Kid-Friendly Near USC

[WestsideLisa]

I'm looking for a lunch spot after a trip to the Museum of Natural History tomorrow, and we'll have two 2-year-olds in tow. Are there any family-friendly places in that area? Something with a kids' menu and highchairs would work. I called Viztango Cafe, and they only have one highchair in the whole restaurant...and we need two!

Thanks.

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Viztango Cafe
3017 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90007

[aching]

I guess this is too late to help you, but for the future I would suggest El Cholo (the original one, on Western) or maybe Rosa Mexicano at LA Live. Both would require a short drive, but I think might be better suited to your needs. Another option would be Mercado La Paloma, which is definitely not fine dining but probably would work very well and is walkable from Expo Park.

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El Cholo
1121 S Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90006

Mercado La Paloma
3655 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90007

[WestsideLisa]

We ended up going to Langer's, even though it was a bit of a hike (and sketchy to walk around there with a couple of two year olds!) The adults shared the famous No. 19, and the kids shared a grilled cheese. Everyone was happy with the food, but the service was terrible. We were back in the corner booth, and completely ignored. We had to get up and go find someone to take our order (ended up being a manager or hostess...not sure, but she was dressed nicely and not in a server uniform), and then had to get up again to find someone to get our check. While the boys were happy with their grilled cheese, it is not really "kid friendly" in that they do not have a single highchair in the restaurant (booster seats only), and no kids' menu either. It was a very nice day, and we really did enjoy the food! Thanks for the rec.

[Ideefixed]

If highchairs are such an issue, maybe you should invest in those portable ones that hook on the table.

[WestsideLisa]

Honestly, they have never been an issue up until this particular outing. I've never even thought to ask if a restaurant has a highchair, as they have always had them...and that's over 2 years of eating out all over the city.

[justinelc]

I used to eat lunch at the Natural History Museum Cafe all the time when I went to school at USC. It was cheaper and fresher than campus food -- and kid-friendly. Unfortunately, it closed a few years ago. There is a food court at the California Science Center next door, but it's mostly fast food. Pasta Roma is very similar to Viztango Cafe, but bigger and may have more than one highchair. It's a couple blocks before Viztango. There's also an international food court at the University Village on the other side of campus that should accommodate kids.

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Viztango Cafe
3017 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90007

Pasta Roma
2827 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90007

[Tapeworm]

La Barca for sit-down Mexican. The area might feel sketchy, but there should be a few of LAPD's finest eating there.

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La Barca
2414 S Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90007

[wienermobile]

Langer's Deli is just a few miles away. Worlds best pastrami and a great deli. Very kid friendly. And a real treat for the adults.
http://www.langersdeli.com/

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Langer's Delicatessen
704 S Alvarado St, Los Angeles, CA 90057

[silverlakebodhisattva]

Langers, while they do have great pastrami, has not much else to recommend it here; it's no closer to the Nat History Museum than downtown is (it's the same (roughly) 32 blocks north) and their $5.50 PBJ hardly qualifies as a "kid friendly" menu item...

[silverlakebodhisattva]

My thought is that (a) I assume you're not looking for "fine dining" and (b) depending on how adventurous the palates of the kids in question are, I found that if you've got more than one kid along, going to a local ethnic resto and asking for a split adult item often yields WAY better, and healthier, and tastier food than most places' "kids' menus", which often seem to be geared overwhelmingly to stuff ("fish sticks", "chicken fingers", taquitos, fries, etc.) which can be pulled from the freezer and go directly into the deep-fry-o-lator.

The Mercado De Paloma, which is a somewhat nice "food-court" arrangement, strikes me as a possible place for this.

[silverlakebodhisattva]

Whoops: forgot the link:

http://www.mercadolapaloma.com/restau...