In a continuation of birthday festivities the houseful (minus the cellist, who was in school,) trekked up north to Pinstripes Bowling& Bocce & Bistro in Northbrook, Illinois for a little Pinstripes Mom & Tots Bowling. Despite the title, dad and any other caregiver are ALWAYS welcome. Having never been to a Pinstripes before, I had no idea what to expect. I’m glad that I went in with a clean slate regarding bowling alley’s because, honestly, bowling alley food isn’t all that great most of the time, is it? Bowling with children usually isn’t as awesome as the idea sounds in your head either. Coming here though, will leave you pining for great food AND a game of 10 pin all smashed into each other.
When we entered, I was greeted with a very open and bright space. Lots of windows and natural light so you didn’t feel like you were bringing your children into a place that gives tattoos as part of a weekly special. Your slow nodding lets me know that you are EXACTLY aware of what I mean.
Pinstripes Mom & Tot Bowling
For Mom’s (and dad’s) and their tots, from 10-12 noon Monday through Friday can bowl for just $5 per child. Mom and dad or their caregiver are free. Shoe sizes only go as small as a 7, so the twizzlers had to bowl in their street shoes, but it turned out to be okay, because with the bowling ramp that they were using, they never got close enough to the fault line to cross.
Speaking of the bowling ramp. That invention is great on the self-esteem level of the kid. While our children didn’t bowl a perfect game (see below) they all broke 40 pins knocked down. Sir Twizzler, didn’t even care if pins were knocked down, he started his “I WIN, I WIN, I WIN,” dance as soon as the bowling ball met the lane.
The lightest bowling ball is 6 pounds – just in case you were wondering.
Let’s talk about the food for a moment though. HOT blueberry muffins, large fruit bowls, and a tuna salad sandwich that you wouldn’t expect. We loved it all. The thing that topped it off for me though – they serve Pepsi. People. If you love me, you will always have Pepsi. Our server was very attentive, and whenever our drinks low, she had another waiting for us – here’s the kicker though – she asked first with the children. LOVE IT!
All in all, the visit was a success, and now, three days later, I’m hearing from the three amigos that they want to go bowling again. THEY were the VIP’s and not all of the other people for once. Even though, there were other lanes in use, and some ladies playing Bocce, the day was all about them, and that my friends was the cherry on top. We will definitely be adding this venture into our rotation of things to do on rainy, snowy, coldish days with our tribe. It was that fantastic.
I was invited by Pinstripes to bowl with my children in exchange of an honest review. You can’t get much more honest than what I did up there. So, go. Enjoy. Thank me later. You can check them out at http://pinstripes.com/chicago/
Our Houseful LOVES comments! It warms our hearts to know that you're touched by something enough to say hello! We'll respond back to you! Promise!