I can hear you now. "Nobody writes a restaurant review about Denny's!" Okay, you're right. But, just hear me out. Denny's is one of my granddaughter's favorite places. That means something important. After all, she's an expert in the art of having fun.
This story actually begins several years ago, well before she was even born. When her mother was about her age. One day, we all piled into my father-in-law's car and set-off on a roadtrip to California. This is when I learned more about Denny's than I ever really wanted to know. You see, my wife's dad was totally addicted to Denny's. He loved their coffee and everything else. So, we ate every meal between Texas and California at Denny's. Which wasn't all that hard to do. Seems one would be coming into view just about time for breakfast, or lunch, or dinner, or coffee break, or rest break, or snack, or...well, you get the idea. And, lucky for us, they are open 24/7.
Guess my granddaughter comes by this Denny's thing naturally. Must run in the family. Anyway, whenever we are out, Denny's is her first request.
When we arrive, she heads straight for the counter. Sitting on that stool, watching all those plates of food materialize thru a window, then to be whisked away is kind of interesting. And, there is the coloring and games. But, the main attraction is probably the Denny's drink rocket. It comes with some kind of fizzly stuff she can pour into her drink. Afterwards, you can take the rocket home (for a price, of course). In case you haven't guessed, the photo is of some of my granddaughter's growing rocket collection.
I always order the same thing - a breakfast item (a survival tactic I learned during our California trip). She always orders her favorite - kid's cheese pizza with grapes. So, why wouldn't all this be fun for a kid? Sounds like we have all the ingredients - spinning on a stool, coloring and playing games, drinking some fizzly concoction out of your very own rocket ship, eating pizza, and squirting grapes. I think all of that should qualify as fun for any kid. Oh, yeah. I almost forgot our concluding treat - a shared strawberry milkshake. I guess the place isn't that bad after all.
Next time, you need to entertain a kid (and all the McDonald's are closed), think Denny's. It ain't that bad.
R. Steve McCollum, Arlington Texas Attractions.com