40.00. I also found some sweaters on clearance at Old Navy for both myself and my husband – originally $35.00 marked down to $3.00. That’s not a typo, $3.00!
Buffalo Phil’s is a restaurant right by the Tanger Outlet Mall. There was a wait, but the kids were surprisingly patient. It was worth waiting, because your food is delivered to you on a train. My kids are both obsessed with trains. The food is very good. Sean had a burger and fries, Todd had chicken nuggets and fries, typical kid fare and they loved it. I had a bowl of cream of potato soup that was yummy and a pulled pork sandwich, which was delicious and so big, I brought half of it home. My husband had a chicken breast sandwich, but didn’t finish it because it was too dry. The service is quick and the train constantly moving around the counter keeps the kids occupied. That said, Sean went and sat at another table at one point to say hello to the customers sitting there. They were so incredulous and offended. Honestly, if a kid came over to our table to say hi, I would think it was cute. My kids like to leave restaurants as soon as they are done eating, which is difficult when the adults are not finished. Todd finished eating first and had a fit on the floor because he wanted to leave. The people in the restaurant were very kind in ignoring us. Please ignore us – autistic families are embarrassed enough when these things happen.
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