Winfield: Gnarly Knots

View from the door of Gnarly Knots

Winfield, Illinois -- As the real-estate professionals often tell us, a good site is all about "location, location, location." Translated for grown-ups escorting small ones that means: "trains and food." May I present to you the culinary wonder that is Gnarly Knots of Winfield. Perhaps like my children, your little folk prefer to get all their dietary needs met through snacking. Gnarly Knots can oblige with a meal-sized pretzel the size of a kid's adorable salty face. Flavors change daily (and sell out quickly), but salted, cheese and pretzel dogs are favorites. Popular as this place is, you might find yourself standing in line for a moment or two. Not to worry. Gnarly Knots is conveniently situated just across the street from the tracks of Union Pacific's West Line. Waiting isn't waiting if it's staring at a Metra zipping by or a UP engine idling on the tracks. (Maybe the engineers needed a snack, too.) Gnarly Knots is just down the road from Hedges Station Depot, if you need sustenance after a railroad museum visit and a park outing. It's also just around the corner from the Central DuPage Hospital campus, making it even better than a sticker for a post check-up treat. 

Gnarly Knots: 27W570 High Lake Road, Winfield, IL 
 

Welcome to Gnarly Knots!

No Polar Express Here: Digging out from the Polar Vortex

We here at Railroad Kids headquarters are just now digging out of the Polar Vortex. Oh, there has been much building of trains this winter. It takes the skill of an Olympic slalom skier to navigate rooms that have been literally covered in wooden train tracks, Lego train tracks and Power Train tracks, not to mention the urban landscapes that said railroads traverse.  As always, our reading of train books and viewing of train videos goes on and on. 

With the layout
she built herself 

Unfortunately, between the frigid cold and the epic power of Winter Germs, we haven't been out to visit many train sites this winter. We aren't the only ones who have sequestered ourselves. I was heartbroken to see the season has been too tough for a great little restaurant in Geneva. Last month, the Boxcar train restaurant announced that it was closing its doors. It was nice place: tasty food, fun for the kids, decorated in a way that even adults could appreciate. The Boxcar will be missed. 

After Christmas there was certainly a lull in train-themed family activities of all sorts, but take heart, those types of events are picking up again. May I point to the Chicago Family Palooza happening this very day in at Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles? If you can't stand today's return to snow and icy winds, the many, many indoor attractions include a trackless train ride. It's the kind of thing that my kids would love if all three were healthy simultaneously. Alas, such is not the case. 

So, we continue to dream of Spring. Even now, my two year old is making a substantial Duplo train and station right here in the living room. No cough can hold him back from his engineering pursuits. Someday soon we hope to get out and ride the rails again. Until then, we build, build build! 

Road trip alert: Wisconsin Dells and Middleton, Wisconsin

A past visit to the
Mid-Continent Railway Museum
in North Freedom, Wisconsin

Wisconsin Dells -- Our holiday plans took us up to the Wisconsin Dells last week. While we didn't have time to take in the area tourist attractions beyond our hotel pool, our Senior Engineer noticed several activities he would like to visit next time we are in the area. (Once kids start to read well, nothing escapes their notice, does it?) When your travel plans take you north, too, here are some fun outings ideas for your own train fans: 

• Buffalo Phil's Pizza & Grill: Find this restaurant at the Tanger Outlet Mall and enjoy food delivered by train. 
• Riverside & Great Northern Railway: When this 15-inch gauge railroad opens in the spring, you'll be able to enjoy a steam train ride along a three-mile route through the scenic Dells. There's also a free museum and gift shop. 
• Mid-Continent Railway Museum: Located not to far away in North Freedom, this is a museum my family has been visiting for years, so the kids are eager to enjoy it again soon. A "Snow Train" weekend is coming up in mid-February, then the season opens for good in May. In the meantime, website visitors can follow the "Restoration Journal" to see the progress volunteers are making on the museum's steam engine collection. 

Travel Tangent: On your way to or from the Dells, you might find yourself in need of refreshment. I love quirky museums, so it was a delight to finally stop at the National Mustard Museum in Middleton, near Madison. Further proof that trains are everywhere you look, among the vast collection of mustard jars from around the world, we found model train cars emblazoned with mustard brands. They are something to peek at while pondering which of the hundreds of mustard varieties you might want to sample with the museum's fresh pretzels. Yummy fun!

