Going out to eat with a 3- and 1-year-old has its challenges. It can be done and I definitely have a bag of tips and tricks to make it all a little bit easier. And we definitely have a list of kid-friendly spots (forever thankful to Tony C's in Burlington for having the best kids' menu and being located next to an outdoor green space where kids run free). Well, this past weekend we finally made our way to Common Craft in Burlington and had such an amazing time. To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect because I've been following them along on Instagram and wasn't paying close enough attention to what Common Craft actually is... is it a restaurant? a brewery? A food hall? A taproom? I wasn't sure, but I saw that it had an outdoor space, and the weather was perfect, so we decided to finally check it out. If you're also not sure what Common Craft is, let me break it down for you.
It's not a restaurant, per se, but it does have food.
You sit wherever you want based on what's open. There are no servers, but there are food runners. Each table has its own unique QR code to scan, which takes you to a menu where you order and pay for food. Food runners bring you your food and help clear your table. This was a plus for us, because we didn't feel like we were being rushed out. Also, I couldn't find it on the website, but there is a kids' menu, so if you're taking littles, you can rest assured knowing that there is a chicken finger and pizza option for them. 😉 And, the food was really delicious. We ordered fish tacos, a burger, chicken fingers and pizza, all of which were awesome.
There are beers, wines and cocktails.
I like the feel of breweries, but I'm not a beer drinker. So, I don't love going to them. Fortunately, Common Craft does have wine, as well as cocktails. But, as I said above, there are no servers. So, for your adult beverages, you need to order at a bar. And each bar serves something different (translation, you can't go to one bar and order a beer for yourself/a glass of wine for your wife). But, honestly, that was totally fine by us because we divide/conquer when our kids are with us, so carrying two drinks back to a table is not totally possible anyway.
There are games, but it's not an arcade, nor are there tons of them.
We sat outside, where cornhole was set up. Fortunately, no one was really playing and so our children (along with other kids), used the green space to run around. And they loved it. Our kids played with other kids really well - and in turn, we talked to those kids' parents and we all seemingly made fast friends, which just doesn't happen in a traditional restaurant setting. Inside, we saw skeeball and at least one other game I didn't get a good look at, but I also noticed there were board games and people were playing (I saw at least one table playing Jenga).
We'll be back to Common Craft soon because every single person in our family had a great time and we all want to soak up what's left of these warm summer nights.
