Just Who Are Dave and Buster?

One of my absolute least favorite places in the world is Chuckie Cheese. I did my parental duty when my children were younger and did take them there, but I never left without a pounding heachache and super over-stimulated children. I can't begin to tell you how happy I was when they got too old to go there.

Then along comes Dave and Busters. Friends told me it was like Chuckie Cheese for adults. If they were trying to sell me on the place, that certainly wasn't the way to do it.

But, it was a sweltering, hot morning and I wasn't in the mood for chores. So, I loaded up the kids and headed to Dave and Busters. We had decided to have lunch first and then hit the flashing lights and ticket-spewing machines.

The menu was pretty impressive, but I still wasn't convinced that the food wouldn't taste like the frozen pizzas at Chuckie Cheese. And our waitress didn't seem the least bit happy to (1) be working that day, and (2) have my 'unique' family at one of her tables. She was grumpy and refused to give me a kids menu for Ashley even after I explained that Ashley was still mastering the fine art of eating by mouth. And, she almost rolled her eyes when I asked for a cup with a top on it.

When our food arrived, the manager did also. He said he was checking on how things were. I told him that the food looked wonderful, but that I had my doubts that Ashley would eat the macaroni and cheese, because, God forbid, it had bacon in it. He told me if it didn't work to just let him know and they would do something else for her. Okay....things were looking up.

As we made our way through lunch (Ashley ate the soup that I had secreted away in my purse), the grumpy waitress got a little friendlier. She talked about her kids, refilled our drinks, and helped box our leftovers.

After lunch, it was time to hit the arcade. Arcade may not be the right word, but I don't know another word that fits. It truly is like Chuckie Cheese for older kids and adults. There was even a bar and the beer was flowing by noon. I'm not sure I would want to take my children there in the evening, but morning seemed fine and other parents had their children there also.

The kids LOVED it, including Ashley. The flashing, colorful lights kept her amused for over an hour. We eventually ran out of 'credits' (tokens in Chuckie Cheese speak), and headed home.

My expectations for the trip were not high, and the start to lunch wasn't great. But all in all, it was an enjoyable couple of hours, and the kids are already asking when we can go back!