At the Mustard Museum, Middleton Wisconsin

At the Mustard Museum, Middleton Wisconsin

Train Restaurant Deals and Activities in November

Eating a burger at 2 Toots 

Facebookians, the train restaurants of Chicagoland are sweetening the dinner pot to encourage you to bring in the kids this month. Just yesterday, posts from three railroad restaurants popped up in my Facebook feed with enticing deals. Boxcar Train Restaurant in Geneva is offering a 15 percent discount to guests who mention their Facebook post this weekend. In Forest Park, the Junction Diner will be celebrating their first anniversary on Nov. 9 with a party from 12 until 3 pm., including menu specials, kids' games, face painting and a special guest. All Aboard Diner on the south side of Downers Grove is holding a coloring contest until Nov. 15. The winner will receive a 15-guest pizza party at Pro Martial Arts, also in Downers Grove. 

As long as you're getting hungry liking train restaurants on Facebook, try these, too:

• 2 Toots Train Whistle Grill in Glen Ellyn and Bartlett 
• The Choo Choo Restaurant in Des Plaines 
• Choo Choo Johnny's in Naperville 

So log on and like your favorite spots. It will make planning your next family dinner out a little easier and a lot more fun.

Train-lovers: Vote for favorite places

Entrance to
The DuPage Children's Museum

This business of entertaining young train lovers is a serious thing. Serious enough that "Best place for train-watching" is one of the categories parent-types can vote for in the first Chicago Parent Best of the Best Awards. Here are the contenders (selected by reader nominations):

• 2 Toots Cafe (Bartlett and Glen Ellyn)
• DuPage Children's Museum, second floor (Naperville)
• Riding the 'L' around the loop
• Illinois Railway Museum (Union)
• Ogilvie Transportation Center 

If being an informed voter inspires you to try visit those in the running, one more place deserves your attention. The very next category offers Forest Park's Junction Diner restaurant as a choice for "Best spot for playdate lunches." Yes, this is Chicago, but only one vote per email address will be accepted. Results will be available online in late December.

As a nice incentive, Chicago Parent is offering a chance to win $100 for casting a ballot. Go to their website and make your choices known by Friday, Oct. 18.

Some of the artwork displayed on the second-floor Trains exhibit
at the DuPage Children's Museum

Geneva: Boxcar Restaurant

In celebration of the end of the school year, we visited the new Boxcar Restaurant in downtown Geneva this week. The moment we walked in it became my new favorite train restaurant. Just like other railroad-themed restaurants in the area, this one surrounds you in train decor, brings food to the table on a model train, and is heavily populated by a young, train-loving crowd. The difference is that the decor is warm and cozy. (And not too noisy!) Realizing that the grownups bringing their young diners to the restaurant want a nice meal in a comfortable space, the owners of this place have panted the walls in warm earth tones fitting a classy Geneva restaurant. The train decorations, including a wonderful wall-filling black and white photo of Geneva's station in steam engine days, have a classic vintage feel. There are TVs to watch while the meal is on its way (tuned to Nick Jr and Sprout when we were there) but my kids spent their waiting time with their faces against the window watching the Metra drop off commuters at the Geneva station. They also loved the ride-on, coin-operated train. Despite their inability to sit at the table for the meal, they still managed to grab enough bites between excited "The bells are ringing!" moments to finish their entire meals. My husband and I enjoyed our food, too. So, praise to the kitchen staff for respecting the taste buds of their clientele. Most glorious of all, with everything to watch around him, my toddler actually stayed in his seat from the time we came in until it was time for all of us to go. That never happens. Boxcar, I love you!

Find the Boxcar at 500 S. Third Street in Geneva, just two doors down from Geneva's Metra station. 

Aurora: Choo Choo's Restaurant

Push a button and this crossing signal lights up

The Hershey train brings meals and desserts to kids

With coupons for free kids meals in hand, thanks to awards from our library's summer reading program, we headed to Choo Choos in Aurora. To be perfectly honest, without those certificates, it would have been a tough sell for the grown ups. The seen-better-days landscaping doesn't exactly entice anyone in. Meandering past a Browns Chicken sign, through the Mexican restaurant half of the business and then sinking into a booth that has long since lost any supportive abilities doesn't set the stage well for a good dinner. The kids, however, have a completely different perspective. The back of the restaurant is dedicated to trains and ice cream, so there's ample train decor to look at. An animated Christmas village can be control by kids pushing buttons while waiting for their food. Meals come to kids on a train that meanders through the village and up to the tables, one trip for the main meal and another for the ice cream. So, I wouldn't call it a destination restaurant, but then I'm not a train-loving child. In their minds, any place that brings them food on a train is good indeed. Know your audience, restaurateurs. Just give their parents a reason to come back, too, please. 

