American Girl- Washington DC

I mentioned we'd be back right? When we asked the girls where they wanted to go have dinner for their birthday's they said the American Girl Doll place. Hermm. Here's my first review of the place. The girls did say they wanted tea this time, but because of schedules we had to make reservations for dinner instead. I wasn't too disappointed we couldn't have tea. Other than the fact that it does cost less. Tea is $12.  Dinner was $17 a person. Except for Pixie she ordered off of the Bitty Bear's Picnic menu, $7.50 - not bad it comes with an entree, drink, and dessert. Prices don't include tax and tip. 

Each of the girls brought a doll along with them. So they got little seats to sit in. Of course you can borrow a doll or bring a teddy bear also. This is Diva's doll, Marie-Grace.
We got to the mall a little early so the girls and their cousin could look around the store. They all fell in love with Saige, the girl of the year. Diva really wanted her and Caroline. I told her I guess she's got some saving up to do. Piglet had just purchased Molly a week before our dinner. It was fun walking around and seeing all the accessories and the girls got to play with some of the items. All the salespeople on the floor were very helpful,  I had some questions about certain items and they were knowledgeable or found someone who knew the answer for me.

Our table was ready well ahead of our reserved time. We just decided to wait until all of our party was present. We were waiting on SIL and DH. So it was 7 of us for dinner total. We were seated promptly. I mentioned when making reservations that we had a peanut allergy and that we were celebrating 4 birthday's but did not want a birthday package. When we were seated they brought us favor bags and I had to remind them that we didn't reserve with the birthday package, sigh. I just wasn't going to be able to do $30 a child and $20 per adult. I did feel bad about that. BUT I did pack these "favors" for the girls

I used boxes from Pick Your Plum and I put American Girl stickers, lip balm, and a small tub of Mike and Ikes in them.  Then I put the girls names on the front with a label. I used their names but photoshopped them out for the pictures, I generally call my girls by their given names. Except Pixie. I found the stickers on clearance for 25 cents a pack. 

Our service was OK this time for our meal. I had to remind them about DD's allergy. The staff were professional and very helpful. We decided to take Pixie's dessert to go. The waiter said that would be fine, but he brought her dessert in a sundae glass. We just transferred it to her plastic drink cup that was empty. We also had to send Pixie and my nieces food back to be warmed. The Mac and Cheese was cold. But once it was warmed it was good. Dinner came with a choice of appetizer and main course. Here is a link to the sample menu, which was the one we ordered off of. It was a pretty good selection. Appetizer portions were small. Which isn't a big deal but descriptions on the menu were misleading. Here are some pictures of what we had-

DH ordered the Sweet Potato fries as his appetizer. It was a small portion. The description on the menu reads-

SWEET POTATO FRIES

An abundant basket of our delicious sweet potato fries served with ranch dressing. Great for sharing!

A little misleading, it was a good portion for one I think. 

The Spinach Artichoke dip was really good. I will say that both SIL and I didn't feel so hot after dinner and we both ordered this, BUT the kids who ate off our plates didn't have any complaints. 

WARM ARTICHOKE-SPINACH DIP
Fresh spinach, artichokes, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese, topped
with toasted bread crumbs. Served warm with pita triangles.

Both my oldest and my niece had the Tomato Bisque. They both thought it was delicious. 

Piglet ordered these Pretzel Bites. They were warm and soft. She really liked them. I didn't get a taste.

SOFT PRETZEL BITES
Chewy pretzel bites served with creamy cheddar cheese and honey-mustard dipping sauces.

Our main dishes were as follows (sorry for the junk pictures)

HERB-ROASTED SALMON WITH LEMON-CAPER 

BUERRE BLANC

Served with mashed potatoes and sauteed green beans.

I ordered the salmon. It was wonderful. The fish was cooked perfectly. It wasn't dry. The green beans were crisp tender.

 ROASTED TURKEY CLUB SANDWICH

Roasted turkey, crisp bacon, tomatoes, lettuce, and 

mayonnaise, served on toasted wheat bread. Served 

with a small green salad or sweet potato fries.

DH ordered the club. Pretty straight forward.

 BEST -EVER CHICKEN TENDERS

Our chicken tenders are gently seasoned to 

perfection and served with a side of mac and cheese 

and a fresh fruit skewer

Our Niece ordered the Chicken Tenders, she said it was good and Pixie kept eating off of her plate. Pixie said she wanted to order that next time.
My SIL ordered the Asian Chicken Salad, I didn't get a picture. 

ASIAN CHICKEN SALAD

Roasted chicken, Napa cabbage, carrots, scallions, and 

sesame seeds tossed with soy-ginger-sesame vinaigrette 

and crispy wonton chips.

 PENNE PASTA WITH CHICKEN, BROCCOLI, 

AND SUN-DRIED TOMATOES

Tossed in light white wine sauce with fresh herbs, crimini 

mushrooms, and grated parmesan.

Diva's Penne Pasta was so good. SIL and I finished off the mushrooms, the sauce was very good. Diva at most of it.

 Pixie ordered off the 4 years and under menu. Last time probably, she's turning five next month! She got Mac and Cheese, vegetables, and fruit. She ate everything but her melon I think. 

SPAGHETTI WITH LITTLE MEATBALLS

Spaghetti noodles topped with marinara sauce, 

bite-sized meatballs, and parmesan cheese.

Piglet ordered the spaghetti. She said it was good, except the bread. The meatballs were big, so we just cut them up, no biggie.

I thought the food was good. The girls want to go back to have tea at some point. DH and think it is probably a better "deal" for the experience, even if our meals were good. With tea you get little booklets for each child also. We also talked about maybe just stopping in for dessert.
Reservations are recommended, and for parties of 7 or more there is a $50 charge to hold the reservation. Which is fine, it knocks off $50 after the meal. I did have to remind our waiter though, and he fixed our bill.

My kids thought Saige's balloon was so awesome. Which is cool because their aunt sent them one for their birthdays! I admit I really like Saige and Josefina since they are from New Mexico.