We love discovering local restaurants when on the road. When you have small kids, it is very easy to default to a known and trusted favorite – like Culvers or Subway. Those restaurants are prevalent, consistent, and relatively cheap. But there is no culinary experience to be had, no adventure, and no memory to be made by sticking to the same old thing.
Recently, we made a trip to Dubuque, Iowa to visit the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium. Since we had a little extra fun money for this trip, we decided we’d eat out for lunch. We did a quick internet search to see what sort of restaurants were along our route. Sure enough, we found plenty of Culver’s, Subways, and McDonalds. Although we took note of their locations, we weren’t interested in eating at those establishments, not as a first choice anyway. We decided to head into the town of Platteville to see what they had to offer on their main street. Since they have a small Co-Op and a university, we felt confident that we’d find something to eat.
As we walked down Main Street, we were happy to stumble upon Steve’s Pizza Palace. Situated in a 2 story historic building, this very large restaurant had a ton of atmosphere (walk around and see if you can find the boat). A quick glance at their menu assured us that everyone would have plenty of meal choices. We decided to give it a try.
Our kids wanted spaghetti with marinara. Oddly enough, there was no kid’s menu, or items on the regular menu, identified as a child-friendly choice. We thought we were stuck with an adult portion of $8.95 pasta with red sauce. But TR Mom thought to ask if there was any way to get a smaller size. Our knowledgeable waiter quickly pointed out that he could do a kid’s portion and wouldn’t charge extra for their drinks. Excellent! TR Mom and Dad both chose a Veggie Pita. Again, our waiter helped by pointing out that the pita only came with tomato, onion, and sauce. He recommended we order additional veggies for it and we followed that advice. The kids wanted French fries, and again, our sharp waiter suggested we add them to our adult sandwiches to save money. Sold!
Our food came out quickly. The portions were HUGE and quite tasty. The pita bread on our sandwiches was fantastic and our kids loved the breadsticks. The french fries were tremendous! Our only complaint was that the marinara sauce was a bit heavy on the pepper and that spiciness turned off our Bluey.
We thoroughly enjoyed our meals and our exceptional service at Steve’s Pizza Palace. Our kids had a great time and we know we’ll be back soon!