Bartlett: 2 Toots

Two of our children had birthdays last week. In honor of the now 4-year old's special day, and because of the free kid's meal coupon from their birthday club, our celebration took us back to 2 Toots Train Whistle Grill. Since we had just been to the Glen Ellyn restaurant last week, we decided to try the second and newest location in Bartlett. 

It was a good choice. The Bartlett 2 Toots serves food just as tasty as the Glen Ellyn store and every seat in the house here, too, is trackside for meal delivery via model train. The decor is similar in both restaurants. Train pictures and memoriablia cover almost every inch of the walls, even in the bathrooms. A TV in the corner runs a Thomas the Tank Engine video constantly. My six-year old votes for Bartlet for his favorite of the two places, though. Bartlett's 2 Toots has enormous windows overlooking the the Metra station and tracks across the street. There's also a large mirror on the back wall for those facing away from the windows during their meal. Though I think it's safe to assume that it's out of 2 Toots hands which engines run on the Milwaukee District West Line, my son was thrilled by seeing not one, not two, but three new Metra engines while we ate. Near as I can tell it's the  MP36PH-3S if you were wondering. We don't often see that particular engine on the lines closer to our home, so that alone made the trip worthwhile for him. For the birthday girl, the cupcake and train whistle that rounded the restaurant track just for her made the day pretty okay, too. We noticed the baby, who hasn't started waving to people yet, did an awful lot of waving to the train every time in came out of the kitchen. Aside from Mom and Dad trying to shake the oldies tunes from our heads once we left, everyone had a fine time.

After our dinner, we crossed the street to peek in the windows of the Metra station and the Bartlett Depot Museum. Both were closed for the day when we were there, but having them so close makes Bartlett a good choice for a fuller train outing during lunchtime. Thankfully, it's a no-horn zone for the railroad, so noise isn't an issue for my little ones' sensitive ears. Another possible source of noise would be from the local fire department's station across the street from 2 Toots. All was well and quiet while we were there, though. Trains, fire trucks, food! It's kid heaven.

(Grown ups, take a peek at the renovation photos of the 1873 Bartlett Depot Museum on their website. The entire structure needed to be lifted to pour a new foundation. Impressive project and fine results!)

More Wheaton (and Glen Ellen): Cosley Zoo and 2 Toots

We just can't get enough Wheaton this week. Earlier in the week we visited the DuPage County Historical Society for a peek at their model railroad. Wednesday night found us in the area again in need of dinner, so we stopped at the ever popular 2 Toots in nearby Glen Ellyn. Today, in an effort to prove to my daughter that kids can have other interests, we went to see the animals at Wheaton's Cosley Zoo. Turns out her favorite part there was the caboose. Just can't fight the train love.

A past meal at 2 Toots during Christmastime

 2 Toots is probably the favorite restaurant of most small railroad aficionados in the area. The concept is simple but well executed: food is delivered via model train. Guests can sit at the counter or at booths -- all seats are along the track. While waiting for the meal to come out of the kitchen and around the bend, there is plenty of railroad decor to study, a Thomas video to watch, and Metra trains passing just outside. It's impossible to have a conversation with kids at 2 Toots beyond, "Look at that!" but it's one of the few places that manages to keep busy bodies in their seats until the end of the meal. The joy of this place for Mom and Dad (and other grownups) is that the food isn't an afterthought. 2 Toots knows how to make a good meal. It's standard dinner fair, but very satisfactory.

Cosley Zoo's caboose 

Just a few miles away, Wheaton's Cosley Zoo offers a very manageable outing for families with preschoolers. It's a small zoo with a duck pond, farm animals and wildlife native to the area. Within the zoo's bright red caboose is an exhibit about Illinois' natural world. The gift shop, cafe and restrooms are located "across the tracks" in a what was once Wheaton's first train station. It's just a cute place to visit.