helpful tips for dining out with kids

Thank you to Buffalo Wings & Rings® for sponsoring this post! All thoughts & opinions, are 100% mine!

Before having kids, Nic and I used to go out to eat a couple of times a week, easy! We don’t go out nearly as much since having the girls, but when we do, we go to places that we know will work for our family!

Our newest go-to spot is Buffalo Wings & Rings, and you absolutely have to go and try for yourself.

My family and I were invited to check out Buffalo Wings & Rings newest Flavor On menu. I told Nic that there were seven flavors that have returned to the menu, which included: Charred Jalapeño Wings, Sam Adams® Beer Cheese Chicken Sliders, Old Bay® Fried Shrimp Basket, Bleu 42 Chicken Sandwich, Sam Adams® Beer Cheese Fries, Coconut Cooler and Turtle Lava Cake. Just reading that makes me want to go back soon because these tasty flavors will only be available through Sunday, June 2! You can see why Nic and I were excited to check out these GREAT menu favorites—they are not going to be around forever.

I remember the first few times we went out when it was just Ava and it was a bit nerve-wracking, not sure what we were about to get ourselves into! I think the kids feed off of your energy though – if you’re nervous and apprehensive, then they will be, too.

This is why I am such a fan of Buffalo Wings and Rings—it’s always a FUN, family-friendly atmosphere. On top of their Flavor On menu, they also have a $5,000 Flavor On Sweepstakes going on right now. Who is going to get nervous about that?! 🙂 Especially when it’s so easy to enter!

In two simple clicks, you can enter for a chance to win $5,000 while also enjoying a great meal with your family. The sweepstakes coincides with the Flavor On Menu, so it’ll last until Sunday, June 2 too. Go ahead and check out their sweepstakes here: https://www.buffalowingsandrings.com/sweeps

I totally give Buffalo Wings & Rings a thumbs-up when it comes to offering a restaurant environment your family will enjoy. I think it’s also helpful to have a game plan on how to eat out with kids, so here are some of our best tips for going out:

1)) GO EARLY. At home, we eat at 5PM nearly most nights! The girls’ internal clocks definitely have gotten used to this, so we know, if we can’t make it to a restaurant and be eating by 5:30, then we will have to wait for another night!

2)) Pick restaurants that have QUICK SERVICE. This is obvious, but so true! You’ll realize that some restaurants that you thought were quick before, are not! 🙂

3)) Opt for restaurants that have lots of SEATING OPTIONS. We typically enjoy a booth so we can keep our 3 year old contained 🙂 But, when it’s nice, it’s sooo enjoyable to sit outside on a patio for a change of pace. We like choosing tables that are in the middle of the restaurant vs. the corners so there is a lot going on for the girls to look at.

4)) ORDER APPETIZERS. We do this every time we dine out! Sometimes, it’s not even an “appetizer” but it’s a portion of their menu that we ask they bring out first. Also, having a couple of apps or meals casually sitting in the middle of the table invites the kids to try new foods with no pressure.

At Buffalo Rings & Wings, Nic and I had fun trying their Flavor On menu items. Guess what? The girls did, too!

5)) BRING ACTIVITIES. Don’t rely on the restaurant’s crayons/paper. Sometimes, our toddler goes for that, but other times she enjoys stickers or having her figurines for pretend play. Our 1 year old loves puffs or teething wafers to occupy her while she waits. Note: We don’t use our cell phones or iPads when they wait. A personal preference here, I know… but we are trying to teach our girls how to do just that – wait, as well as deal with boredom. It’s all what they get used to 🙂

6)) Don’t forget the BIB, WIPES, PLATES, & CUPS. Obviously, important! We’ve done this many times when eating out on the go when we weren’t planning for it. A good idea is to always have an extra bib, cup, and plastic plate in the car for times like these.

7)) Go to a restaurant that has A LOT OF MENU OPTIONS. This is one major reason we love Buffalo Wings & Rings, a Cincinnati-based sports restaurant and bar that has about 80 stores in the U.S. and overseas!

Obviously Buffalo Rings & Wings is known for their wings, which are fresh, never frozen and hand-breaded in-house. We LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the Charred Jalapeño Wings on their Flavor On Menu—such great flavor and if you wanted to spice it up even more you could order any sauce you’d like (I thought it was pretty mild, which was perfect for my taste).

If you are a fan of beer cheese, then this is the place for you. We tried the Sam Adams® Beer Cheese Chicken Sliders and Sam Adams® Beer Cheese Fries, both of which were fantastic (and had bacon).

While their beer cheese and wings are fantastic, you also definitely need to try their Old Bay® Fried Shrimp Basket. Nic and I thought it had the perfect balance of spices and tenderness, which we were happy to wash down with the Coconut Cooler. Yes, the Coconut Cooler is as refreshing as it sounds, thanks to the drink’s mix of Coco Reàl® Coconut and lime juice with Sprite®.

To top all of these tasty foods off, we still had to try the Bleu 42 Chicken Sandwich—a callout to football fanatics, I’m thinking, but also chicken fans as well. Loved the brioche bun and the chicken was so fresh. While it was great to try all these favorites, nothing was as sweet as the Turtle Lava Cake dessert, which brings the best of both worlds for those sweet tooth fans: warm chocolate topped with vanilla ice cream. Who can resist?

You can imagine how much fun we had trying all these Flavor On Favorites with the girls. I nibbled on a bit of everything, but read on to see which was my favorite altogether.

I think Ava’s favorite had to be their chicken and French fries. It’s seriously one of those restaurants that has a little something for everyone, whether you’re craving wings, salads or shareable Fish n’ Chips, they pretty much have it! Plus, you can customize a lot of your orders.

You can choose traditional, boneless, grilled or cauliflower with your wing builds. I think one of the reasons why Nic and I loved the Charred Jalapeño Wings so much was that we could also add sauces so that you can match wings you want with the heat level you’re craving. Talk about a win for the whole family.

8)) Have them ORDER THEIR OWN MEAL. This one is two-fold: So they know exactly what they are receiving (no surprises, here) and to build their social skills. Practice eye contact and using manners!

9)) Keep an OPEN MIND. Sometimes, you’ll do everything you can to make sure a meal out goes smoothly and it will still go awry! Especially with toddlers, one little thing can result in a meltdown. And you know what? IT’S OKAY. Recognize what may have went wrong, adapt, and move on. Have fun!

OUR FAVORITE FLAVOR ON MENU ITEM

I hope these tips will help your family the next time you’re thinking to eat out. My biggest tip overall would be to visit a Buffalo Wings & Rings restaurant soon! We had such a great time trying all their Flavor On Menu favorites that it was a serious challenge to try and figure out which was the favorite for us.

The verdict? The Charred Jalapeño Wings!!! You also can’t go wrong with wings at Buffalo Wings & Rings, and I definitely recommend entering into their sweepstakes if you haven’t already. When entering, you can vote which Flavor On menu item is your favorite, so it could make for a fun evening for the whole family. Think about what you can do with that prize!