The experience

I know, I know, this week we’ve been a little late on our posts.  This time it was for good reason, we were taking a let’s beat the winter blues vacation given to us by Santa Claus!  We were…Goin’ to the Lodge…Great Wolf Lodge…Okay, enough cheesiness (I think I’m about to embark on some irony), let’s get back to the blog.  So, we checked out the restaurants at the Lodge and we were lucky to find a spot for dinner and one for breakfast.  Blog issue solved!  After we got settled in, Ogre and Mina went to the waterpark while Benji slept and slept.  I did nothing interesting.  Benjamin slept so long that Ogre and Mina then started on a “MagiQuest” Adventure.  FINALLY, Benji woke up and we were able to head to dinner at the Camp Critter Bar and Grille on the fourth floor of the lodge.  It looks over the lobby on one side of the restaurant.  We picked a booth, though, which was on the opposite side.

Mina was quick to tell me about the “magic wand” she picked up.  “Mommy, this one really IS magic!!”  She said.  Ogre mouthed “and expensive.”  I guess it was like 50 bucks for the game and the wand with $15 unicorn topper.  Geez.  Mina was pretty stoked though!  Benjamin was still a little groggy from the nap and after we put in our drink order, he kept perseverating on “uh uh juice” (apple juice) and “straw baby” (strawberries) -which, by the way, he’d be getting neither as we ordered him a mango lemonade! 

DSC00423

 

It took a little while for our drinks to arrive, but when it did, it was worth the wait.  The kids’ drinks came in souvenir “shakers” and he made the drinks right there. 

DSC00425

 

DSC00424Ogre’s drink came in a mini strobe light cup.  Ogre told her to point her wand at it and she was amazed when the light turned off (Ogre used his tricky finger under the cup).  We put in our dinner order and now it was time to wait for dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

Mina was busy with the crayons and coloring placemat they gave her.  Benji was busy not staying seated.  We decided he’d be okay running around the area right by our booth.  He certainly was much happier doing that! 

 

DSC00428

 

When the food arrived, he came back and sat down.  He really didn’t eat much as he was feeling under the weather, but he did request more fries a few times. 

DSC00422

 

Ogre and I almost forgot about the cute little pot of smoked gouda macaroni cheese we’d ordered as our side.  Would’ve been a shame, too, if we’d forgotten.  Those were THE MOST luscious macaroni  and cheese I have EVER had.  I know this is selfish, but I wished I’d ordered my own and was kind of glad when Ogre took the kids down for storytime at the clock tower downstairs.  Hee hee, I was able to finish it off myself.  He made mention of it when he returned.  For me (who hates the water), THAT was the best part of our mini-vacation!!

Mina trying the gouda:

DSC00435

 

The food

They served KID FRIENDLY bar food -that’s almost an oxymoron.  It actually has quite a bit of kid friendly forethought in their menu!  We were very impressed.

DSC00433I ordered the pulled pork sandwich with fries.  Honestly, nothing looked super enticing to me, as would be expected for me in a restaurant of this sort.  The sandwich was just “okay” in my opinion.  Ogre thought it was pretty good.  It wasn’t bad, but it was not anything to write home about either.

 

DSC00434Ogre ordered the Fish Tacos.  Now, he said they were excellent!  He said he was very pleasantly surprised and thought it was better than most places he’s had fish tacos, resort or not.  He particularly liked the chipotle aioli sauce and commented that had it not been for his pesky diet, he would’ve slathered the tacos in the stuff.

I’ve already lauded the smoked gouda macaroni and cheese.  It was so cream and had a wonderful smoked gouda flavor.  I am going to have to track down the recipe!!  I even wanted to have it today for lunch, but alas, this restaurant is only open in the evenings!  I can’t get enough of that cheesiness and will look forward to the day we go back to the Lodge…and Ogre and I will each get our own!

DSC00432

 

DSC00431Mina ordered macaroni and cheese.  Plain and simple. Kraft brand.

 

 

Their kids menu has spaghetti and meatballs, chicken fingers, hamburgers, quesadillas, hot dogs, mac and cheese, among other things and comes with applesauce, fries or carrots and ranch.  One cute choice was They also have cute things like the lemondae with a “shot” of some type of fruit to make mango lemonade or strawberry lemonade, etc. 

 

The service

Our server was excellent.  He was courteous, attentive, fun for the kids.  We liked him a lot!  The drinks and food were a tad slow coming out, but not too awful.  Overall, I think service was above average.

 

The kids

This was a ridiculously kid friendly restaurant!!  Except for the bar part, ignore the bar part.  That’s the adult-friendly part.  Other than the ambience, it’s got a great kids menu with very kid oriented choices, crayons and coloring/games for the kids and, well, they are about to spend the night at a hotel with a huge waterpark, arcades, kids-only spa, and hotel wide “scavenger hunt” (the MagiQuest game).  What could be more kid friendly.

As far as hotel restaurants go in this type of resort setting, I never really have high expectations for the food.  This place was actually really good!  I would recommend eating here versus going out of the hotel to eat!  Heck, I liked it better than the Old Hickory!

The total: $85 including a 20-25% tip

Related Fiascos