There’s now another reason why families will want to visit our favorite children’s museum in the Chicagoland area, DuPage Children’s Museum — Bean Sprouts. Replacing the S.M.A.R.T. Cafe, Bean Sprouts is a nationally recognized café concept where kids and families participate in a playful eating experience. And what a fun eating experience it is!
Highlights:
- Kiddie atmosphere. The atmosphere and bright, colorful, and clean. You’d expect nothing else at a kids restaurant, right? Keeping with the “pea” theme, the walls are a pea green, and you have colorful chairs plastic chairs. There’s plenty of seating, so you won’t have to worry about scrambling for a seat.
- Kids can order. With a menu on the counter and at their height, kids can easily pick and choose what they want to order. Plus, the staff was so helpful…and patient.
- Cute food. Let’s face it, you all know that if the food is cute the kids will most likely eat it. These are just so adorable!
Their Do-Re-For-Me, a nut-free PB&J option made with sunflower butter and organic jam, has been awarded as the nation’s Best Kids’ Meal. Let me tell you, this sunflower butter is my new jam!
- Food grownups will WANT to eat. Not only is the food good for the kids, but they have adult choices as well. They offer both a warm and cold option. My husband and I split the Chicken Pesto Chango (warm option) and The Great Turkado (cold), and both agreed that the Chicken Pesto Chango was SO good. Like I’m-craving-it-as-we-speak good. Imagine chicken and tons of mozzarella and sun-dried tomatoes on a ciabatta roll. The nut-free pesto was a definite game changer. Yum!
- Caters to those with dietary restrictions and allergies. Everything can be made gluten-free if it hasn’t already, and everything is nut-free. For those who are interested in calories, they have a nutrition binder with all that information.
Bottom Line:
Yes, finally! I’m so excited to find the DuPage Children’s Museum has another reason to visit. An easy healthy and delicious option for families. Guaranteed to bring a smile your and your kids face.
Tips:
If you want more of this yummy goodness, the Bean Sprouts founders wrote a book with my healthy, yummy recipes that kids will eat.
Nitty Gritty:
Website: https://dupagechildrens.org/visit/cafe/
Location: Lower level, 301 N Washington St., Naperville, IL
Parking: Plenty of parking at the museum.
Disclosure: Our family was a provided complimentary meal in exchange for a review. I was not required to express a particular point of view, and all opinions are my own.
I am SO disappointed in the new cafe. Limited menu, and “cutesy” ways to serve the food, not all kids need food decorated to eat it. My kid took one bite of the new grilled cheese (which we asked for to be made without the face and cut like a real grilled cheese) and she hated it. She would eat every bite of the SMART cafe one and requested to eat there all the time. We have been members for years and we both looked forward to lunch there. I craved the turkey sandwich with those amazing chips that were like no where else. (I did noticed they stopped serving the chips lately, I should have seen the end of delicious food was near.) The food was wonderful, homemade and special before. I actually think the options were fresher and healthier before. I was embarrassed to bring the extended family there after raving about SMART cafe, wish we would have just left the museum for lunch. The cafe used to be a highlight and a must stop for us. Now we won’t ever be back to the cafe 🙁 The museum is amazing. Sadly without the good lunch option it will probably mean less time there too.