(Hotel restaurants are not eligible in this category)
Best Family Restaurant
APPLEBEE'S NEIGHBORHOOD GRILL & BAR
Multiple locations
This category is getting too easy for Applebee's, which returns with a convincing win from readers who cart the entire brood with them when the dine-out dinner bell rings. While we're unsure of the criteria to achieve "family restaurant" status, we do know that balloons and coloring book menus help beat back the boredom blues. The picture-heavy menus keep things uncomplicated for tykes, and about $10 will cover pasta dishes, good fish combos or one of the evening's rotating specials. The runner-up was the venerable Country Inn.
Our Pick:
APPLEBEE'S NEIGHBORHOOD GRILL & BAR
We figured Applebee's would prevail in the reader voting, but we don't make our picks just to be different. OK, maybe sometimes. But this is indeed where we go when tykes are in tow. Applebee's lets us eat like adults and we confirm reports that green vegetables and even cauliflower can be found among a roster of health-minded meals.
